Category: Stonehenge

Surveying is a profession that has been around since 2500 BC which was when Stonehenge was thought to be built. However, when this occurred the tools used to survey were different from the tools and equipment used today. The people who built Stonehenge did this through what is known as geometry today and with the use of a peg/rope system. However, the Greeks were the first to develop surveying equipment to help divide land plots. As advancements have been made, the understanding of geometry, calculus, physics, and engineering is required for today’s surveyor to use proper equipment in order to survey correctly. In the context of the evolution of survey-level instruments, it’s crucial to consider the role of survey design. Survey design has fundamentally shaped the functionality and accuracy of these tools, guiding the development of more precise and reliable methods for capturing topographical data. This approach not only streamlines data collection but also enhances the interpretative capabilities of surveyors in diverse fields. This paper is structured on the different types of survey levels, such as the dumpy, Cushing, Cooke’s reversible, and automatic level and the history of these levels. This topic is of interest to the author in order to become more familiar with the survey levels to accurately determine which level should be used for different surveying requirements.

The first level that will be discussed is the dumpy level, otherwise known as the builder’s level. The dumpy level is one of the most used instruments found in surveying. William Gravatt, who was an English engineer, invented the dumpy level while using many components of the wye level in 1832.2 Gravatt also created supplementary parts to add to the leveling equipment, but this additional equipment added additional weight as well which made it hard for surveyors to effectively transport the equipment. The dumpy level determines the distance and height while surveying the land. This type of level has a fixed telescope to observe the distance of an item through a straight line and rotates along a spindle. The dumpy level has an eyepiece to view the item that is far in the distance, an objective lens with crosshairs, a focusing screw to bring clarity to the distant item, a bubble tube in order to make sure that the telescope is level when surveying, and it is usually mounted on a tripod. The dumpy level is used for fieldwork since it is more compatible and stable. The dumpy level can measure vertical distances to 300 feet, depending on atmospheric conditions.

The next survey instrument to be discussed is the Cushing level, which is like the dumpy level in the fact that the scopes are both fixed to the rest of the equipment. The Cushing level was created by Mr. Thomas Cushing, who was an Inspector of Scientific Instruments for India. Cushing levels were an improvement from the dumpy level for the fact that the objective and eyepiece ends can be interchangeable.

The next level to be discussed is Cooke’s Reversible level which combines the features of the dumpy level as well as other levels. The telescope can be rotated as well as removed from the rest of the equipment. The Cooke’s level was patented by Messre. T. Cooke & Sons. This level would be well-liked by surveyors since the error can be eliminated because of the left and right bubble readings of the telescope.

The last level to be discussed is the automatic level is much like the dumpy level in the fact that the scope is attached to the legs and supports of the equipment. This level is advanced compared to the other levels discussed and is modern-day equipment. The automatic level includes an internal compensator and removes and reduces any variation in the measurements. This level is very accurate, but form more accurate readings many people add compensators to the inside of the telescope. The compensator is two prisms inside of the telescope to create a path with the objective and eyepiece.

Throughout the course of history, high precision equipment has been made to help advance ancient societies into the society it is today. Even though many surveyors now use GPS and GIS systems to survey plots of land, many steps had to be taken before this technology came into existence. There are many different types of levels such as the most well known, dumpy level, which was one of the first leveling tools that led the blueprint for more leveling tools. The wye level was similar to the dumpy level but is more accurate and precise. The Cushing level allows for the eyepiece and objective to be used on either end of the scope. The Cooke’s reversible level is very similar to the dumpy and wye levels, but it has many upgrades. Finally, the automatic level combines many of the other features of the previous levels. The advancement of surveying level equipment has provided assistance to Geodetic surveyors to measure large quantities of land and property across the globe. Surveying and the equipment used with surveying are extremely important for humans for the advancement of understanding Mother Earth and to protect our planet.

