高二英语下学期unit20(17)

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as mysterious and sacred as it must have been to the hundreds of people who helped build the site.

The stones of the main monument appear to form layers of circles and horseshoe patterns that slowly enclose the site. First there is an outer stone circle, now mostly in ruin. Within this are a smaller set of stones, also set in a circle. Within the centre of the monument are trilithons -- two pillar stones with one stone on top -- in the shape of a horseshoe. Within this is another smaller set of stones, also in a horseshoe.

But it is a monument made of more than just rocks. There is the henge, or a ditch and bank, that surrounds the stone circle. There is also a laneway that extends from the northeast side of the monument from the open horseshoe to the River Avon, a few kilometres away. Several stones mark this laneway, just outside the henge of the monument.

It doesn't sound all that different from many of the other stone circles being constructed around this time. So, why does this megalithic monument draw so much attention? Christopher Witcombe, a professor of art history at Sweet Briar College in Virginia and an authority on Stonehenge, believes that much of Stonehenge's intrigue can be explained in terms of the advanced architecture shown in the erection of the site.

"The world seems to have gone through a kind of megalithic period where they were moving large stones around and putting them into various positions in the landscape," says Witcombe. "Stonehenge, compared to those, is a fairly sophisticated piece of architecture." The outside set of stone pillars, complete with linking top stones, called lintels, form a complete circle. How the builders would have known how to shape the lintels in such a way so that they remain flat but still form a gentle circle would be considered architecturally advanced for the time period. In addition to this, these top stones were attached to the pillars in a technique still being used by carpenters today -- by mortice-and-tenon joints. The top of the upright stone would have been shaped to have a protruding section that fit into a carved out slot in the lintel.

Although the site may not be as majestic as it once was, it still conveys a sense of power that seems to enclose people in its mystery, allowing no one to escape from the riddle of its purpose. Today, there is enough left of Stonehenge to speculate on its purpose, but not enough to say for sure why or how it was constructed. Astronomers, archaeologists and historians continue to debate theories on its construction and purpose, but the only thing that can be said for certain is a description of what still exists today.

On the outside of the main monument is a circle of 17 sarsen stones, or sandstones, left from a set of about 30. These rocks stand four metres high and weigh about 25 tones each. Some of them still retain their lintels, which would have been secured in a type of tongue-and-groove slot.

All of the stones were brought far distances to Salisbury Plain, using only muscle and primitive tools, like ropes and wooden levers. The sarsen stones are believed to have been brought from Marlborough Downs, 30 kilometres to the north of Stonehenge, which is a feat incomparable by today's standards. But even more intriguing than this is the mystery of the bluestones. They are believed to have come