Ahenge can be one of three related types ofNeolithicearthwork. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ditches would have served defensive purposes poorly, henges are not considered to have been defensive constructions (cf.circular rampart).
The three henge types (figures in brackets indicate the approximate diameter of the central flat area) are:
The wordhenge is abackformation fromStonehenge, the famous monument inWiltshire.[6] The term was first coined in 1932 byThomas Kendrick, who later became the Keeper of British Antiquities at theBritish Museum.[7][8][9] A broader usage ofhenge to refer to standing-stone monuments was recorded in Yorkshire in 1740, fromOld English usage dating to at least the 10th century,[10] with a root of eitherhencg'hinge', orhen(c)en'to hang, to suspend'.[11]
Stonehenge is not a true henge, as its ditch runs outside its bank, although there is a small extant external bank as well.
Henges may be classified as follows:
Sub groups exist for these when two or three internal ditches are present rather than one.[12] Henges are usually associated with the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, and especially with the pottery of this period: Grooved Ware, Impressed Wares (formerly known as Peterborough Ware), and Beakers. Sites such asStonehenge also provide evidence of activity from the laterBronze AgeWessex culture.
Henges often contain evidence of a variety of internal features, including timber or stone circles, pits, orburials, which may pre- or post-date the henge enclosure. A henge should not be confused with a stone circle within it, as henges and stone circles can exist together or separately.[citation needed] AtArbor Low inDerbyshire, all the stones except one are laid flat and do not seem to have been erected, as no stone holes have been found. Elsewhere, often only the stone holes remain to indicate a former circle.[citation needed]
Some of the best-known henges are at:
Henges sometimes formed part of aritual landscape or complex, with otherNeolithic andBronze Age monuments inside and outside the henge. Earlier monuments associated with a later henge might include Neolithic monuments such as acursus (e.g., at Thornborough Henges the central henge overlies the cursus), or a long barrow, such as theWest Kennet Long Barrow atAvebury, Wiltshire, or, as in the case of Stonehenge,Mesolithic post holes. A circle of large pitsc. 2 km (1+1⁄4 mi) across is centered onDurrington Walls henge.[14] Later monuments added after the henge was built might include Bronze Agecairns as atArbor Low.
Examples of such ritual landscapes are:
Burials have been recorded at a number of excavated henges, both pre-dating the henge and as a result of secondary reuse. For example:
Efforts to delineate a direct lineage for the henge from earlier enclosures have not been conclusive. Their chronological overlap with older structures makes it difficult to classify them as a coherent tradition. They seem to take the concept of creating a space separate from the outside world one step further than thecausewayed enclosure, and they focus attention on an internal point. In some cases, the construction of the bank and ditch was a stage that followed other activity on the site. AtBalfarg,North Mains, andCairnpapple, for example, earliercremations and deliberate smashing of pottery predate the enclosure.
Concentrations of henges occur over much of Britain.Orkney (Cunliffe 2001) andWessex (Burl 1969) have both been suggested as the originalprovenance of the monument type; however, others remain unconvinced (Barclay 2005). Unlike earlier enclosure monuments, henges were not usually built on hilltops but on low-lying ground, often close to watercourses and good agricultural land.
Some scholars, such as the editors of the 1982 edition of thePenguin Dictionary of Archaeology (Bray and Trump, 1982), have claimed that henges are unique to theBritish Isles. They state that similar, much earlier, circles on the European continent, such asGoseck circle (which has no bank), and later ones such asGoloring are not proper "henges". ButThe Penguin Archaeological Guide (Bahn, 2001) does not comment on geographical locations for henges.
Julian Cope, inThe Megalithic European,[21] proposes that the henge was a regional development from the Europe-widecausewayed enclosure. He notes it appeared following a cultural upheaval in around 3000 BC, which inspired the peoples of Neolithic Europe to develop more independently. He notes therondel enclosures ofBavaria'sIsar Valley, which according to investigations by the German archaeologist R. A. Maier, "drew comparisons with the henge monuments and causewayed enclosures of the British Isles." Although still with a multiple-causewayed ditch and entrances at cardinal points, the roundels are described by John Hodgson (2003) as not being positioned with defensive aims in mind. The largest, at Kothingeichendorf, appeared to be "midway between a henge and a causewayed enclosure".
