The Prehistoric landmark of Stonehenge is distinctive and famous enough to have become frequently referenced in popular culture. The landmark has become a symbol of British culture and history, owing to its distinctiveness and its long history of being portrayed in art, literature and advertising campaigns, as well as modern media formats, such as television, film and computer games. This is in part because the arrangement of standing stones topped with lintels is unique, not just in the British Isles, but in the world. For other uses, see Stonehenge (disambiguation). ...

Art and mythology

The oldest known depiction of Stonehenge, a giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge. From a manuscript of the Brut by Wace in the British Library (Egerton 3028). Belief in, and depiction of, Arthurian legend was common in this period.

The interst in 'ancient' Britain can be traced back to the sixteenth and seventeenth century, following the pioneering work of the likes of William Camden, John Aubrey and John Evelyn. The rediscovery of Britain's past was also tied up in the nation's emerging sense of importance as an international power. Antiquarians and archaeologists, notably William Stukeley, were conducting excavations of megalithic sites, including Stonehenge and the nearby Avebury. Their findings caused considerable debate on the history and meaning of such sites, and the earliest depictions reflected a search for a mystical explanation. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 570 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (613 × 645 pixel, file size: 59 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Cropped version of Image:BLEgerton3028Fol30rStonehenge. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 570 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (613 × 645 pixel, file size: 59 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Cropped version of Image:BLEgerton3028Fol30rStonehenge. ... For other uses, see Merlin (disambiguation). ... Brut can mean many different things: Brutus of Troy (also known as Brut, Brute) was a legendary British character. ... Wace (c. ... British Library main building, London The British Library (BL) is the national library of the United Kingdom. ... William Camden William Camden (May 2, 1551 - November 9, 1623) was an English antiquarian and historian. ... John Aubrey. ... John Evelyn. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... The Rev. ... Avebury Henge and Village Avebury is the site of a large henge and several stone circles in the English county of Wiltshire at grid reference SU103699, surrounding the village of Avebury (its geographical location is 51°25′43″N, 1°51′15″W). ...

Earlier explanations, including the view proposed by Inigo Jones in 1630, that Stonehenge was built by the Romans such was its sophistication and beauty, were disproved in the late seventeenth century. It was proved that Stonehenge was the work of indigenous neolithic peoples. From this period onwards artists made images of barrows, standing stones and excavated objects which increasingly drew on highly imaginative ideas about the prehistoric people that created them. These helped to create the image of Britain that a broadening audience was becoming aware of through illustrated books, prints and maps. Poets and other writers deepened the impact of this visual material by imagining ancient pasts and mythologising the distant roots of the growing British Empire. Debates about British ancestry and national identity saw a growing conviction that the British were an ancient people, and that the newly named 'United Kingdom', of which Scotland had become a part in 1707, might find greater harmony through searching for a common past. For the English, this past was to be found in the West, starting around Stonehenge and stretching into the ancient Gaelic regions of Wales and Cornwall. Inigo Jones, by Sir Anthony van Dyck Inigo Jones (July 15, 1573–June 21, 1652) is regarded as the first significant English architect. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Alternate meanings of barrow: see Barrow_in_Furness for the town of Barrow in Cumbria, England; also Barrow, Alaska in the U.S.; also River Barrow in Ireland. ... Standing stones, orthostats, liths or more commonly, megaliths because of their large and cumbersome size, are solitary stones set vertically in the ground. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... This article is about the country. ... Events January 1 - John V is crowned King of Portugal March 26 - The Acts of Union becomes law, making the separate Kingdoms of England and Scotland into one country, the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... “Gael” redirects here. ... This article is about the country. ... For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation). ...

John Constable's portrayal of Stonehenge

During the early nineteenth century it was artists such as John Constable asnd J.M.W. Turner who helped to make the megalithic sites an part of the popular imagination and understanding of Britain's past. The philosopher Edmund Burke proposed the idea of the 'sublime' sense as being evoked by by 'feelings of danger and terror, obscurity and power, in art as well as life'. This was already a feature of artistic and literary works of the period, and provided the theoretical basis for a growing appreciation of desolate landscapes and ancient ruins. For these reasons Stonehenge became of particular interest for artists. Burke himself wrote A self portrait by John Constable John Constable (11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English Romantic painter. ... J. M. W. Turner, English landscape painter The fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, painted 1839. ... Edmund Burke (January 12, 1729[1] – July 9, 1797) was an Anglo-Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher, who served for many years in the British House of Commons as a member of the Whig party. ...

Stonehenge, neither for disposition nor ornament, has anything admirable; but those huge rude masses of stone, set end on end, and piled high on each other, turn the mind on the immense force necessary for such a work.

