Stonehenge Quiz - National Geographic Magazine

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Stonehenge Quiz

Test your knowledge about Stonehenge by taking our ten-question quiz.

Managing Editor, NGM.com Rob Covey <![CDATA[Producer & Editor]]> Carolyn Fox <![CDATA[Writer & Researcher]]> Jamie Bussey Flash Developer Stefan Estrada Styling Kitry Krause Research Consultants Elizabeth Snodgrass and Andrew Fitzpatrick /2008/06/stonehenge/img/moonlight-night-470.jpg Photograph by Ken Geiger, National Geographic staff /2008/06/stonehenge/img/overcast-sky-470.jpg The man-made rock formation Stonehenge. Photograph by Jodi Cobb /2008/06/stonehenge/img/wales-bluestones-470.jpg Photograph by Andrew Henderson /2008/06/stonehenge/img/close-up-stonehenge.jpg Stonehenge was built in three phases beginning about 3,100 B.C. Photograph by Bruce Dale /2008/06/stonehenge/img/micro-image-470.jpg Photograph by British Geological Survey/NERC /2008/06/stonehenge/img/parking-lot-470.jpg Built before 1500 B.C., this circle of stones is thought by some to be the world's oldest observatory. Photograph by Bruce Dale /2008/06/stonehenge/img/aerial-stonehenge-470.jpg Shadows sweep Stonehenge in southern England. Photograph by Bruce Dale /2008/06/stonehenge/img/aerial-farmland-470.jpg The River Avon flows across the green fields of southwestern England where the builders of Stonehenge, Durrington Walls, the Cursus, and other nearby Neolithic sites once walked. Photograph by Ken Geiger, National Geographic staff /2008/06/stonehenge/img/aerial-spring-470.jpg Weathered and broken, but still guarding secrets after more than 4,500 years, Stonehenge is the heart of an elaborately sculpted landscape. Photograph by Jason Hawkes /2008/06/stonehenge/img/sunlight-silloutte-470.jpg The golden glare of a rising sun pierces a gap in the iconic stones and finds its reflection in rainwater glazing a collapsed piece of the sandstone structure. Photograph by Ken Geiger, National Geographic staff 9 Excellent work. You are a Stonehenge expert. With a little work, you will be a Stonehenge pro. You are off to a good start. You may want to try again. 0 The wizard Merlin created it as a memorial to King Aurelius Ambrosius's soldiers. It functioned as an ancient calendar. Ancient Britons thought the stones would please the gods. It was a site of human sacrifice. 3 History of the Kings of Britain, 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote that Merlin created Stonehenge. And in the 1960s Gerald S. Hawkins, an astronomer, did experiments that showed the stones were designed to align with the sun's rays at the solstices.

Presented with the question of why Stonehenge was created, British diarist Samuel Pepys wrote, "God knows what their use was." However, new theories are still attempting to explain the monument's existence.]]> 1 Bluestones Sarsens Aubrey holes Henges 4
During the second phase, aligned wooden posts were added to the monument, and during the third, bluestones and sarsen stones were brought to the site.]]> 2 200 feet 2 miles 25 miles 250 miles 4 3 5 tons 10 tons 25 tons 50 tons 4 4 The stone was painted blue for the site. The stone was originally blue. The inside of the stone is blue. The first writings about Stonehenge incorrectly labeled the stone blue, and the name was never changed. 2 5 10,000 60,000 800,000 Two million 3 6 Parts of the stones have been chipped away for souvenirs. The original structure was never completed. Annual festivals were held at the site during the 1970s and 1980s. All of the above 4 7 English Heritage National Trust The Ministry of Defence All of the above 1 8 400 700 1,300 3,200 3 9 Stanenges Stanenheng Stoniahangs Stone hengles 3 stanhengst. "Stan" refers to stone, and "hengst" may have meant hanging or supported in the air. Yet the word "henge" is now used to describe the ditches and earthen banks of this and similar sites. To add to the confusion, at Stonehenge the ditch of the henge lies on the outside of its bank, instead of the inside.]]>