Looking for Stonehenge IELTS Reading Answers? This page puts everything in one place: the full passage about Britain’s most famous prehistoric monument, all of Questions 1–13, the official answer key, and a clear explanation of why each answer is right. The passage tells the story of how Stonehenge was built in stages, who its builders may have been, and the theories about its purpose.

This passage is taken from Cambridge IELTS 18, Academic Test 2, Reading Passage 1 (Questions 1–13). It pairs a note-completion task with a True/False/Not Given set, a combination you will meet constantly in the real exam. Attempt the questions first, mark your own answers, then compare them with the key and read the explanations below to see the exact evidence. For the full paper, see our Cambridge IELTS 18 Academic Reading Test 2 answers page, and for structured training, try our free IELTS reading course.

Reading Passage 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1–13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

Stonehenge

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.

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* Neolithic – The era, also known as the New Stone Age, which began around 12,000 years ago and ended around 3500 BCE

Celtic – The Celts were people who lived in Britain and northwest Europe during the Iron Age from 600 BCE to 43 CE

Questions 1–13

Questions 1–8

Complete the notes below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes on your answer sheet.

Stonehenge

Construction

Stage 1:

Stage 2:

bluestones from the Preseli Hills were placed in standing position

Stage 3:

sandstone slabs were arranged into an outer crescent or ring

Builders

Purpose

• the ditch and henge were dug, possibly using tools made from 1 …………
• 2 ………… may have been arranged in deep pits inside the circle
• builders used 3 ………… to make sledges and rollers
• 4 ………… pulled them on giant baskets
• geological: they were brought from Wales by 5 …………
• a theory arose in the 17th century that its builders were Celtic 6 …………
• many experts agree it has been used as a 7 ………… site
• in the 1960s, it was suggested that it worked as a kind of 8 …………

Questions 9–13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?

In boxes on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

9. During the third phase of construction, sandstone slabs were placed in both the outer areas and the middle of the Stonehenge site. TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN

10. There is scientific proof that the bluestones stood in the same spot until approximately 1600 BCE. TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN

11. John Aubrey’s claim about Stonehenge was supported by 20th-century findings. TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN

12. Objects discovered at Stonehenge seem to indicate that it was constructed by a number of different groups of people. TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN

13. Criticism of Gerald Hawkins’ theory about Stonehenge has come mainly from other astronomers. TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN

• A — TRUE
• B — FALSE
• C — NOT GIVEN

Stonehenge IELTS Reading Answers

Questions and Answers

Detailed Explanations for Stonehenge Answers

Questions 1–8

1. (deer) antlers — The first note is about digging tools, and the second paragraph says Neolithic Britons used primitive tools that “may have been fashioned out of deer antlers”. Either antlers or deer antlers is accepted, since the tools were made from antlers.

2. (timber) posts — The deep pits inside the circle “may have once held a ring of timber posts” according to some scholars, again in the second paragraph. The note asks what was arranged in the pits, and posts is the key noun.

3. tree trunks — For the sledges and rollers, the fourth paragraph states that builders “fashioned sledges and rollers out of tree trunks”. The raw material named there is tree trunks, which fits the two-word limit exactly.

4. oxen — The rival transport theory in the same paragraph has baskets hauled by animals: the passage ends the sentence with “long grooved planks, hauled by oxen”. Oxen is the one-word answer for what pulled the giant baskets.

5. glaciers — The geological theory in the fifth paragraph claims “it was glaciers, not humans, that carried the bluestones”. The note asks what brought the stones from Wales, and glaciers is the natural force named.

6. druids — The builders theory from the 17th century appears in the seventh paragraph, where John Aubrey claimed that “Stonehenge was the work of druids”. The Celtic group blamed for building it was therefore the druids.

7. burial — On purpose, the ninth paragraph records consensus that Stonehenge “served the function of burial ground”. The note needs the adjective describing the site, so burial is the word that goes before site in the answer.

8. calendar — The 1960s theory is described in the tenth paragraph: the stones “operated as a form of calendar” linked to solstices and eclipses. Hawkins’s suggestion gives you the word calendar.

Questions 9–13

9. TRUE — The sixth paragraph confirms both locations: slabs formed an outer ring, and some were “assembled into the iconic three-pieced structures called trilithons” at the centre. Since both the outer area and the middle are mentioned, the statement is TRUE.

10. FALSE — The same paragraph ends by noting “the bluestones in particular being repositioned multiple times”. Repositioned multiple times contradicts the claim that they stood in the same spot, so the statement is FALSE.

11. FALSE — Radiocarbon dating actually undermined Aubrey: it “demonstrated that Stonehenge stood more than 1,000 years before the Celts inhabited the region”. Far from supporting his claim, the 20th-century findings disproved it, so the answer is FALSE.

12. TRUE — The eighth paragraph says several distinct tribes built Stonehenge, and that “Bones, tools and other artefacts found on the site” seem to support this. Objects discovered there do indicate different groups, so the statement is TRUE.

13. NOT GIVEN — The tenth paragraph says critics maintain the builders lacked the knowledge to predict astronomical events, but it never says who those critics were or that they were astronomers. Because the passage gives no information about the critics’ profession, the answer is NOT GIVEN.

Key Vocabulary from Stonehenge

Study Tips

Questions 1–8 are note completion with a two-word cap, and the notes follow the passage in strict order: construction stages first, then builders, then purpose. Predict the kind of word each gap needs before you scan, because tools, materials and groups of people all need different word types. Our note completion technique page breaks this planning step down for any passage.

For the True/False/Not Given set, remember that FALSE needs a contradiction in the text, not just a difference in wording. Question 10 turns on two words, repositioned multiple times, and Question 11 turns on the dates, so hunt for the exact detail rather than a general feeling. The True/False/Not Given strategy guide gives you a checklist for each of the three options.

Watch the paraphrases in this passage: placed in standing position appears as hoisted into standing positions, and a kind of calendar appears as a form of calendar. Train yourself to expect a synonym for almost every word in the question, and the paraphrasing techniques guide will show you how to spot them fast.

Practice More Cambridge Tests

You have just finished a full Passage 1 with the official key, and that is exactly how scores climb. Simply IELTS has more where that came from: take the free IELTS reading course to build a routine for every question type, then continue the same test with the Living with artificial intelligence walkthrough in Passage 2.

Want more practice at this position? Every Reading Passage 1 test on the site follows the same Cambridge format, and each one includes a complete answer key with explanations.