The very nature of the barren Wiltshire landscape, and Salisbury Plain became particularly notable for the apparently miraculous powers that created Stonehenge. William Wordsworth wrote Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... This article is about the plateau in southern England; Salisbury Plain is also an area on South Georgia Island. ... William Wordsworth (April 7, 1770 – April 23, 1850) was a major English romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their 1798 joint publication, Lyrical Ballads. ...

Pile of Stone-henge! So proud to hint yet keep
Thy secrets, thou lov'st to stand and hear
The plain resounding to the whirlwind's sweep
Inmate of lonesome Nature's endless year.

The S Class submarine HMS Stonehenge

Turner and Constables' paintings deviated from the actual state of the stones. Turner particularly added stones that were not there in reality, and those that were, were incorrect in their dimensions. The paintings were arranged for a romantic effect popular at the time however. Throughout the nineteenth century, a new motive emerged in the depictions of Stonehenge, that of an anti-pagan approach, with paintings by the likes of William Overend Geller, with his painting The Druid's Sacrifice in 1832. In the novel "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy, the main character, Tess, is captured by the police at Stonehenge, the 'heathen' nature of the setting being used to highlight the character's temprament. The S-class submarines of the Royal Navy were originally designed and built during the modernisation of the submarine force in the early 1930s to meet the need for smaller boats to patrol the restricted waters of the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea replacing the H class submarines. ... Year 1832 (MDCCCXXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Tess of the dUrbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891. ... “Thomas Hardy” redirects here. ...

The image of Stonehenge became adapted in the twentieth century by those wishing to advertise using a monument viewed as a symbol of Britain. The Royal Navy exploited this sense of identification by naming an S class destroyer and one of their S Class submarines HMS Stonehenge. The Shell Oil Company commissioned the artist Edward McKnight Kauffer to paint a series of posters during the interwar period, to be used to encourage tourism by car owners. Stonehenge was one of those depicted. This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... // Summary The S class (World War I) were a class of 67 destroyers built from 1916 for the Royal Navy. ... The S-class submarines of the Royal Navy were originally designed and built during the modernisation of the submarine force in the early 1930s to meet the need for smaller boats to patrol the restricted waters of the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea replacing the H class submarines. ... Two vessels of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Stonehenge after the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. ... The Shell emblem known as the Pecten Shell Oil Company (SOC) is the Houston, Texas based wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell. ...

In contemporary popular culture

The 1984 Stonehenge Free Festival

By now a powerful and instantly recognisable symbol, the monument was featured in a wide number of ways. The Beatles are seen performing on Salisbury Plain with Stonehenge visible in the background in their 1965 film Help!. The site has also been used for concerts, starting with the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1972. Perhaps in recognition of the site's link to popular music, the mockumentary about the Heavy Metal band Spinal Tap released a song called Stonehenge in 1975. Their live rendition features a replica of one of the stone arches. However, confusion about abbreviating inches and feet results in a Stonehenge replica so small that it was in danger of being trod upon by the Little People hired to dance around it. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 540 pixel Image in higher resolution (1738 × 1174 pixel, file size: 238 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo of Stonehenge free festival in 1984. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 540 pixel Image in higher resolution (1738 × 1174 pixel, file size: 238 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo of Stonehenge free festival in 1984. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Help! is a 1965 film starring the The Beatles and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal and Roy Kinnear. ... Dancing inside the stones, 1984 free festival. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... Heavy metals, in chemistry, are chemical elements of a particular range of atomic weights. ... This article is about the quasi-fictional heavy metal band. ... This page is about the medical condition. ...

The momument continues to be featured in film, television and radio, either to question the origin or history of Stonehenge, or to play upon its position as an instantly recognisable structure and symbol of Britain. In books by Kurt Vonnegut and S. M. Stirling amongst others, alternative theories are suggested and explored as part of the larger plot. The monument has also become popular in computer games, where alternative uses are often posited for Stonehenge, or its iconic nature is explored. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ... Stephen Michael Stirling is an American science fiction and fantasy author. ... This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ...

References

• David Dimbleby (2005), A Picture of Britain, Tate Publishing, ISBN 1-85437-566-0
• James McClintock (2006), The Stonehenge Companion, English Heritage ISBN 1-90562-408-5
• Evan Hadingham (1976), Circles and Standing Stones, William Heinemann Ltd.
• Julian Richards (2004), Stonehenge: A History in Photographs, English Heritage ISBN 1-85074-895-0
• Aubrey Burl (1979), Prehistoric Avebury, Yale University Press ISBN 0-300-02368-5