The word henge is a backformation from Stonehenge, the famous
monument in Wiltshire, England. A henge is a prehistoric
enclosure in the form of a circle or circular arc defined by a
raised circular bank, and a circular ditch usually running
inside the bank, with one or more entrances leading into the
enclosed open space. Henges were probably used for ritual
purposes or for marking astronomical events, as solstices and
equinoxes. Due to the poor defensive utility of an enclosure
with an external bank and an internal ditch, henges are not
considered to have served a defensive purpose.
The alignment of henges is a contentious issue. Popular belief
is that their entrances point towards certain heavenly bodies,
but henge orientation is highly variable and may have been more
determined by local topography than by desire for symbolic
orientation.
Stonehenge is not a
true henge as its ditch runs outside its bank, although there is
a small extant external bank as well. The term was first coined
in 1932 by Thomas Kendrick, who later became the Keeper of
British Antiquities at the British Museum. Concentrations of
henges occur over much of Britain.
Stonehenge was in
private ownership until 1916, when it was bought on the spur of
the moment by Sir Cecil Chubb, the owner of a local lunatic
asylum, as a present for his wife. Three years later she gave
the site to the nation. Over the centuries nearly half of
Stonehenge has been quarried away for building stone. Before
1900, visitors to Stonehenge were handed chisels so that they
could provide themselves with a souvenir.
Carhenge, which
replicates Stonehenge, consists of the circle of cars, 3
standing trilithons within the circle, the heel stone, slaughter
stone, and 2 station stones and includes a “Car Art Preserve”
with sculptures made from cars and parts of cars. Located just
north of Alliance, Nebraska, Carhenge is formed from vintage
American automobiles, painted gray to replicate Stonehenge.
Built by Jim Reinders as a memorial to his father, it was
dedicated at the June 1987 summer solstice.