Stonehenge

Quick guide

Age estimated at 3100 BC

Location Wiltshire, UK
OS Reference SU 122 422
Type of stone: Bluestone, Sarsen, Welsh Sandstone
Worship Lunar, Solar
Access English Heritage - there is a charge to visit the stones
Extra notes: Except on special or arranged occasions, visitors are unable to walk
amongst the stones

Did you know...?

Stonehenge was constructed in three phases.

It has been estimated that the three phases of the construction required more than
thirty million hours of labour.
Speculation on the reason it was built range from human sacrifice to astronomy.

Who Built Stonehenge?

The question of who built Stonehenge is largely unanswered, even today. The
monument's construction has been attributed to many ancient peoples throughout the
years, but the most captivating and enduring attribution has been to the Druids. This
erroneous connection was first made around 3 centuries ago by the antiquary, John
Aubrey. Julius Caesar and other Roman writers told of a Celtic priesthood who
flourished around the time of their first conquest (55 BC). By this time, though, the
stones had been standing for 2,000 years, and were, perhaps, already in a ruined
condition. Besides, the Druids worshipped in forest temples and had no need for stone

structures.
The best guess seems to be that the Stonehenge site was begun by the people of the
late Neolithic period (around 3000 BC) and carried forward by people from a new
economy which was arising at this time. These "new" people, called Beaker Folk
because of their use of pottery drinking vessels, began to use metal implements and to
live in a more communal fashion than their ancestors. Some think that they may have
been immigrants from the continent, but that contention is not supported by
archaeological evidence. It is likely that they were indigenous people doing the same
old things in new ways.

Stonehenge has inspired a fair number of scientifically reasonable theories as well.

Here are five major (and not necessarily mutually exclusive) reasons Stonehenge might
exist.

1. A place for burial

Stonehenge may have originally been a cemetery for the elite, according to a new
study. Bone fragments were first exhumed from the Stonehenge site more than a century
ago, but archaeologists at the time thought the remains were unimportant and reburied
them. Now, British researchers have re-exhumed more than 50,000 cremated bone
fragments from where they were discarded, representing 63 separate individuals, from
Stonehenge. Their analysis, presented on a BBC 4 documentary on March 10, reveals
that the people buried at the site were men and women in equal proportions, with some
children as well.
The burials occurred in about 3000 B.C., according to study researcher Mike Parker
Pearson of the University College London Institute of Archaeology, and the very first
stones were brought from Wales at that time to mark the graves. The archaeologists also
found a mace head and a bowl possibly used to burn incense, suggesting the people
buried in the graves may have been religious or political elite, according to The
Guardian newspaper.

2. A place for healing

Another theory suggests that Stone Age people saw Stonehenge as a place with
healing properties. In 2008, archaeologists Geoggrey Wainwright and Timothy Darvill
reported that a large number of skeletons recovered from around Stonehenge showed
signs of illness or injury. The archaeologists also reported discovering fragments of the
Stonehenge bluestones the first stones erected at the site that had been chipped
away by ancient people, perhaps to use as talismans for protective or healing purposes.

3. A soundscape
Or perhaps Stonehenge's circular construction was created to mimic a sound illusion.
That's the theory of Steven Waller, a researcher in archaeoacoustics. Waller says that if
two pipers were to play their instruments in a field, a listener would notice a strange
effect. In certain spots, the sound waves from the dual pipes would cancel each other
out, creating quiet spots.
The stones of Stonehenge create a similar effect, except with stones, rather than
competing sound waves, blocking sound, Waller reported in 2012 at the annual meeting
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Legends associated with
Stonehenge also reference pipers, Waller said, and prehistoric circles are traditionally
known as "piper stones."
Waller's theory is speculative, but other researchers have confirmed that Stonehenge
had amazing acoustics. A study released in May 2012 found that the circle would have
caused sound reverberations similar to those in a modern-day cathedral or concert hall.

4. A celestial observatory
No matter why it was built, Stonehenge may have been constructed with the sun in
mind. One avenue connecting the monument with the nearby River Aven aligns with the
sun on the winter solstice; archaeological evidence reveals that pigs were slaughtered at
Stonehenge in December and January, suggesting possible celebrations or rituals at the
monument around the winter solstice. The site also faces the summer solstice sunrise,
and both summer and winter solstices are still celebrated there today.

5. A team-building exercise
Or perhaps Stonehenge was something like an ancient team-building exercise.
According to the University College London's Pearson, the beginning of the site's
construction coincides with a time of increased unity among the Neolithic people of
Britain. Perhaps inspired by the natural flow of the landscape, which seems to connect
summer solstice sunrise and winter solstice sunset, these ancient people may have
banded together to build the monument, Pearson suggested in June 2012.
10 facts about Stonehenge
Built in several stages, Stonehenge began about 5,000 years ago as a simple earthwork
enclosure where prehistoric people buried their cremated dead. The stone circle was
erected in the centre of the monument in the late Neolithic period, around 2500 BC.
Two types of stone are used at Stonehenge: the larger sarsens, and the smaller
bluestones. There are 83 stones in total.
There were originally only two entrances to the enclosure, English Heritage explains
a wide one to the north east, and a smaller one on the southern side. Today there are
many more gaps this is mainly the result of later tracks that once crossed the
monument.
A circle of 56 pits, known as the Aubrey Holes (named after John Aubrey, who
identified them in 1666), sits inside the enclosure. Its purpose remains unknown, but
some believe the pits once held stones or posts.
The stone settings at Stonehenge were built at a time of great change in prehistory,
says English Heritage, just as new styles of Beaker pottery and the knowledge of
metalworking, together with a transition to the burial of individuals with grave goods,
were arriving from Europe. From about 2400 BC, well furnished Beaker graves such as
that of the Amesbury Arche are found nearby.
Roman pottery, stone, metal items and coins have been found during various
excavations at Stonehenge. An English Heritage report in 2010 said that considerably
fewer medieval artefacts have been discovered, which suggests the site was used more
sporadically during the period.
Stonehenge has a long relationship with astronomers, the report explains. In 1720, Dr
Halley used magnetic deviation and the position of the rising sun to estimate the age of
Stonehenge. He concluded the date was 460 BC. And, in 1771, John Smith mused that
the estimated total of 30 sarsen stones multiplied by 12 astrological signs equalled 360
days of the year, while the inner circle represented the lunar month.
The first mention of Stonehenge or Stanenges appears in the archaeological study
of Henry of Huntingdon in about AD 1130, and that of Geoffrey of Monmouth six years
later. In 1200 and 1250 it appeared as Stanhenge and Stonhenge; as Stonheng in
1297, and the stone hengles in 1470. It became known as Stonehenge in 1610, says
English Heritage.
In the 1880s, after carrying out some of the first scientifically recorded excavations at
the site, Charles Darwin concluded that earthworms were largely to blame for the
Stonehenge stones sinking through the soil.
By the beginning of the 20th century there had been more than 10 recorded
excavations, and the site was considered to be in a sorry state, says English Heritage
several sarsens were leaning. Consequently the Society of Antiquaries lobbied the sites
owner, Sir Edmond Antrobus, and offered to assist with conservation.