engineering

Sarsen

Sarsen is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sarsen rather than just read about it. In short: Sarsen stones are silicified sandstone blocks found extensively across southern England on the Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire; in Kent; and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset, and Hampshire. Geology Sarsen stones are the post-glacial remains of a cap of Cenozoic silcrete that once covered much of southern England.

Key takeaways

Sarsen belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sarsen to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sarsen from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sarsen stones are silicified sandstone blocks found extensively across southern England on the Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire; in Kent; and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset, and Hampshire.

Geology Sarsen stones are the post-glacial remains of a cap of Cenozoic silcrete that once covered much of southern England. This is thought to have formed during Neogene to Quaternary weathering by the silicification of Upper Paleocene Lambeth Group sediments, resulting from acid leaching.

Etymology There are several potential sources for the word "sarsen." The first is that the word "sarsen" is a shortening of "Saracen stone" which arose in the Wiltshire dialect. In the Middle Ages, "Saracen" was a common name for Muslims, and came by extension to be used for anything regarded as non-Christian, whether Muslim or pagan in contrast to Christianity. The second is that "sarsen" is a vernacular variation of the Indo-European "sasan," name given to the prehistoric vaults of the Chotanagpur plateau of Northern India. The third possibility is that "sarsen" comes from the hybrid Anglo-Saxon "sar-stan" or 'troublesome stone.' "Sar" has the meaning of 'grievous.'

Human uses The builders of Stonehenge used these stones for the Heel Stone and sarsen circle uprights. Avebury and many other megalithic monuments in southern England are also built with sarsen stones. While sarsen stones are not an ideal building material, fire and in later times explosives were sometimes employed to break the stone into pieces of a suitable size for use in construction. William Stukeley wrote that sarsen is "always moist and dewy in winter which proves damp and unwholesome, and rots the furniture". In the case of Avebury, the investors who backed a scheme to recycle the stone were bankrupted when the houses they built proved to be unsaleable and also prone to burning down. However, despite these problems, sarsen remained highly prized for its durability, being a favoured material for steps and kerb stones.

See also Hertfordshire puddingstone – Conglomerate sedimentary rock Blowing Stone – Kingston Lisle – Sarsen stone in Kingston Lisle, Oxfordshire, England Wayland's Smithy – Neolithic long barrow and chamber tomb site in Oxfordshire, England Fyfield Down – Protected area on the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire, England Coronation Stone, Kingston upon Thames – Stone in Kingston, United Kingdom Ashdown House, Oxfordshire – 17th-century country house in Ashbury, Oxfordshire, England

References

External links Media related to Sarsen stones at Wikimedia Commons

Photo of Sarsens on Fyfield Down, Wiltshire King, N. E. (1968). "The Kennet Valley Sarsen Industry". Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine. 63: 83–93. ISSN 0262-6608. OCLC 557553197. Retrieved 23 November 2016.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sarsen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sarsen claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sarsen before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sarsen ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sarsen

In research: Sarsen appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sarsen in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sarsen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Megalithic monuments in England, Stone (material), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sarsen outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sarsen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sarsen means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sarsen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sarsen in simple terms?

Why does Sarsen matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sarsen?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sarsen.