Stonehenge IELTS Reading Answers, IELTS Passage

Stonehenge IELTS Reading Answers: The IELTS Reading test, “Stonehenge IELTS Reading Answers” includes a total of 10 questions in various categories including Fill in the blanks and Sentence Completion. Students should complete the sample questions within 20 minutes to attempt the complete IELTS Reading test in the given time frame of 60 minutes. Students are advised to draft their own answers while solving the “Stonehenge IELTS Reading Answers” passage to get a better grip on the IELTS Reading module. 

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Stonehenge IELTS Reading Answers Passage with Answers

Stonehenge IELTS Reading Answers

For centuries, historians and archaeologists have puzzled over the many mysteries of Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument that took an estimated 1,500 years to erect. Located on Salisbury Plain in southern England, it is comprised of roughly 100 massive upright stones placed in a circular layout.

Archaeologists believe England’s most iconic prehistoric ruin was built in several stages with the earliest constructed 5,000 or more years ago. First, Neolithic* Britons used primitive tools, which may have been fashioned out of deer antlers, to dig a massive circular ditch and bank, or henge. Deep pits dating back to that era and located within the circle may have once held a ring of timber posts, according to some scholars.

Several hundred years later, it is thought, Stonehenge’s builders hoisted an estimated 80 bluestones, 43 of which remain today, into standing positions and placed them in either a horseshoe or circular formation. These stones have been traced all the way to the Preseli Hills in Wales, some 300 kilometres from Stonehenge. How, then, did prehistoric builders without sophisticated tools or engineering haul these boulders, which weigh up to four tons, over such a great distance?

According to one long-standing theory among archaeologists,Stonehenge’s builders fashioned sledges and rollers out of tree trunks to lug the bluestones from the Preseli Hills. They then transferred the boulders onto rafts and floated them first along the Welsh coast and then up the River Avon toward Salisbury Plain; alternatively, they may have towed each stone with a fleet of vessels. More recent archaeological hypotheses have them transporting the bluestones with supersized wicker baskets on a combination of ball bearings and long grooved planks, hauled by oxen.

As early as the 1970s, geologists have been adding their voices to the debate over how Stonehenge came into being. Challenging the classic image of industrious builders pushing, carting, rolling or hauling giant stones from faraway Wales, some scientists have suggested that it was glaciers, not humans, that carried the bluestones to Salisbury Plain. Most archaeologists have remained sceptical about this theory, however, wondering how the forces of nature could possibly have delivered the exact number of stones needed to complete the circle.

The third phase of construction took place around 2000 BCE. At this point, sandstone slabs – known as ‘sarsens’ – were arranged into an outer crescent or ring; some were assembled into the iconic three-pieced structures called trilithons that stand tall in the centre of Stonehenge. Some 50 of these stones are now visible on the site, which may once have contained many more. Radiocarbon dating has revealed that work continued at Stonehenge until roughly 1600 BCE, with the bluestones in particular being repositioned multiple times.

But who were the builders of Stonehenge? In the 17th century, archaeologist John Aubrey made the claim that Stonehenge was the work of druids, who had important religious, judicial and political roles in Celtic** society. This theory was widely popularized by the antiquarian William Stukeley, who had unearthed primitive graves at the site. Even today, people who identify as modern druids continue to gather at Stonehenge for the summer solstice. However, in the mid-20th century, radiocarbon dating demonstrated that Stonehenge stood more than 1,000 years before the Celts inhabited the region.

Many modern historians and archaeologists now agree that several distinct tribes of people contributed to Stonehenge, each undertaking a different phase of its construction. Bones, tools and other artefacts found on the site seem to support this hypothesis. The first stage was achieved by Neolithic agrarians who were likely to have been indigenous to the British Isles. Later, it is believed, groups with advanced tools and a more communal way of life left their mark on the site. Some believe that they were immigrants from the European continent, while others maintain that they were probably native Britons, descended from the original builders.

If the facts surrounding the architects and construction of Stonehenge remain shadowy at best, the purpose of the striking monument is even more of a mystery. While there is consensus among the majority of modern scholars that Stonehenge once served the function of burial ground, they have yet to determine what other purposes it had.

In the 1960s, the astronomer Gerald Hawkins suggested that the cluster of megalithic stones operated as a form of calendar, with different points corresponding to astrological phenomena such as solstices, equinoxes and eclipses occurring at different times of the year. While his theory has received a considerable amount of attention over the decades, critics maintain that Stonehenge’s builders probably lacked the knowledge necessary to predict such events or that England’s dense cloud cover would have obscured their view of the skies.

