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Although people today gather at Stonehenge at the spring and autumn equinoxes to watch the sunrise, archaeo-astronomers think it unlikely that the equinoxes meant anything to prehistoric people. The stars and visible planets may also have been important to people in prehistory, but it is impossible to know any beliefs relating to them.
The prehistoric monument of Stonehenge has long been studied for its possible connections with ancient astronomy. The site is aligned in the direction of the sunrise of the summer solstice and the sunset of the winter solstice.
Stonehenge has perhaps been the focus of more theories about its origin and purpose than any other prehistoric monument. Today, the interpretation which is most generally accepted is that of a prehistoric temple aligned with the movements of the sun.
Mar 12, 2018 · Some suggest prehistoric people must have had some knowledge of mathematics and sciences to do this, whereas others go so far as to speculate that alien visitors showed them how to do it. But...
- Overview
- Speculation and excavation
- Stages of Stonehenge
It is not clear who built Stonehenge. The site on Salisbury Plain in England has been used for ceremonial purposes and modified by many different groups of people at different times. Archaeological evidence suggests that the first modification of the site was made by early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. DNA analysis of bodies buried near Stonehenge suggests that some of its builders may have come from places outside of England, such as Wales or the Mediterranean.
When was Stonehenge built?
The monument called Stonehenge was built in six stages between 3000 and 1520 BCE. The site was used for ceremonial purposes beginning about 8000–7000 BCE.
What is Stonehenge made of?
Stonehenge is constructed from sarsen stones, a type of silicified sandstone found in England, and bluestones, a dolomite variation extracted from western Wales.
What was Stonehenge used for?
Stonehenge has long been the subject of historical speculation, and ideas about the meaning and significance of the structure continued to develop in the 21st century. English antiquarian John Aubrey in the 17th century and his compatriot archaeologist William Stukeley in the 18th century both believed the structure to be a Druid temple. This idea has been rejected by more-recent scholars, however, as Stonehenge is now understood to have predated by some 2,000 years the Druids recorded by Julius Caesar.
In 1963 American astronomer Gerald Hawkins proposed that Stonehenge had been constructed as a “computer” to predict lunar and solar eclipses; other scientists also attributed astronomical capabilities to the monument. Most of these speculations, too, have been rejected by experts. In 1973 English archaeologist Colin Renfrew hypothesized that Stonehenge was the centre of a confederation of Bronze Age chiefdoms. Other archaeologists, however, have since come to view this part of Salisbury Plain as a point of intersection between adjacent prehistoric territories, serving as a seasonal gathering place during the 4th and 3rd millennia bce for groups living in the lowlands to the east and west. In 1998 Malagasy archaeologist Ramilisonina proposed that Stonehenge was built as a monument to the ancestral dead, the permanence of its stones representing the eternal afterlife.
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In 2008 British archaeologists Tim Darvill and Geoffrey Wainwright suggested—on the basis of the Amesbury Archer, an Early Bronze Age skeleton with a knee injury, excavated 3 miles (5 km) from Stonehenge—that Stonehenge was used in prehistory as a place of healing. However, analysis of human remains from around and within the monument shows no difference from other parts of Britain in terms of the population’s health.
The Stonehenge that is visible today is incomplete, many of its original sarsens and bluestones having been broken up and taken away, probably during Britain’s Roman and medieval periods. The ground within the monument also has been severely disturbed, not only by the removal of the stones but also by digging—to various degrees and ends—since the 16th century, when historian and antiquarian William Camden noted that “ashes and pieces of burnt bone” were found. A large, deep hole was dug within the stone circle in 1620 by George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham, who was looking for treasure. A century later William Stukeley surveyed Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments, but it was not until 1874–77 that Flinders Petrie made the first accurate plan of the stones. In 1877 Charles Darwin dug two holes in Stonehenge to investigate the earth-moving capabilities of earthworms. The first proper archaeological excavation was conducted in 1901 by William Gowland.
Stonehenge was built within an area that was already special to Mesolithic and Neolithic people. About 8000–7000 bce, early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers dug pits and erected pine posts within 650 feet (200 metres) of Stonehenge’s future location. It was unusual for prehistoric hunter-gatherers to build monuments, and there are no comparable structur...
Jun 1, 2010 · For centuries, historians and archaeologists have puzzled over the many mysteries of Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument that took Neolithic builders an estimated 1,500 years to erect. Located...
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Was Stonehenge a prehistoric temple?
Jun 15, 2022 · Over 30,000 people attended the last of these in 1984, with unfortunately much damage caused to the surrounding landscapes and prehistoric monuments, leading to a ban on the festival the following year, and prevention of public access to Stonehenge at midsummer for about 15 years.
