STONEHENGE Past Paper Out Of London

Question 1

Approximately what date did the construction of Stonehenge begin?

Answer 1

8500–7000 BC
FIRST ACTIVITY

3500 BC
FIRST MONUMENTS

3000 BC
EARLY HENGE

2500 BC
FIRST RAISED STONES

2400 BC
INDIVIDUAL GRAVES

2300–2200 BC
ALTERED STONES

2100–1500 BC
BRONZE AGE BARROWS

1750–1500 BC
BRONZE AGE CARVINGS

Question 2

Where do the Sarsen stones come from?

Answer 2

West Woods, on the edge of Wiltshire’s Marlborough Downs

Question 3

In which county is Stonehenge?

Answer 3

Wiltshire

Question 4

How many Aubrey holes are there?

Answer 4

56
The Aubrey holes are a ring of 56 chalk pits at Stonehenge, named after seventeenth-century antiquarian John Aubrey.

Question 5

What is the approximate weight of the largest trilithon stones?

Answer 5

On average the sarsens weigh 25 tons, with the largest stone, the Heel Stone, weighing about 30 tons.

Question 6

What was the probable purpose of
the Durrington Walls site?

Answer 6

It is likely that the builders of the stone monument lived here. Parker Pearson believes that Durrington Walls was a complementary structure to Stonehenge, as evidenced by the similar solstice alignments. He suggests that the timber circle at Durrington Walls represented life and a land of the living, whilst Stonehenge and the down around it, encircled by burial mounds, represented a land of the dead. The two were connected by the River Avon and their respective avenues. A ceremonial procession route from one to the other represented the transition from life to death.

Question 7

What name do we give the Bronze Age people buried around Stonehenge?

Answer 7

Beaker People

Question 8

What solar event is celebrated at Stonehenge around 21 June?

Answer 8

Summer solstice, the sun rises behind the Heel Stone in the north-east part of the horizon and its first rays shine into the heart of Stonehenge.

Question 9

What does ‘dressed’ stone mean?

Answer 9

“Dressing” refers to further refining the stone after it has been quarried. This can include cutting, chiselling, polishing, or sandblasting to give the stone a more finished appearance.

Question 10

Where, in the area of the stone circle, were cremated human bones found in the 1930s?

Answer 10

Within and around the Aubrey Holes, and also in the ditch, people buried cremations. About 64 cremations have been found, and perhaps as many as 150 individuals were originally buried at Stonehenge, making it the largest late Neolithic cemetery in the British Isles.

Question 11

Which organisation manages Stonehenge?

Answer 11

English Heritage

Question 12

How many Station Stones were there?

Answer 12

The Station Stones
Originally four, there are now two remaining Station Stones which were probably put in place at the same time that the central sarsen stones were raised.

Question 13

What was the purpose of the West Kennet Long Barrow?

Answer 13

One of the largest and most impressive Neolithic graves in Britain, West Kennet Long Barrow was built around 3650 BC and used for at least 1,000 years.

Question 14

Where were the Bluestones brought from?

Answer 14

Preseli Hills in south-west Wales
Bluestone is the term used to refer to the smaller stones at Stonehenge. These are of varied geology but all came from the Preseli Hills in south-west Wales. Although they may not appear blue, they do have a bluish tinge when freshly broken or when wet. They weigh between 2 and 5 tons each.

Question 15

Name the army camp located near Stonehenge.

Answer 15

Larkhill or Bulford

Larkhill is a garrison town

Bulford Camp is a military camp

Question 16

Name the 17th century scholar who wrote about Stonehenge.

Answer 16

John Aubrey was one of the first to examine the site with a scientific eye in 1666, and, in his plan of the monument, he recorded the pits that now bear his name, the Aubrey holes.

Question 17

When is:
a) winter solstice 2025
and
b) summer solstice 2026?

Answer 17

a) December 21, 2025
b) June 21, 2026

Question 18

Which part of Stonehenge is The National Trust responsible for?

Answer 18

Within the Stonehenge World Heritage Site, the National Trust manages 827 hectares (2,100 acres) of downland surrounding the famous stone circle.

Question 19

What does “Trilithon” mean?

Answer 19

A megalithic structure consisting of two upright stones and a third across the top as a lintel.

Question 20

What part of the body of the Amesbury Archer was examined to determine where he came from?

Answer 20

Research using oxygen isotope analysis in the Archer’s tooth enamel has suggested that he originated from an alpine region of central Europe.

Question 21

What method is used to lock the Stonehenge lintels together end-to-end?

Answer 21

The lintels were slotted together using tongue and groove joints. These types of joint are usually found only in woodworking.

Question 22

Give the dates for Phase I of Stonehenge.

Answer 22

Stonehenge was constructed in several phases beginning about 3100 BC and continuing until about 1600 BC. The famous circle of large sarsen stones were placed between 2600 BC and 2400 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC.

Question 23

What name is given to the Bronze Age burial mounds in the area around Stonehenge?

Answer 23

Barrows

Question 24

What name is usually given to the period between 12,000 and 5,000 BC?

Answer 24

Neolithic meaning New Stone Age

Question 25

How many people are thought to have been buried in the West Kennet Long Barrow?

Answer 25

At least 46 Built in around 3650 BC, it was used for a short time as a burial chamber, nearly 50 people being buried here before the chambers were blocked.

Question 26

Where does the Altar Stone come from?

Answer 26

Unknown but new research suggests possibly Scotland The Altar Stone is made of a purplish-green micaceous sandstone and was thought to have originated from outcrops of the Senni Beds formation of the Old Red Sandstone in Wales, though this has not been fully established. Research published in 2024 claims to show that "the Altar Stone’s age fingerprint identifies it as coming from the Orcadian Basin in north-east Scotland".

