Stonehenge

[ stohn-henj ]

noun

1. a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England, consisting of a large circle of megaliths surrounding a smaller circle and four massive trilithons; dating to late Neolithic and early Bronze Age times (c1700–1200 b.c.) and believed to have been connected with a sun cult or used for astronomical observations.

Stonehenge

/ ˌstəʊnˈhɛndʒ /

noun

1. a prehistoric ruin in S England, in Wiltshire on Salisbury Plain: constructed over the period of roughly 3000–1600 bc ; one of the most important megalithic monuments in Europe; believed to have had religious and astronomical purposes

Stonehenge

1. Ancient circles of large, upright stones that stand alone on a plain in England . There is some controversy about who shaped, carried, and set up these huge stones, which perhaps had religious and astronomical uses. Scholars theorize that Stonehenge was built in three phases beginning in about 2800 b.c. The huge stones are believed to date from 1800 to 1500 b.c.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Stonehenge¹

henge

Example Sentences

On Thursday, British authorities charged a pair of climate change activists for vandalizing Stonehenge, a prehistoric megalithic structure on a chalk plateau known as the Salisbury Plain.

From Salon

Two people have been charged in connection with an incident in which Stonehenge was sprayed with orange powder during a Just Stop Oil protest.

From BBC

Further assaults followed in 2023 and 2024, including a hammer attack on the aforementioned Velázquez and Just Stop Oil’s orange dye strike on Stonehenge, the mysterious 5,000-year-old monument in England.

From Los Angeles Times

The Ness lies just south-east of the Ring of Brodgar, the neolithic stone circle which can be seen as Orkney's version of Stonehenge.

From BBC

The six-tonne Altar Stone at the heart of Stonehenge came from the far north of Scotland rather than south-west Wales as previously thought, new analysis has found.

From BBC