Alasdair Whittle (2005) also views the development of the henge as a regional variation within a European tradition that included a variety of ditched enclosures. He notes that henges and thegrooved ware pottery often found at them are two examples of the British Neolithic not found on the Continent.Caroline Malone (2001) also says that henges were not built in the rest of Western Europe, but they developed from a broader tradition of enclosure to become "a phenomenon of the British Isles, a native tradition with sophisticated architecture and calendrical functions."
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Henges may have been used forrituals orastronomical observation rather than day-to-day activity. That their ditches are located inside their banks indicates that they were not used for defence, and that the barrier of the earthworks was more likely symbolic than functional. Following arguments presented forIrishIron Age enclosures, Barclay suggested that they are 'defensive': that the ditch and bank face something 'dangerous' inside the enclosure. He has also suggested that the considerable range of elements surrounded by the earthworks, and the very long date range, are because henges were designed mainly to enclose pre-existing ceremonial sites that were seen as 'ritually charged' and therefore dangerous to people. It has been conjectured that whatever took place inside the enclosures was intended to be separate from the outside world and perhaps known only to select individuals or groups.
The alignment of henges is a contentious issue. Popular belief is that their entrances point towards certain heavenly bodies. But henge orientation is highly variable and may have been determined more by local topography than by desire for symbolic orientation. Statistical analysis showed that Class I henges have a slight tendency to have an entrance set in the north or north-east quarter. Class II henges generally have their axes aligned approximately south-east to north-west or north-east to south-west.
It has been suggested that the stone and timber structures sometimes built inside henges were used as solar declinometers to measure the position of the rising or setting sun. These structures do not appear in all henges; and when they do, often they are considerably more recent than the henges. Thus, they are not necessarily connected with the henge's original function. It has been conjectured that the henges would have been used to synchronize a calendar to the solar cycle for purposes of planting crops or timing religious rituals. Some henges have poles, stones or entrances that indicate the position of the rising or setting sun during theequinoxes andsolstices, while others appear to frame certain constellations. Additionally, many are placed so that nearby hills either mark or do not interfere with such observations. Finally, some henges appear to be placed at particular latitudes. For example, a number are placed at alatitude of 55 degrees north, where the same two markers can indicate the rising and setting sun for both the spring and autumn equinoxes. But as henges are present from the extreme north to the extreme south of Britain, their latitude could not have been of great importance.
Formalisation is commonly attributed to henges: indications of the builders' concerns to control the arrival at, entrance into, and movement within the enclosures. This was achieved by placing flanking stones oravenues at the entrances of some henges, or by dividing the internal space withtimber circles. While some henges were the first monuments to be built in their areas, others were added to already important landscapes, especially the larger examples.
The concentric nature of many of the internal features, such as the five rings of postholes at Balfarg or the six at Woodhenge, may represent a finer distinction than the inside-out differences suggested by henge earthworks. The ordering of space and the circular movement suggested by the sometimes densely packed internal features indicates a sophisticated degree of spatial understanding.
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Hengiform monuments, or mini henges, are distributed throughout England and mainland Scotland (with examples as far north as Caithness), though no examples have been found in Wales. Pits,cremations,postholes, stone-sockets, and graves have been found within them, and postholes and cremation pits have also been found to be present close to the site in some cases. They typically have either one entrance or two opposing entrances. In plan, a mini henge can be mistaken for a ploughed-outround barrow, although the former tend to be slightly larger and their earthworks more substantial. As with ordinary henges, they are thought to have served ritual purposes and are thought to be of late Neolithic date.
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Henge enclosures often contain or lie close to one or more ordinary henges. Finds of animal bone,grooved ware pottery, and evidence of dwellings have been found and coupled with the time and energy needed to build them, it is considered that they must have been important social centres analogous to tribal capitals. Two or four evenly spaced entrances lead through the earthwork to the centre.
A henge monument was restored at theDevil's Quoits in Oxfordshire between 2002 and 2008.
In modern times a number of henge type monuments have been built, examples include:
Stonehenge is not a henge. This bizarre contribution … was first used by … Thomas Kendrick. … Technically, [henges] are earthwork enclosures in which a ditch was dug to make a bank, which was thrown up on the outside edge of the ditch.