More recently, signs of illness and injury in the human remains unearthed at Stonehenge led a group of British archaeologists to speculate that it was considered a place of healing, perhaps because bluestones were thought to have curative powers.

Stonehenge IELTS Reading Answers Sample Questions

Questions 1-7

Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

1. Stonehenge was built in ______ stages over a period of 1,500 years.

2. The Neolithic Britons used ______ tools to dig the circular ditch and bank.

3. The bluestones were hauled from the ______ Hills in Wales.

4. The bluestones may have been transported using tree trunks, ______, or rafts.

5. Some geologists believe glaciers, rather than humans, transported the ______ stones.

6. The trilithons at Stonehenge were made from ______ slabs.

7. In the 17th century, archaeologists believed Stonehenge was built by the ______.

Questions 8-10

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 8-10 on your answer sheet.

8. Some archaeologists believe the builders of Stonehenge were immigrants from ______.

9. Some theories suggest that Stonehenge may have served as a ______.

10. The astronomer Gerald Hawkins believed that Stonehenge functioned as a ______.

Stonehenge IELTS Reading Answers with Explanations

Ans 1. Stonehenge was built in ______ stages over a period of 1,500 years.

• Answer: Several
• Location in Passage: "It is comprised of roughly 100 massive upright stones placed in a circular layout... historians and archaeologists have puzzled over the many mysteries of Stonehenge... took an estimated 1,500 years to erect."
• Explanation: The passage mentions that Stonehenge was built in several stages over a long period of time.

Ans 2. The Neolithic Britons used ______ tools to dig the circular ditch and bank.

• Answer: primitive
• Location in Passage: "First, Neolithic Britons used primitive tools, which may have been fashioned out of deer antlers, to dig a massive circular ditch and bank..."
• Explanation: The text states that Neolithic Britons used primitive tools for digging the circular ditch and bank.

Ans 3. The bluestones were hauled from the ______ Hills in Wales.

• Answer: Preseli
• Location in Passage: "These stones have been traced all the way to the Preseli Hills in Wales, some 300 kilometres from Stonehenge."
• Explanation: The passage specifies that the bluestones were transported from the Preseli Hills.

Ans 4. The bluestones may have been transported using tree trunks, ______, or rafts.

• Answer: rollers
• Location in Passage: "According to one long-standing theory... Stonehenge’s builders fashioned sledges and rollers out of tree trunks to lug the bluestones..."
• Explanation: The passage mentions rollers being used alongside tree trunks to transport the stones.

Ans 5. Some geologists believe glaciers, rather than humans, transported the ______ stones.

• Answer: bluestones
• Location in Passage: "Some scientists have suggested that it was glaciers, not humans, that carried the bluestones to Salisbury Plain."
• Explanation: The passage discusses a theory suggesting glaciers transported the bluestones.

Ans 6. The trilithons at Stonehenge were made from ______ slabs.

• Answer: sandstone
• Location in Passage: "At this point, sandstone slabs – known as ‘sarsens’ – were arranged into an outer crescent or ring..."
• Explanation: The trilithons were made from sandstone slabs, specifically referred to as "sarsens."

Ans 7. In the 17th century, archaeologists believed Stonehenge was built by the ______.

• Answer: druids
• Location in Passage: "In the 17th century, archaeologist John Aubrey made the claim that Stonehenge was the work of druids..."
• Explanation: The passage refers to the belief that Stonehenge was built by druids in the 17th century.

Ans 8. Some archaeologists believe the builders of Stonehenge were immigrants from ______.

• Answer: D) the European continent
• Location in Passage: "Later, it is believed, groups with advanced tools and a more communal way of life left their mark on the site. Some believe that they were immigrants from the European continent..."
• Explanation: The passage mentions that some believe the builders came from the European continent.

Ans 9. Some theories suggest that Stonehenge may have served as a ______.

• Answer: B) burial ground
• Location in Passage: "While there is consensus among the majority of modern scholars that Stonehenge once served the function of burial ground..."
• Explanation: The passage mentions that Stonehenge is believed to have been a burial ground.

Ans 10. The astronomer Gerald Hawkins believed that Stonehenge functioned as a ______.

• Answer: C) calendar
• Location in Passage: "In the 1960s, the astronomer Gerald Hawkins suggested that the cluster of megalithic stones operated as a form of calendar..."
• Explanation: The passage explains that Gerald Hawkins theorized that Stonehenge was a calendar.

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