Stonehenge replicas and derivatives

The fame of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge has led to numerous efforts to recreate it, using a variety of different materials, around the world. Some have been carefully built as astronomically-aligned models whilst others have been examples of artistic expression and/or tourist attractions. This list of Stonehenge replicas and derivatives seeks to collect all the non-ephemeral examples together.

Astronomically-aligned replicas

*A full-size replica of Stonehenge, as it would have been originally built, saw construction commence and was originally dedicated on July 4, 1918. Built in Maryhill, Washington by Sam Hill, it was the first monument in the United States to honor the dead of World War I (specifically, soldiers from Klickitat County, Washington who had died in the still on-going war). The altar stone is placed to be aligned with sunrise on the Summer Solstice. Hill, a Quaker pacifist, was mistakenly informed that the original Stonehenge had been used as a sacrificial site, and thus constructed the replica as a reminder that "humanity is still being sacrificed to the god of war." The monument was originally located in the center of Maryhill, which later burned down leaving only the Stonehenge replica. A second formal dedication of the monument took place upon its completion on May 30, 1929. Sam Hill, who died in 1931, lived long enough to see his Stonehenge completed. [cite web|url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7809|title=Altar stone of Stonehenge replica built to memorialize World War I soldiers is dedicated at Maryhill on July 4, 1918. HistoryLink.org Essay 7809|last=Becker|first=Paula|date=June 14, 2006|publisher=HistoryLink|accessdate=2008-07-26]

*Stonehenge Aotearoa in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand is a modern adaptation aligned with the astronomy seen from the Antipodes, it was built by the Phoenix Astronomical Society from wood and sprayed concrete. [ [http://www.astronomynz.org.nz/stonehenge/ Stonehenge Aotearoa - Home ] ]
*British Foamhenge; a full size, correctly aligned replica made from carpet tubes and polystyrene was constructed for a UK TV show entitled "Stonehenge Live" broadcast in June 2005. The positions of each stone were accurately plotted using RTK GPS, which has centimetric accuracy. The replica quickly became known as "Foamhenge". It was removed soon after filming, and the 'stones' remain in storage (January 2006).
*Missouri S&T has a half-scale replica built from solid granite located on campus. [http://web.umr.edu/~stonehen/]

Less accurate replicas

*Carhenge was constructed from vintage American cars near Alliance, Nebraska by the artist Jim Reynolds in 1987.
*Bavarian Strawhenge ; a full-size replica was assembled in Kemnath in Bavaria in 2003 from 350 bales of straw and used as a music venue. [ [http://www.strohhenge.de Portail d'informations Ce site est en vente! ] ]
*Canadian Strawhenge is in Ontario [ [http://www.belluzfarms.on.ca/category/25 Belluz Farms - Growing since 1946 ] ]
*Phonehenge is made of old-fashioned British telephone booths and is located at Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
*Mudhenge was erected for the 1996 Burning Man Festival. [ [http://www.lvtv.com/thirdivan/burningman96/pages/Bm-019_jpg.htm Mudhenge to Yonder: Burning Man 1996 / Bm-019.jpg] ]
*Twinkiehenge, another Burning Man replica, constructed in 2001 out of Twinkies. [ [http://images.burningman.com/index.cgi?
] ]
*Stonehenge II, in Texas is constructed from an adobe-like material.
*Stroudhenge; East Stroudsburg University, in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, has a small replica located on its campus called "Stroudhenge".
*Mystical Horizons, located near Carbury, North Dakota, consists of six granite walls of varying heights that are intended to represent a 21st century Stonehenge. It functions as a working solar calendar. It was built in 2005.
*Tankhenge existed in the border zone of Berlin in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Wall. Tankhenge was constructed from three ex-Soviet armoured personnel carriers.
*Foamhenge; a full-size Stonehenge made out of foam — and inevitably called Foamhenge — stands near Natural Bridge, Virginia. "It is the only American Stonehenge that really is an exact replica of the time-worn original." "I went to great pains to shape each 'stone' to its original shape." [ [http://www.tackytreasures.com/tackyhtml/places-foamhenge.html Foamhenge: Julie's Tacky Treasures ] ]
*Stonehenge microstructure; scientists from the National University of Singapore created the smallest 3D replica of Stonehenge. Measuring only 80 micrometres in diameter, the Stonehenge microstructure was created by a process called silicon micromachining which uses a high-energy proton beam writer to produce 3-D microshapes and structures of high structural accuracy on the surface of materials such as silicon. [ [http://www.nus.edu.sg/corporate/research/gallery/research25.htm Small Size Does Matter ] ]
*Fridgehenge; another modern take on Stonehenge exists outside of Sante Fe, New Mexico, constructed out of junked refrigerators, known as 'Fridgehenge'. The site was created by the artist Adam Jonas Horowitz. [ [http://www.legendsofamerica.com/NM-Quirky2.html Quirky New Mexico - Enchanted State Oddities and Unusual Attractions - Page 2 ] ] UPDATE: The site no longer exists, all fridges have been removed after a complaint, confirmed on 5 August 2008.
*In 1995, Graeme Caims of Hamilton, New Zealand, built a replica of Stonehenge out of 41 refrigerators.
*Manhattanhenge; in New York City, due to the street grid's skew of about 28.9° and the strict grid plan on most of the Manhattan isle, the sunset is aligned with the street grid lines in May and July, as well as the sunrise in December and January. This phenomenon is known as Manhattanhenge.
*MITHenge; similarly, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the sun shines directly down the Infinite Corridor twice each year.
*Goldengatehenge; Berkeley campus.

