Heel Stone

South face of Heel Stone in February 2016

The Heel Stone is a single large block of sarsen stone standing within the Avenue outside the entrance of the Stonehenge earthwork, close to the main road (Highways Agency A344). In section it is sub-rectangular, with a minimum thickness of 2.4 metres, rising to a tapered top about 4.7 metres high. Excavation has shown that a further 1.2 metres is buried in the ground. It is 77.4 metres from the centre of Stonehenge circle. It leans towards the Southwest (pictured view) nearly 27 degrees from the vertical. The stone has an overall girth of 7.6 metres and weighs about 35 tons.

Myths and legends of the Devil striking a "Friar's Heel" with a stone resulted in its eccentric name, Heel Stone. Some claim "Friar's Heel" is a corruption of "Freyja's He-ol" or "Freyja Sul", from the Nordic goddess Freyja and (allegedly) the Welsh words for "way" and "Sunday" respectively. It is doubtful whether any prehistoric standing stone has experienced as many name changes and interpretations. Only in the past three decades have scientists used the name Heel Stone consistently.

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