dizzyfunk
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What is a Henge?
Oct 26, 2003, 12:49
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it ain't in the dictionary.... what *exactly* is it?
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moss
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Re: What is a Henge?
Oct 26, 2003, 13:23
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I can never understand the difference between henge and stone circle, but found this dictionary ref; Henge, a ritual enclosure, usually circular or nearly so, consisting of a bank and ditch with one or two opposing entrances. The bank is usually outside the ditch, and excavations at major henges such as Durrington Walls and Mount Pleasant have shown that substantial circular timber buildings once stood in the interior. Henges are especially common in the lowland south and east of England, but are also found in the further west and north where they sometimes enclose a stone setting............. Henges differ from stone circles in that the height of the surrounding bank will in most cases have created an enclosed space, hidden from the outside world, to which entry might have been allowed only to special individuals or on special occasions. "Penguin Archaeology Guide"
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Jane
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Re: What is a Henge?
Oct 26, 2003, 13:31
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Aubrey Burl, in the opening chapter of his 1997 book 'Prehistoric henges' begins with this definition:
"Henge: A type of ritual monument found only in the british Isles and consisting of a circular area anything from 150 to 1700 feet acrss delimitied by a ditch with the bank normally outside it."
Burl goes on to say:
"Henges are strange places. to the casual eye they seem dull, no more than a circular bank of earth and rubble surrounding a turf covered interior. There is nothing else to see."
J
x
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fitzcoraldo
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Re: What is a Henge?
Oct 26, 2003, 14:06
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A golden haired lion
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fitzcoraldo
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Re: What is a Henge?
Oct 26, 2003, 14:10
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"A circular area within which stone or wooden uprights stood, surrounded by a ditch and (normally) an outer bank".
Graeme Clark
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ocifant
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Re: What is a Henge?
Oct 26, 2003, 14:21
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English Heritage Class Description:
A henge is a roughly circular or oval-shaped flat area over 20m in diameter which is enclosed and delimited by a boundary earthwork that usually comprises a ditch with an external bank. Access to the interior is obtained by way of one, two, or four entrances through the earthwork. Internal components may include portal settings, timber circles, post rings, stone circles, four-stone settings, monoliths, standing posts, pits, coves, post alignments, stone alignments, burials, central mounds, and stakeholes.
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ocifant
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Re: What is a Henge?
Oct 26, 2003, 14:21
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English Heritage Class Description:
A henge is a roughly circular or oval-shaped flat area over 20m in diameter which is enclosed and delimited by a boundary earthwork that usually comprises a ditch with an external bank. Access to the interior is obtained by way of one, two, or four entrances through the earthwork. Internal components may include portal settings, timber circles, post rings, stone circles, four-stone settings, monoliths, standing posts, pits, coves, post alignments, stone alignments, burials, central mounds, and stakeholes.
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AtomicMutton
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Re: What is a Henge?
Oct 26, 2003, 14:48
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"Prehistoric ceremonial enclosure created by a closed ditch and bank structure".
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Earthstepper
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Re: What is a Henge?
Oct 26, 2003, 15:24
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Erudite definitions abound, but what IS a henge? What were they for and how were they used? Anyone have a convincing theory? Please don't say "for ritual purposes"
Being pedantic - why do we call these circular earthworks "henges"? - only at Stonehenge is there anything hanging. Can we assume that wooden beams were hanging at woodhenge etc? Time for a more accurate term? Suggestions?
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baza
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Re: What is a Henge?
Oct 26, 2003, 15:56
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Here's another definition, much the same as the others, courtesy of the National Monuments Record:
<I>Circular or sub-circular enclosure defined by a bank and (usually internal) ditch, with one or two (rarely more) entrances. Of ceremonial/ritual function, they contain a variety of internal features including timber or stone circles.</I>
The term 'henge' was derived from Stonehenge, although the bank and ditch at Stonehenge are 'the wrong way round', with the ditch outside of the bank.
Most surviving henges have no remaining visible internal structures. Only a small minority have stone circles within them.
We can't agree as to what was there purpose. All that we can agree on is that they were not built for defensive purposes, otherwise the ditch would be outside of the bank (as at Stonehenge).
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