henge

[henj]

noun

Archaeology.

1. 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.

henge

/ hɛndʒ /

noun

1. a circular area, often containing a circle of stones or sometimes wooden posts, dating from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages

Word History and Origins

Origin of henge¹

1730–40; back formation from Stonehenge, Middle English Stanenges, Stanheng, equivalent to stan stone + -heng, probably originally “something hanging”; hinge

Word History and Origins

Origin of henge¹

back formation from _Stonehenge

Example Sentences

"The circle is pretty accurate. It suggests that people were pacing the distances out to make sure that the pits were aligned at the same distance all the way around as the distance from the henge to the earlier enclosure" he said.

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Dr Tim Kinnaird from the University of St Andrews called it a "super henge" and used a method called luminescence dating: "So just before that sediment falls into the pit, it's exposed to daylight, so we can date the time of construction."

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He added: "A thousand men were working on it for two years, it was built in the same way as Stone Henge."

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Flagstones also has connections to other significant sites, including Llandygái 'Henge' A in Gwynedd, Wales, and artefacts and burial practices implied even locations in Ireland.

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It includes monuments and sites that can be accessed, ranging from the ancient Avebury henge and stone circles in Wiltshire and the Sutton Hoo burial site in Suffolk to the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit in Surrey.

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