Gardners

ART

THROUGH THE

AGES
1

prehistoric

architecture

Vocabulary
Neolithic: the new Stone Age (8,000 2300 BCE), which
marked the beginnings of monumental (extremely large)
architecture
corbeled vault: a vault formed by the piling of stone blocks in
horizontal courses, cantilevered inward until the two walls meet
in an arch
post and lintel: one of the earliest methods of architectural
construction in which two posts (sometimes called uprights)
support a lintel (horizontal beam which rests across the top)

Vocabulary
megalith: a large stone used in the construction of a prehistoric
structure
Cromlech: a circle of megaliths, as at Stonehenge

Great stone tower built into

the settlement wall, Jericho,
ca. 8000-7000 BCE

Neolithic Jericho was protected by 5-foot-thick walls and at least one

stone tower 30 feet high and 33 feet in diameter. An outstanding
achievement that marks the beginning of monumental architecture.

Corbeled vault of the main

chamber in the passage
grave, Newgrange, Ireland,
ca. 3200-2500 BCE

The Newgrange passage

grave is an early example of
corbeled vaulting. The huge
stones (megaliths) of the
dome of the main burial
chamber beneath the tumulus
are held in place by their own
weight.

Aerial view of ruins of Hagar Qim, Malta, ca. 32002500 BCE

One of the earliest stone temples in the world is on the

island of Malta. The 5,000-year-old structure is
remarkably sophisticated for its date, especially in the
combination of rectilinear and curved forms.

Stonehenge
(3100-2000 BC)

Wiltshire,
England

Aerial view (looking northwest) of Stonehenge,

Salisbury Plain, England, ca. 2550-1600 BCE. Circle is
97 in diameter; trilithons 24 high.

The circles of trilithons at Stonehenge probably functioned

as an astronomical observatory and solar calendar. The
sun rises over its heel stone at the summer solstice.
Some of the megaliths weigh 50 tons.

Prehistoric Architecture: Stonehenge

Neolithic architecture
Post and lintel construction
Megaliths are 21 to 24 feet tall, including height of lintel, and
buried four feet in the ground
Cromlech http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromlech
Solar and lunar orientation
Stones dragged from far away to this site
Circle of megaliths embrace structure, enclosing it

Prehistoric Architecture: Stonehenge

Inside circle of megaliths is a larger horseshoe-shaped group
of megaliths which frame an Altar Stone
Horseshoe-shaped stones face midsummer sunrise over
Heel Stone
Altar Stone is a green sandstone taken from a mine in
Wales, over 200 miles away
Heaviest stones 50 tons apiece, hauled by sledges (sleds)
Tools for building: ropes, levers, rollers, axes
Built in several phases over hundreds of years on a sacred
site on Salisbury Plain

Functions of Stonehenge:

Cremation / burial site

Astrological observatory
Solar calendar
Sacred site

The oldest detailed drawing of Stonehenge, found in a

1440 manuscript, the Scala Mundi

Several
Phases
(stages)
of Construction

Plan of Stonehenge in
2004. Trilithon lintels
omitted for clarity.
Holes that no longer, or
never, contained stones
are shown as open
circles. Stones visible
today are shown
coloured.

The lintels (horizontal monoliths) were fitted to one another using a

woodworking method, the tongue-and-groove joint

So

who built it?

Various people have attributed the building of

this great megalith to Neanderthals (early man),
the Danes, Romans, Saxons, Greeks, Atlanteans,
Egyptians, Phoenicians, Celts (druids), King
Aurelius Ambrosious, Merlin (the wizard), and
even Aliens!

Merlin

A giant helps
Merlin build
Stonehenge.

From a
manuscript of the
Roman de Brut
by Wace in the
British Library
(Egerton 3028).
This is one of the
oldest known
depictions of
Stonehenge.

One of the most popular beliefs was that Stonehenge was

built by the Druids. These high priests of the Celts were
said to have constructed it for sacrificial ceremonies.

Druids at Stonehenge

While there are still some who believe they were the ones who built
it, carbon-dating research has proven that Stonehenge was built
before the druids entered this land.

The Celts came from Ireland, much later than the building of
Stonehenge.

So

who built it?

The bluestones were thought for much of the

20th century to have been transported by
humans from the Preseli Hills, 250 kilometres
(160 mi) away in modern day Pembrokeshire in
Wales.

A newer theory is that they were brought from

glacial deposits much nearer the site, which had
been carried down from the northern side of
the Preselis to southern England by the Irish
Sea Glacier.

These stones were much too heavy to ship by boat

along the nearby River Avon

Chemical tests on teeth from an ancient burial near Stonehenge

indicate that this person in this grave grew up around the
Mediterranean Sea. The bones belong to a teenager who died 3,550
years ago and was buried with a distinctive amber necklace. While
findings are preliminary, experts hope to find out more

At least twenty-five of the Aubrey Holes are known to have contained

later, intrusive, cremation burials dating to the two centuries after the
monument's inception. It seems that whatever the holes' initial
function, it changed to become a funerary one during Phase 2. Thirty
further cremations were placed in the enclosure's ditch and at other
points within the monument, mostly in the eastern half.

Fragments of unburnt human bone have also been found in the ditchfill. Stonehenge is therefore interpreted as functioning as an enclosed
cremation cemetery at this time, the earliest known cremation
cemetery in the British Isles.

"Stonehenge was a place of burial from its

beginning to its zenith in the mid third
millennium B.C. The cremation burial dating to
Stonehenge's sarsen stones phase is likely just
one of many from this later period of the
monument's use and demonstrates that it was still
very much a domain of the dead."
Professor Mike Parker Pearson, head of
Stonehenge Riverside Project

The north eastern entrance was

widened during one phase of
construction, with the result that it
precisely matched the direction of the

People gather around Stonehenge at Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice Sunrise at Stonehenge

art

the
of
stonehenge

Each stone had clearly

been worked with the
final visual effect in
mind; the pillars widen
slightly towards the
top, in order that their
perspective remains
constant when viewed
from the ground. The
lintel stones curve
slightly to continue the
circular appearance of
the earlier monument.

Graffiti on the sarsen stones. Below the graffiti

are ancient carvings of a dagger and an axe.

Banksy, Stonehenge
Plastic portable toilets, installation at the Glastonbury
Festival, June 2007 (graffiti on portables not by Banksy)

From Natalias Renaissance at nutaboutart.com

Stonehenge - Night from atouchofglassand.com