Stonehenge (Monument)

Key Features

Stonehenge is prehistorical and was built around 3000BC. It consist of standing stones that make a ring. Many historians believe the people who created this used it as a burial ground. It is intriguing for many due to how it was built and how many years ago could’ve been constructed it with limited technology. The name of the monument derives from the Saxon stan-hengen, meaning ‘stone hanging’ or ‘gallows’. Along with more than 350 nearby monuments and hinges, Stonehenge was designed a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.

Ownership

Stonehenge is owned by the Crown. This means that the Queen or the Monarch of the time legally owns the site. However, it is managed by the organization’s English heritage. The surrounding land is owned by the National Trust. Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings.

Stonehenge’s dad been privately owned since the 12th century. Cecil and Mary Chubb became its last private owners after buying the monument t auction in 1915. Prior to the sale, the Antroba family had owned Stonehenge and taken steps to protect it since the early 19th century.

Source of funding and target market

According to the latest annual report on the 18th in 2019 the biggest form of funding is through donations and legacies. Also another source of funding is through memberships and admissions. However, one standard adult ticket is £19.80. it is part of the public sector as is a non-profit organization and most of it’s income goes towards the upkeep of the sites.

Stonehenge’s target market is for everyone as is easy to access and offers many services. However, it can be said that it has a niche market for people who love history also people who are interested in archaeological digs.

Location and accessibility

It is located in Wiltshire in South West England from London it is a 5-hour journey on public transport and requires 2 changes or a 2-hour journey by car on the M25. When you arrive at the destination there is a visitor bus that takes around 10 minutes to reach the Stones.

Stonehenge offers disabled access and also provides a shuttle bus for people who might need. Stonehenge also has an audio guide, you can download on your phone to help get around and a route that was made by the National Trust.

Products and services

Stonehenge offers onsite services such as the Stone Circle Experience at which will allow you to get up close to this world-famous monument and learn the secrets of the stones. You can discover the story of Stonehenge: the stones, the landscape, the people, and its meaning through a powerful combination of cutting-edge audio-visual experience and incredible ancient objects. The exhibition contains nearly 300 archaeological objects.

The facilities that Stonehenge provides is that they have parking on site, during peak periods there is a parking charge to non-members and those who have not pre-booked tickets which is fully refundable on the purchase of a ticket to Stonehenge. However, the Visitor Bus services runs frequently from the visitor center, for those who need it and take around 10 minutes to reach the stones. Food and drink, their large café serve grab-and-go hot and cold food, which includes drinks, soup, pasties and many other sweets and savory products.

They have a picnic area, you can picnic in the monument field with a view of the Stone Circle, or at other designated point around the Visitor Center. Also they have a gift shop that offers an extensive range of books, gifts and souvenirs, including jewelry and an exclusive range of Barbour clothing and accessories. Male and female toilets, including accessible and adult change facilities, are available and also they are family-friendly.

Target market

Stonehenge’s target market is for everyone as is easy to access and offers many services. However, it can be said that it has a niche market for people who love history and also people who are interested in archaeological digs.

Bibliography:

1. Book Name: Stonehenge – Exploring the greatest stone age mystery, by Mike Parker Pearson and the Stonehenge Riverside Project. (page 3)
2. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=l9mjU90hoBUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=stonehenge&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjzhvCQ3uvsAhXMTcAKHVVeBrsQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
3. youtube.com/watch?v=BTwuKCqFwJY
4. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/plan-your-visit/facilities/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge#:~:text=Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument,and weighing around 25 tons.
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

It’s one of the world’s most iconic pre-historic monuments. Questions like ‘Who built it and why’, has been inspiring countless theories. It could have been an ancient cathedral, or a burial place or also could have been a stone-age observatory. Every generation for a very long time has been coming up with newer theories. 5000-year-old bones testify to the elite families, perhaps a single dynasty that ruled Stonehenge.

However even bigger questions that transpire are, what actually motivated these people to gather around stones and rocks in an orderly fashion and further, how could they even carry these huge stones from such far distances (180 miles, i.e. from modern day Wales) and finally how did the great monument fall into ruins.