Question 27

How much did Cecil Chubb pay for Stonehenge in 1915 (to the nearest hundred)?

Answer 27

On 21 September 1915, Cecil Chubb paid £6,600 for the monument at an auction in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Question 28

Name the 18th century scholar who recorded the Stonehenge Cursus.

Answer 28

The 18th-century antiquary William Stukeley, who surveyed Stonehenge and was the first to record the Avenue and the nearby Cursus.

Question 29

How do you get from London to Stonehenge using public transport?

Answer 29

Train to Salisbury, then the bus from Salisbury to Stonehenge.

Question 30

What does the term “Mesolithic” mean?

Answer 30

Middle Stone Age Meso means middle lith means stone ic means concerned with or pertaining to. Put all together the Mesolithic age is literally the middle stone age. It is the period after the Paleolithic (old stone age) and before the Neolithic (new stone age).

Question 31

Name the place in West Wales which may have been the original location of the bluestones.

Answer 31

Preseli hills

Question 32

What tools were used to dig the earthwork banks and ditch?

Question 33

During which period were the axe blades and daggers carved on the stones?

Question 34

How many Station Stones are there?

Question 35

What material was used to build the Durrington Walls henge?

Question 36

Which TWO organisations share the care for the Stonehenge landscape?

Answer 36

(i) (ii)

Question 37

Where does the Avenue at Stonehenge lead to and from?

Question 38

Name the organisation which administers Stonehenge.

Question 39

Name the feature, which is thought to be Phase I of Stonehenge.

Question 40

What percentage of an upright sarsen stone was visible above ground?

Question 41

Give ONE reason why Stonehenge is unique.

Question 42

What type of pottery was found in the “Stonehenge Archer” burial?

Question 43

Salisbury Plain’s geology consists chiefly of which type of rock?

Question 44

Name TWO locations for public toilets at Stonehenge.

Answer 44

(i) (ii)

Question 45

Name the other major stone circle which is part of the World Heritage Site, as well as Stonehenge.

Question 46

What name is given to the linear feature that provides a formal approach to Stonehenge, and links it with the River Avon?

Question 47

The sun rises behind which stone at Stonehenge on around 21 June?

Question 48

Name the mountain range where the Bluestones come from.

Question 49

What is a henge?

Question 50

Which solar event is celebrated at Stonehenge around 21 December

Question 51

Approximately how many people are thought to have lived at the Durrington Walls site, between 2800 and 2100 BCE?

Question 52

What is the approximate weight of the heaviest Sarsen Stones?

Question 53

How many trilithons were there when Stonehenge was completed?

Question 54

Describe or draw a trilithon.

Question 55

What was ‘the Avenue’ at the Stonehenge site thought to be?

Question 56

In 2002 the remains of a man were found in a grave three miles south-east of Stonehenge. What name has he been given?

Question 57

Over what feature does new research suggest that the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre was built?

Question 58

In which novel does Thomas Hardy set a dramatic scene at Stonehenge?

Question 59

How many trilithons were originally at Stonehenge?

Question 60

What is the shape of the Neolithic communal burial mounds in the Stonehenge landscape?

Question 61

How many houses are thought to have existed at the Durrington Walls site?

Question 62

What was the main purpose of a Barrow?

Question 63

How many Aubrey holes are there?

Question 64

Where did the Sarsen stones come from?

Question 65

What is believed to be the significance of the HEEL stone?

Question 66

What is the oldest feature of the Stonehenge circle?

Question 67

What name do we give to the Bronze Age people buried around Stonehenge?

Question 68

What solar event is celebrated at Stonehenge around 21 December?

Question 69

What does ‘dressed’ stone mean?

Question 70

What is the approximate date of the Cursus?

Question 71

What was found in the Aubrey holes when they were excavated in the 1920s?

Question 72

What kind of tools were used for shaping the Sarsen stones?

Question 73

From the central point of the stone circle, at what time of year could early man see the setting sun framed by the Great Trilithon?

Question 74

With what culture is the Amesbury Archer associated?

Question 75

To what "Age" do the hundreds of round barrows around Stonehenge belong?

Question 76

Where, within 3 kilometres of Stonehenge, has a large stone monument hidden beneath the bank of a later henge been found very recently?

Question 77

Name another stone circle within 50 km, which is part of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site.

Question 78

What name is given to the ring of fifty-six chalk pits at Stonehenge?

Question 79

“Stonehenge 100” in 2018 celebrates the centenary of which event in its history?

Question 80

The stone known as the Altar Stone is a slab of greenish sandstone. Where does it come from?

Question 81

Give the date of the summer solstice in Britain in 2025.

Question 82

50% of the pieces of animal bone excavated from the Blick Mead site come from one animal. What animal was it?

Question 83

Why was the Slaughter Stone so called?

Question 84

Name the pioneering female archaeologist famous for her excavations of prehistoric sites on Salisbury Plain.

Question 85

Shallow carvings of which TWO objects decorate some of the upright stones of the trilithons?

Question 86

What does the term “Mesolithic” mean?

Question 87

Name the place in West Wales which may have been the original location of the bluestones.

Question 88

What tools were used to dig the earthwork banks and ditch?

Question 89

During which period were the axe blades and daggers carved on the stones?

Question 90

How many Station Stones are there?

Question 91

What material was used to build the Durrington Walls henge?

Question 92

Which TWO organisations share the care for the Stonehenge landscape?

Answer 92

(i) (ii)

Question 93

Where does the Avenue at Stonehenge lead to and from?