henge

American  

[henj] / hɛndʒ /

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.

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henge British  

/ hɛndʒ /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of henge

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

Example Sentences

Similar "henge" phenomena also occur in other cities with large amounts of skyscrapers and long straight streets - such as Chicago, Montreal and Toronto.

From BBC • May 30, 2023

Archaeologists don’t know who built the henge, but they know it was under construction for thousands of years before Celts inhabited Britain.

From Washington Post • Jan. 3, 2020

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths Forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway investigates the discovery of a child’s bones near the site of a prehistoric henge on the north Norfolk salt marshes.

From The Guardian • May 16, 2019

They line Durrington Walls, a large henge — or man-made earthen formation of a ditch and a ring — a bit more than a stone’s throw from Stonehenge.

From New York Times • Sep. 10, 2015

Unabashedly retro, with plenty of high- and low-tech silliness — "a henge!"

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2014