The more intriguing part of the mystery was uncovered when almost a century ago a team led by archaeologist – William Holley was digging at the monument when they discovered an outer ring around the structure of pits. When they started digging into them, they found burnt fragments of human bones which gave a lot of base material for the archaeologists and the scientists to get some indicative idea about the type of the humans that might have lived during the era when Stonehenge was built and how many such civilizations might have lived and how many people it actually would’ve required to put up such an arduous task of having this structure up.

The story begins 5000 years ago (3000 BCE), even before Egypt had built its pyramids. It was Britain’s stone age when a flourishing agricultural society despite having modern technology, was able to built this archaeological marvel. A circular ditch in-fact surrounds the enormous stones and upright pillar tower at more than 20 feet and weigh more than approximately 40 tonnes, horizontal slabs called lintels form huge arch-ways and all these stones are made up of sarsen – a local sandstone, harder than granite, yet they were carved and fitted like wood-work. Uprights were tapered and topped with nobs, which fit in the hollows of the stone above them.

In addition to this, curved lintels were fitted with each other like perfect puzzle pieces and laid around the structure, and this is how the structure is believed to have looked like:

And this ring of lintels was level at a very high precision. Another group of stones that nestled amongst them were, Bluestones – imported from Wales – imported from a whopping 180 miles away. All of this truly a lot to be expected from a civilization that wasn’t even aware of the concept of the wheel which additionally would have made it even more difficult for the builders to actually carry these stones – approximately 4 tonnes each, which is equivalent to carrying two Rhinos!

Then who were these people who were able to carry out this enormous task of building this structure with such difficulties. The carbon dating of the bones buried in the outer ring of the Stonehenge indicates that the burial had taken place around 3000 BCE.

To start with, there are a few theories as to why are human bones found at the Stonehenge:

1. In Southern western UK, there are other archaeological remains that signify that the historic stone-age era of 3000 BCE had a lot of violent conflicts and that the are could have been the war ground for that time, and the people’s bones found at the Stonehenge could have been of those warriors.
2. That it was a rather auspicious site and that when the citizens of their civilization died, they were buried ceremonially at the location. The image below is that of a mace-head which is believed to be a religious structure which is believed to be something that the primitive society prayed to, and such a structure was also found at the Stonehenge.

Now, to unravel the theory as to how could a civilization so primitive carry such heavy stones, each equalling the weight of an elephant from Wales, 200 miles away and the sarsen stones, which were much heavier – 200 tonnes in total, to carry them from 2 miles away.

While researching we came across numerous theories on how aliens and gods and super humans and giants carried these heavy stones and built the structure. To have a more down-to-earth approach, we just simply believe that these were just extremely devoted and dedicated set of people who just simply wanted to create a structure to bury their loved ones and pay respect to them in a more ceremonious manner.

It could have been a mega project of that time which could have involved generations and generations of the complete men and women of that time to put up the stones leading it to simply be a multi-century heavily arduous project, supporting the saying – faith and devotion can move mountains, which is what these people ended up proving literally.

Another intriguing theory is that it was the outer ring that was developed first, made up of bluestone in a circular fashion, which was made to represent a cemetery where the bones were buried of the people who had lived during that era. This was then complemented by the Sarsen stone coming in at the site at 2500 BCE, 800 years after the bluestones were put there. It could have been just a work-in-progress or the structure of the project could have changed to a cave sort of a structure instead of a cemetery.

One particular approach that took our attention that actually led us to think that a possibility of an extra-terrestrial being or possibly a god was involved in the building and construction of the structure, it is the monument’s one of the best-known features – its alignment to the sun. Its construction perfectly entails an alignment towards the Summer Solstice and a 180-degree opposite in alignment – the winter solstice. The ring is arranged so that its centre lie aligns with the sun in the summer solstice and the 180-degree opposite to that – the winter solstice.

Such a precision is difficult to have brought about by a normal being of those times and it’s to precise to have been a coincidence.

