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What struck me was the appearance of Stone 40 (a) in the middle foreground of the older picture and how it has disappeared into the grass today.
It gives a hint of a mortice hole half showing but it is probably just a trick of the light.
Cleal et al doesn't seem to have an entry for Stone 40 (a) but luckily there is a website that does:
http://www.stonesofstonehenge.org.uk/search/label/Stone%20040
Hi Tim,
ReplyDeleteAs you know better than most, there hasn't been a lot of wear-and-tear on the stones since c.1960, (the lichens are another story!) While it might be fun to imagine there's a mortise on BS-40 — given its position — I believe it's a trick of the light.
If anything, it should have a tenon.
Personally, I think -150 was, back in the day, used in the forecourt as a bluestone entrance lintel and -36 was set up behind the Great Trilithon.
Conversely, like so many others, -40's been chipped at and wacked pretty hard over the centuries, so perhaps there was a tenon on it originally.
Neil