Stonehenge: Where Did the Rocks Come From?

Dolerite

Source Rocks

Dacite

Source Location

• From Mynydd Preseli in N. Pembrokeshire, Wales
• Location has been narrowed down to a specific outcrop called Carngoedog
• Approx. 200 miles from Stonehenge

• Pont Saeson in northern Pembrokeshire, Wales
• Specific location thought to be outcrop called Craig Rhos-y-felin
• Approx. 200 miles from Stonehenge

• Doleritic Bluestone
• Rhyolitic Bluestone
• Dacitic Bluestone
• Sarsen Sandstone

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Carn_Menyn_bluestones_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1451509.jpg

Geology

http://liftingshadows.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/item10-dacit-tip-hentz-dacite/

• A fine-grained leucocratic igneous rock
• consists mostly of sodic plagioclase and quartz

• Igneous rock of basaltic composition
• Consists mainly of augite and plagioclase
• Grain size transitional into gabbro

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sarsen-stones-bernadette-latour.html

http://www.soes.soton.ac.uk/resources/collection/minerals/igne-1/pages/ig08.htm

The End

What is Stonehenge?

Stonehenge: Where Did

the Rocks Come From?

• Stonehenge is circle of rock monuments in Wiltshire, UK.
• Thought to orginate in 3100BC
• Took three stages to make
• May have been used for human scarifice or astronomy

Any questions?

http://blog.powersof10.com/?attachment_id=7227

Matt Critz

Therese Harding

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/photos/stonehenge/

Sarsen

Sources

Bluestone

Rhyolite

Source Location

Source Location

• Southern England
• Brought from Marlborough Downs near Avebury, in north Wiltshire, UK, about 18-25 miles north of Stonehenge

Geology

• Silicified sandstone
• Approximately Tertiary age

• Pont Saeson in northern Pembrokeshire, Wales
• Specific location thought to be outcrop called Craig Rhos-y-felin
• Approx. 200 miles from Stonehenge

Gill, Robin. Igneous Rocks and Processes: A Practical Guide. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.

Green, Christopher P. (1997) Stonehenge: Geology and Prehistory. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association. (Vol. 108, pp. 1-10). Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440311004341

John, B. Stonehenge history. Retrieved from http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/history.php

• A term used to describe most of the igneous rocks
• Used in multiple stages of construction
• 3 main rock types present referred to as "Bluestone"
• Dolerite (Diabase)
• Rhyolite
• Dacite

Alexander, Caroline. (2008) If the Stones Could Speak: Searching for the Meaning of Stonehenge. National Geographic Online. Accessed Apr. 17, 2013. Retrieved from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/06/stonehenge/alexander-text/1

Best, Myron G., Christiansen, Eric H. Igneous Petrology: Blackwell Science, 2001.

Bevins, Richard E. (2012) Provenancing the rhyolitic and dacitic components of the Stonehenge landscape bluestone lithology: new petrographical and geochemical evidence. Journal of Archaeological Science. (Vol. 39, pp. 1005-1019) Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440311004341

Geology

• A leucocratic igneous rock
• Consists mostly of quartz and alkali feldspar

http://photosfromwinchester.blogspot.com/2011/03/sarsen-stone.html

http://v-g.me.uk/Trips/T0716/T0716.htm

http://web.eps.utk.edu/courses/rock/rhyolite.html

Importance of Stonehenge

The Future and Stonehenge

Sources

• There are many interpretations about the use of Stonehenge.
• Geology point of view:
• Specific rocks chosen and moved to create

• As technology advances, more about Stonehenge is learned.
• Sophisticated techniques allow for greater accuracy in pinpointing dates and locations
• Theories about glacier movement could be true.

Jones, C. (2008). Don't mention Stonehenge! Blackwell Publishing. (Vol.5, pp. 46-48).

Retrieved from http://su8bj7jh4j.scholar.serialssolutions.com/?sid=google&auinit=C&aulast=Jones&atitle=Don't mention Stonehenge!&id=doi:10.1111/j.1740-9713.2008.00284.&xtitle=Significance (Oxford, England)&volume=5&issue=1&date=2008&spage=46&issn=1740-9705

R.M.J., C., K.E., W., & R., M. (1995). Stonehenge in its landscape: Twentieth century excavations. Retrieved from http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=DDB57A575009EE00DF69C5EB000542DC.journals?fromPage=online&aid=7860375

Williams-Thorpe, O., & Jones, M. C. (2006). Preseli dolerite bluestones: Axe-heads, Stonehenge monoliths, and outcrop sources. Oxford Journal of Archaeology. (Vol. 25, pp. 29-46). Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0092.2006.00247.x/full

• As more research is carried out, old theories will be strengthened or falsified.

• The study of Stonehenge reveals facts about its builders
• Used sophisticated techniques
• Showed skill in architecture and design

http://www.anglophile.ru/en/stonehenge/237-the-sarsen-stones-and-bluestones.html

http://users.skynet.be/lotus/stone/stonehenge-en.htm