This channel of water which kept freezing and unfreezing during ultimately became just straight lines that already had existed and exist to date. The line which becomes straight (nearing the structure) exactly is directed in the sunrise and sunset of the solstices. This could have been construed as a message from the gods for it to be an auspicious site to have the construction of this sort.

However, to summarize – Stonehenge is a marvellous structure and remains a mystery to the current generation still. Mystery in the sense as to why it was built in the first place, how were these humungous structures built and ultimate who were these people who could build this structure which required so much of effort; and even if these were normal beings, how did they go about transporting the stones and building such architecturally complex structure.

One also starts questioning the presence of an extra-terrestrial hand of help to have built the structure because of the level of efforts required to do so and if the gods were actually involved to include such a beautiful match to the summer and winter solstice sun-rise and sun-sets. These are a few questions one might never be able to answer, but they keep intriguing and inspiring humanity, generation after generation – century after century. ss

What were the common religious/spiritual beliefs of the people living in this time period? What role did these beliefs play in the shaping/creating of their society?

The main religion was based around Egyptian Gods and Priests. In these times there were many small communities that had developed their own god/s to worship. One of the biggest spiritual beliefs was that the stones were placed in that particular formation to form a calendar. This calendar was designed to keep track of the time and all of the important astronomical events that were occurring at the time. It is said by historians that this calendar was used most importantly to keep track of the summer and winter solstice. And scale model expert Lloyd Matthews and historian Joan Rankin have spent years trying to discover other possibilities. There conclusion of this extensive research is that not only was Stonehenge made to be a solar calendar, but the entire structure was created to act as a lunar calendar to count every day of the year. Whilst Lloyd Matthews was undertaking his research he discovered three carvings on some of the large stones, after multiple experts worked to figure out what these carving were exactly there were no conclusive answers.

What are the reasons/theories as to why the religious traditions followed in these times have ceased to exist?

It is believed that the Druids religion and traditions were banned in the 1st Century A.D by the Romans who disagreed with their human sacrifices. It is also said that Tiberius the Roman emperor would have been the one to have banned Druidism. There are then two main beliefs as to what made the Druids die out, the first one centring around the idea that after Druidism was banned most of them would have converted to Christianity as it just came into arrival. The other theory says that all of the Druids might have died out due to disease, famine or warfare. History shows that a large massacre may have occurred due to Tiberius the emperor.

How would have the stones been placed in the formation they hold today with the limited resources and tools they would have had in those times?

These stones were believed to have been from places over thirty kilometers away. They were believed to have been brought from Marlborough Downs and Preseli Hills, which are both great distances from where Stonehenge is located. To place the stones into the positions they were in it is assumed that the people would have dug large holes that had sloping sides, they then would have lined the hole with wooden stakes. The stones were then hoisted into position with a machine crafted by them. This machine consisted of an A-frame made of wood and ropes that would have been used to pull up the stones into position.

What kind of stones were used in Stonehenge?

At Stonehenge, there were two different types of stones used to construct the structure. They are large warden stones and bluestones which are the small stones. These warden stones are a type of sandstone block found in places over the United Kingdom. These stones were formed within layers around 50 million years ago. And the bluestones are volcanic and indigenous rocks containing spots or clusters of secondary minerals. The bluestones were placed at Stonehenge during the third phase of construction. This was around the year 2300 BC, it is assumed that there was around 80 of these stones when Stonehenge was first created but now there is only 43 left.

When was Stonehenge created and how long did it take to construct?

In 8500 to 7000 BC construction started on Stonehenge, starting with the early postholes for the large stones. In 3000 BC evidence shows that there was a smaller Stonehenge built first before the one that is here today, this was an Earthwork with ditches and banks. Around 2500 BC the first of the stones were raised and then around 2200 BC the stones were altered leaving the Henge to be completed. In 1901 restoration by the landowner Sir Edmund Antrobus began, this restoration project continued on until 1964 when the last of the stones were consolidated.

What is Sacred?