Other replicas

Aside from modern replicas, several other archaeological sites have had Stonehenge's name partially or fully incorporated into their own names. America's Stonehenge is an unusual and controversial site in New Hampshire. A henge near Stonehenge containing concentric rings of postholes for standing timbers, discovered in 1922, was named Woodhenge by its excavators because of similarities with Stonehenge. The name Woodhenge is also used for the American site of Cahokia. The timber Seahenge in Norfolk was named as such by journalists writing about its discovery in 1998.

In November 2004, a 7 m diameter circle of postholes was found in Russia and publicised as the Russian Stonehenge. Other prehistoric sites elsewhere, often also with proposed astronomical alignments, are often described by journalists as being that region's '"answer to Stonehenge".

The rock band Black Sabbath featured a Stonehenge stage set for the 1983-1984 Born Again tour that ended up being too large to fit in most venues. This was parodied in the movie "This is Spinal Tap", when the band orders a Stonehenge set but it arrives in miniature due to a confusion between feet and inches. There was also a Chicago based heavy metal band named Stonehenge that actually owned the trademark to the name. Stonehenge met with underground success in the 1990's - 2000's performing with acts such as Pantera, Iced Earth, Trouble and Manowar.

In May 2006, reports emerged of an "Amazon Stonehenge" Calçoene, 390 kilometres from Macapá, the capital of Amapá state, near Brazil's border with French Guyana. It comprises 127 stones, possibly forming astronomical observing points. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200605/s1637840.htm 'Amazon Stonehenge' found in Brazil. 14/05/2006. ABC News Online ] ]

In 1984, the artist Richard Fleischner constructed an abstract Stonehenge-like series of granite blocks at the University of California, San Diego as part of the Stuart Collection called The La Jolla Project, and is affectionately known as "Stonehenge" by students and faculty.

In 2005, British TV's history show Time Team created a replica of a timber circle located near Woodhenge as part of the Stonehenge Riverside Project.

References

*Hall, R, Leather, K, Dobson, G, "Stonehenge Aotearoa" (Awa Press 2005)
*Mooney, J, "Encyclopedia of the Bizarre" (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2002)

External links

* [http://www.luckymojo.com/stonehenge.html A list of North American replicas with photographs]
* [http://www.roadsideamerica.com/set/OVERhenges.html Roadside America: American Stonhenges]

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