Stonehenge replica

The Stonehenge stone circle is the most famous Stone Age monument in Europe and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For a special exhibition at the LWL Museum of Archaeology in Herne a Stonehenge replica as naturalistic as possible was to be produced in its original size as a monument that could be walked on and touched. We took part in the tender for this gigantic project and were ultimately awarded the contract. A total of 21 Stonehenge replicas were commissioned on a scale of 1:1, 4 to 7 m high and up to 5 m wide.

GIGANTIC TASKS

This literally gigantic order also presented us with a number of technical, time and logistical challenges. The 3D data of the huge stones provided by the customer first had to be divided into realizable sections. The individual elements were CNC-milled from polystyrene. The large elements were then brought together to form the stone replicas on a 1:1 scale.

The next step was to achieve the most realistic-looking surface possible for the stone giants. First, the “soft” polystyrene was coated with a layer of polyurea hotcoat. This plastic coating has significantly increased the compressive strength of the surface. The basis for the further coloring was then formed by freshly worked sarsen or bluestone optics. Using images and small original samples from Stonehenge, different types of sand were matched and a suitable mixing ratio determined. Because the replica stones also had to resemble sandstone to the touch, the special sand mixture was sprayed onto the stone surface in combination with a dispersion adhesive. The details of the stone surface, as well as the color nuances, were finally worked out by airbrush painting.

Due to the large dimensions, the stones had to be precisely divided again for transportation and assembly. The final hurdle was erection of the stones on site at the LWL Museum of Archaeology in Herne. This was carried out by our team over two days. The huge stone models had to be put together like a puzzle using several scissor lifts and attached to a substructure. The seams at the joints were reworked by us after assembly.

The impressive special exhibition about Stonehenge at the LWL Museum of Archaeology in Herne was opened on 23.09.21 and can be seen until 25.09.22.

Pictures from production

Project details