Ancient Egypt art and architecture detail the belief systems and socioeconomic structures of ancient Egypt. Some of the diverse architectural structures remain as primary focus points for tourists. The arts are at times compared with evaluations of their various similarities. However, there is still a diversified symbolism in most of them in their anonymity and association with religious beliefs. Art from ancient Egypt received focus and attention from diverse people based on its differences from our modern culture compared to other ancient empires. People have reproduced the arts and used them to influence and inspire modern designers across the world. This paper evaluates the art and architecture including the great pyramids, Stonehenge, and cave paintings that were considered sacred with a focus on attributes that illustrate and demonstrate their sacredness.

The great Egyptian pyramids were used in religious activities. Their shape is believed to have been designed to represent the primordial mounds. Egyptians were among the first empires to believe and focus on the afterlife. They believed that the Earth was created from a primordial mound. In the belief of the afterlife, the ka was thought to experience the afterlife after the expiry of the physical body. The pharaohs are believed to have been built by powerful pharaohs based on the complexity of their engineering and reduced developments in building mechanisms of the age. People had to pass the Osiris test that made them ready to encounter and experience a comfortable life after earth. The pyramids were used as tombs to influential people. Some people believe that the Sphinx’s lion was placed in the middle pyramid to symbolize immortality. The sacredness of the pyramids was also defined by the Egyptian’s belief that any person who defiles the tomb of the pharaoh would receive an eternal curse. Consequently, the internal chambers had limited access.

The Mummies in the burial rituals were also considered sacred. Although the burial procedure using mummies was costly, it is believed that dignified people were mummified with only priests having permission to see them. For instance, the pharaoh’s mummy is noted to have been made placed in a coffin designed from the hardest stone blocks they could find. The coffin referred to as the sarcophagus was large compared to other coffins used for burying other people. The process involved lengthy activities of wrapping and embalming the body before placing it in the coffin.

Initially, Egyptians had opted to bury their dead. The burial process involved the use of a coffin and less drying of the body. Later, they discovered that the bodies buried through the procedures were exposed to heat in the ground and experienced drying with the sand. The impacts were the decay of the bodies, which led to changes in their preservation process. Mummification was incepted as a drying procedure to prevent decay of the body. The motivation for the significant efforts in body preservation was religious and sacred. The Egyptians believed that the physical body would also be valuable in the next life. That created the need to preserve it properly in a lifelike state.

Stonehenge is among standing stones with astronomical alignment about one hundred kilometers away from Abu Simbel. The construction is believed to have been initiated by nomads in the stone age period with aim of navigating and understanding the times of the year. In those times, it was necessary to have ceremonial centers where the people would meet to feed and water their animals. Stonehenge is believed to have been designed for similar activities. The structures were erected on the lake shores with relationship to the rising positions of prominent stars. The remains found at Stonehenge have some sacred characteristics. Settlements found in the area proved that the inhabitants had domesticated cattle. Several fire-reddened stones were also found at the center with several remnants of campfires. The people, therefore, must have been making ceremonial sacrifices from the center and initiated the development of Apis bull worship. The inhabitants of the regions are also associated with the definition of the important of Hathor, a goddess of the sky.

The Hall of the Bulls is one of the most educational caves that is now being preserved after tourists’ visits diminished the environment of the caves. The paintings in the cave demonstrate the creativity of the prehistoric people in regards to how the paint was created and how well the paintings have cohered to the cave walls for many years. Paintings of local wildlife are spread amongst the walls along with mysterious paintings of a bison with the intestines spilling out and a man underneath with a bird head. It is believed that it was a shaman who would be able to communicate with spirits of other worlds. The importance of these paintings supports our understanding of what religious activities were being performed during this age.

Ancient Egypt had complex religions with diverse rituals and polytheistic beliefs. However, there are significant similarities in the religious and sacred practices, especially on burial and preparation for life after death. Their funeral practices evolved as their beliefs changed, and the aim of preserving the bodies advanced. The common belief was that the spirit of the deceased worked together with the body afterlife. The ancient Egyptian religion was closely connected to the government. The art and architecture illustrating religious practices were incepted by humankind, with the government playing a significant role.