Exhibition: The world of Stonehenge
Stonehenge in southern England is unique — but the stone circle is too big to fit in a museum. An exhibition at the British Museum gives it a new context, with hundreds of spectacular finds from the Bronze Age.
Stonehenge — 2,500 B.C.
One of Britain's most iconic monuments — Stonehenge — has inspired an intriguing exhibition by the British Museum. Tracing 3,000 years of European prehistory, from the hunter-gatherers of the Mesolithic period to the artists and astronomers of the late Bronze Age, it reveals people’s changing ideas, skills and beliefs.
'Seahenge' — 2,000 B.C.
4,000-year-old wooden posts formed a circle on a beach in Norfolk, at a ritual site built 500 years after the Stonehenge stone circle. The formation was dubbed "Seahenge." The 54 split oak posts stand up to three meters high and once encircled an upturned oak tree root. The British Museum is currently exhibiting Seahenge and other exhibits from the Bronze Age.
Nebra Sky Disk — 1,600 B.C.
The Bronze Age is full of treasures, some of which are now on display at the British Museum. One of the world-famous objects includes the Nebra Sky Disc, the oldest known surviving map of the cosmos. It was discovered in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, and it is on loan to the British Museum from a museum in Halle an der Saale.
Bone necklace — 2,100-1,900 B.C.
Four thousand years ago, a man wore this necklace made of animal bones. It was found in 2002 near Stonehenge in the grave of the "Amesbury Archer," who was nicknamed so because he was buried with 16 arrowheads among other things. The archer came from a region on the border of what is now Germany and Switzerland. As early as the Bronze Age, people and goods moved across Europe.
Sacrificial ox — 3,300-3,000 B.C.
Recent research has repeatedly confirmed that people in the Bronze Age were eager to travel and migrate. That is why the British Museum is displaying countless pieces from countries including Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland. The remains of this ox, which was offered as an animal sacrifice 5,000 years ago, come from Saxony-Anhalt in Germany.
Golden hat — 1,400 B.C.
This unusual tall hat made of gold, which was presumably used as a ceremonial hat for sun rituals, also comes from an area in what is now Germany. It was discovered by a worker in 1835 in a field near Schifferstadt. Therefore, it is also known as the "Golden Hat of Schifferstadt."
Spiritual warriors — 11,00-500 B.C.
These wooden figures with large eyes and sexual organs were found in Yorkshire in England. They are carved from the wood of yew trees, which in some ancient mythologies mark the entrance to the underworld. Yew trees can live for over 1,000 years. The oldest specimens today are found in Britain.
Gold brooch — 1,000 B.C.
This golden brooch was discovered in the English county of Shropshire on the border with Wales. Many finds from the Bronze Age have sun motifs. Major ritual sites like Stonehenge and Seahenge are aligned according to the position of the sun on Midsummer's Day — proof of the astronomical knowledge and accurate observation skills people had in the Bronze Age.
Gold necklace — 800-700 B.C.
This necklace was found in Ireland, which also has impressive prehistoric and early historic sites, including Newgrange, a ritual site aligned with the position of the sun on Midsummer's Day. "The World of Stonehenge" exhibition at the British Museum showcases treasures from the Bronze Age from February 17 to July 17, 2022.