England's most famous symbol of mystery, power and legacy
is Stonehenge. It was built 3,500 years ago. The word Stonehenge means "Hanging Stones". Scholars say its one
of the most mysterious prehistoric monuments of England. It is located in southeastern England, on Salisbury Plain,
in Wiltshire. It took about 2,000 years to build Stonehenge. Nobody knows for sure why they built it. One thing is for sure
though - whatever reason it was, it had to be very important because it took a lot of effort and time to make it.
Modern scholars believe that Stonehenge had some religious significance.
They think maybe it was a temple for the druids, a Celtic priesthood, but it was built 1,000 years before the druid religion
existed. They also think it might have been a place for human sacrifice. Some have wondered whether it is a sacred burial
ground for important officials from cultures of long ago.
The placement of certain boulders in Stonehenge has made modern scholars
believe that perhaps Stonehenge was built to measure the sky or forecast events in the sky, like solar or lunar eclipses.
Maybe it was some kind of big calendar used to keep track of holy days. Or maybe Stonehenge was used to worship the sun. It
could keep track of the position of the sun and the moon. A sundial? A star-clock? It's anybody's guess.
Stonehenge is not in its original form today. Today Stonehenge is missing
some stones. It is in ruin. Some stones toppled over and some were taken away to make bridges and dams. The stones came
from distant mountains. Then they were dragged to the site where Stonehenge was built.
There was one story a long time ago about how Stonehenge might have been
built. Geoffrey of Monmouth was a writer in medieval times. He used to say that a sorcerer, named Merlin, who lived
during the reign of King Arthur, lifted the mammoth stones by magic.
There are theories that Phoenician traders or Romans built Stonehenge. However,
scientific testing through radiocarbon dating shows that Stonehenge took such a long time to build. This means that
no one cultural group can take the credit for completing this monument. Not much is known about the people who lived
during this Stone Age, because it was before their history was written or recorded.
Stonehenge was built in three stages over a 2,000 year period. The first
stage is called Stonehenge I. The first stage began around 3100 B.C. It was a ditch in the shape of a circle that
had a high bank on the inside. There were 56 pits inside the bank, called Aubrey Holes. (They are called that
because the man who named them was John Aubrey. He was born in 1626 and died in 1697 and he was the first person to investigate
Stonehenge.) The bank and ditch arrangement is actually called a 'henge'. These ditches may have been dug with the antlers
of red deer and/or wood. The shoulder blades of cattle were used as shovels. A big boulder made of English sandstone
called a sarsen stood outside the northeast entrance. It measures 320 feet in diameter.
About 1,000 years later Stonehenge II began. This was about 2150 B.C.
Two incomplete circles of bluestone pillars were made inside the first circle. The path that led to the entrance (called the
Avenue) that lines up to the location of the sunrise at the summer solstice (usually June 21st).
Then Stonehenge III began 150 years later around 2000 B.C. This stage
was built in three phases. Around 1100 B.C. the last phase was done. That was when it looked more like how it
does today. Some stones were brought from farther away. The bluestones were brought by land and sea from Wales,
which was 280 miles away. They are from the Prescelly Mountains. The blue stones were heavy, and weighed up to 4 tons each.
Also
the giant sarsens were brought from Marlborough Downs 20 miles away.
They used tools made from bone and stones to carve the stones. Entire communities
had to be so dedicated to cooperate and work together to build such a monument. This work had to be supervised by skilled
engineers the sarsens were so large. Scaffolding had to be made to lift the lintels that completed the archways.
The sarsens had to be raised using ramps. These weighed up to 50 tons each. It took a lot of dedication and manual labor to
build Stonehenge.
Many people have traveled to see Stonehenge. In 1969, my grandmother went
to England for three weeks. She actually TOUCHED Stonehenge! But now the rules have changed. People are not allowed
to walk through or touch it anymore, unless they get permission for a special reason. Stonehenge has suffered damage from
visitors. Every year so many people visit. Now there are parking lots and roads near Stonehenge. There have been
disagreements between archaeologists, conservationists, religious organizations and the tourism industry over protecting this
prehistoric site.
There is now a group, English Heritage, that preserves historical sites
that is planning to restore Stonehenge's natural environment. One of the roads and all the parking lots will become
open grassy fields again. One road will be tunneled underground and a visitor's center is going to be built two and
a half miles away. In the future, visitors will have to walk or take a shuttle bus to the site.
