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Altar Stone
Heel Stone
Slaughter Stone
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Y & Z Holes

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Stonehenge

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Three brothers are the mighty pillars around which this epic novel is constructed. Bernard Cornwell transports the reader back to a time...
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Copyright © 1996-2001
C. Tabita (E-mail)

38450
The Construction of Stonehenge
Phase I Phase II
Phase III Phase IV

Altar Stone

The Altar Stone is one of the most unique stones in Stonehenge. It is a 5 meter (16 foot) block of dressed green sandstone located near the center, embeddded 15 feet within the great central sarsen trilithon. All of the other stones in Stonehenge are either composed of sarsen or bluestone.


Slaughter Stone

The Slaughter Stone is another unique stone. It is one of two stones at the entraceway, the Slaughter Stone being the more easterly of the two. It is in fact 21 feet long, but it is sunken so deep that only the upper surface shows. It was originally placed upright.


Heel Stone

The Heel Stone is a stone which is not located in the main circle. The Heel Stone, formerly Friar's Heel, is the Anglicized corruption of the ancient Welsh "Freya Sul". Sul (pronounced "seal" in old and modern Welsh) means Sun Day.


Station Stones

Four station stones lie just inside the embankment, approximately in line with the Aubrey Holes . They were erected during Phase III. Lines connecting the stones opposite each other will intersect at the very center of the monument at an angle of 45 degrees and are symmetrical with respect to the main axis.


Aubrey Holes

The Aubrey Holes, named for John Aubrey, circle around the "Y" and "Z" holes. They were first noticed by Aubrey, and thus carry his name. They consist of small, barely visible, manmade cavities filled with rubble.


Y & Z Holes

Thirty "y" holes and 29 "z" holes circle around Stonehenge. They are concentric circular holes. The Y holes lie 11 meters (36.1 ft) outside the Sarsen Circle, and the Z holes lie 3.7 meters (12.1 ft) outside the Sarsen circle.