Stonehenge

Life Before the Pharaohs For more than half of the twentieth century, much like the pyramids, the predynastic Egypt was a mystery to archeologists. The little discoveries that had been made from the period preceding the pharaohs were not enough to either prove or disprove the various theories circulating at the time. One of the first artifacts dated at the time of the unification to be unearthed was Narmer's palette, discovered by the English archeologist James Edward Quibell at the end of the nineteenth century. The discovery was made at Hierakonpolis, about four hundred and fifty miles outside of Cairo. The object depicted the unification of the Lower and Upper Egypt, the event being attributed to Narmer; he also found a macehead that carried the insignia of Scorpion, a king which was believed to have ruled Upper Egypt just before the unification.

The ancient people of England didn't have a formal calendar like today's society does. For this reason they had to rely on other ways of keeping track of the time during the year. In this particular case the ancient people of England used the Stonehenge for record keeping. "In 1964 the American astronomer Gerald S. Hawkins reported findings obtained by supplying a computer with measurements taken at Stonehenge together with astronomical information based on celestial positions in 1500 BC when Stonehenge was in use. "(Encarta, 1) Hawkins believed that the ancient people were able to gather information about the sun and the moon, with accuracy.

We know almost nothing about who built Stonehenge and why. A popular theory advanced in the 19th century was that the Druids, a people that existed in Britain before the Roman conquest, had built it as a temple. Modern archaeological techniques, though, have dated Stonehenge and we now know that it was completed at least a 1,000 years before the Druids came to power. If Druids used Stonehenge for their ceremonies they got the site secondhand. Despite this, modern Druids have laid claim to Stonehenge and an annual ceremony takes place at Stonehenge during Summer solstice, one of the ring's astronomical alignments.

What role did the great King Arthur play in the way English Literature is perceived? Did King Arthur honestly exist? “Whether King Arthur existed or not is doubtful. However if King Arthur did exist, then he would have lived sometime between 400 AD and 600 AD, a time of turmoil in Britain following the Roman withdrawl. And a time when written literature did not exist, therefore events during this period are only known about from folklore passed down several generations before being written down, or from modern archeology giving insights from excavations of sites.

Because they had none of the advantages that we have today, their creations, which was more difficult to fully complete, can be considered a precious, unique works of art. To be sure that these items are genuinely prehistoric, radiocarbon dating was used (Encarta, 4). Scientists can determine the true age from only a tiny amount of pigment in the paint. One of the oldest, found in Europe and Asia, was carved in ivory and dates back to about 32,000 years. Another, discovered in England in 1996, was found to be about 60,000 years old (Columbia, 1)!

The Classic period cities had dense precincts visually dominated by extraordinary architecture. Larger cities had numerous high pyramids, ceremonial platforms, and palaces built on platforms or mounds. The Maya have been called the “Greeks of the New World” because of their intellectual accomplishments. They were the most advanced in writing, math, architecture, and astronomy of all the Indian civilizations. In math, the Maya developed a system based on three symbols: a dot, a bar, and a shell.

Sphinx During this great age of information and transportation, in a world moving so fast that our reflections are nothing save a blur on the cosmic mirror, who has the time logically dispute the dating of ancient monument. Egyptologists have done the research and concluded that the monuments located in the Giza plateau can be attributed to the fourth dynasty (2900-2750 BC). Why should we waste our limited time reinvestigating what appears to be a closed case? Egyptologists have conclude that the structures located at the Giza plateau can be attributed to forth dynasty pharaohs Khufu (large pyramid), Menkaure (small pyramid), and latter Khafre (sphinx and medium pyramid.) The stone quarried to build these edifices were brought from as far away as Tura (casing stones) which is located five miles east, Aswan (granite), and the majority of the stone used was from the plateau itself.

The only thing we can ever be entirely sure about is the location of Stonehenge. This is because radiocarbon dating on the stones shows us that Stonehenge came from around 5000 years ago - a time period before writing and recording information. There are many different theories behind the creation of Stonehenge and its significance – still today; historians do not have evidence to show who built it. Stonehenge has always been one of the words biggest questions, therefore leading to large amounts of speculations from different scientists, historians and archaeologists. But first we must know what a henge is, according to Dictionary.com a henge is “a Neolithic monument of the British Isles, consisting of a circular area enclosed by a bank and ditch and often containing additional features including one or more circles of upright stone or wood pillars: probably used for ritual purposes or for marking astronomical events, as solstices and equinoxes.” Where is it located?

(Stokstad 59) Whatever the method by which the stones arrived on Salisbury Plain, they were apparently set up in about 2800-2700 BCE in either the unfinished circle or the incomplete horseshoe open to the south-west. A century or so later, (ca. 2500 BCE) the great sarsen circle was constructed, and the bluestones were dragged from their holes only to be returned some centuries later to form the i... ... middle of paper ... ...few miles from Stonehenge where there was a convenient glacial deposit of the only stones used for Stonehenge. (Burl 22) However, the view remains that the massive stones of Stonehenge were, indeed, transported hundreds of miles to Salisbury Plain. Assuming that the bluestones were brought from Wales by hand and not transported by glaciers as Aubrey Burl has claimed (or moved by the magical hand of Merlin), various methods of moving them relying only on wood and rope have been suggested.

Sunsets should be watched, not copiers." The advertisement utilizes the beautiful image as a setting to make the product look attractive and the text to suggest that the copier will save time and effort. It also assumes that the reader will associate Stonehenge with the sun and sunsets using common knowledge about this famous structure. Stonehenge is located on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. It is a megalithic monument built during the Neolithic Period, approximately between 2750 and 1500 B.C..(Stokstad, p.54-55) The builders of this magnificent monument remain unknown although it was once incorrectly thought to have been built by the Druids.