What You Need To Know About The Building Of The Spectacular Stonehenge

Stonehenge is renowned all around the world as a famous prehistoric monument.

The monument was built in several phases, and the earliest phase was about 5,000 years ago. The unusual stone circle was erected in 2500 BC in the early Bronze Age, with many burial mounds around the area.

Today, alongside Avebury, Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site, and it is also one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. There are various theories and mysteries surrounding how prehistoric humans built Stonehenge.

Historians and archaeologists have studied the monument and still lack a clear answer to how the monument was formed. The stones used in Stonehenge are massive in size and have raised questions on how these stones were moved from Wales to Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, where Stonehenge is situated.

There are scientific as well as bizarre theories surrounding Stonehenge, with some of them even going as far as crediting ancient aliens stating that the site was used as a landing pad! Arthurian legends credit the wizard Merlin with the formation after he displaced the structure from Ireland to Britain.

If you liked this article about Stonehenge, be sure to check out articles about Glacier National Park facts and Zion National Park facts too!

Stonehenge's Function And Significance

Stonehenge has served as a rather intriguing piece of history, and there are still researches being done on the monument to find more about the construction and the importance of the structure.

Salisbury Plain, which is home to Stonehenge, was considered a sacred area long before the construction of Stonehenge. Totem poles and three large pine posts, along with other poles, were erected in the area as early as 10,500 years ago. Wooden structures can also be found in the large area where Stonehenge is located.

The excavation as far as a mile away from Stonehenge has found remains of 12,500 flint tools and roughly 350 animal bones that date back to 7500-4500 BC, and these findings of abundant bones and tool fragments have further confirmed the theory that the area was considered sacred.

Cursus monuments were erected at Stonehenge around 5,500 years ago, and these Cursus monuments ran for 1.8 mi (2.8 km) in length!

In 2010, English Heritage explained the relationship that Stonehenge has with astronomers. The age of Stonehenge was predicted by Doctor Edmond Halley as he used the position of the rising sun and the magnetic deviation of the region.

In 1771, John Smith mediated the fact that the inner ring interpreted the lunar month and the 30 sarsen stones, if multiplied by the 12 astrological signs, would come equal to 360 days.

The Altar Stone is estimated to be the first bluestone arrangement in the semicircle of the pile and gave it a focal point. This stone is larger than the other bluestones in the vicinity and originated in Wales.

The smaller sarsen stones formed the station stones. Out of four, only two stones remain today, and the presence of the other two stones can be seen via the formation of a ditch where they once stood.

The alignment of these stones was done in a way that allowed the constructors to view the midwinter sunset, midsummer sunrise, and the northern moonset.

Stonehenge houses various correlations with the moon and sun alignments, and the numbers of stones in some stones are directly related to the number of days between a full moon and the years in a lunar cycle.

The Slaughter stone is a flat-lying sarsen stone with red markings. Despite its name, there are no traces of any form of human sacrifice on the stone. This stone is located at the entrance between the Heel Stone and Stone Circle.

In the year 2012, a theory was put forward by the Stonehenge Riverside Project that marked the construction of Stonehenge as a unification of Britain. It is believed that the erection of the monument was possible only because people from different cultures and beliefs came together, hence how the huge stones were transported from Wales to the construction site.

The Megaliths Of Stonehenge

Stonehenge is made up of 52 pale gray sandstone megaliths that are also known as sarsens. By the year 2000 BC, Stonehenge was turned into the ritual center of Great Britain.

During the construction of the megaliths, Stonehenge Avenue was also built, and it was used as a route that started from the River Avon and ended at the Stonehenge hill itself.

The megaliths comprise large stones, bluestone, and smaller outer stones.

The massive sandstones, also known as Sarsens, are the remainders of a glacier that originated in southern England. These huge stones weigh around 25 tons each. The bluestones were taken from Wales, and each weighed between two-four tons.

Stonehenge's Multiphase Construction

Based on various researches by archaeologists, it is believed that it took 1,500 years for the Neolithic people (early stone age people) to complete the construction of Stonehenge, and it was completed in six phases.

The first construction phase around 3000 BC saw builders dig circular ditches that were 330 ft (100.5 m) in diameter, and an inner and outer bank was formed in the open grassland. The first phase witnessed the construction of two entrances in the form of a big entrance on the northeast part and a smaller entrance to the south.

Fifty-six pits were also dug inside the inner bank. These pits are known as the Aubrey holes, named after the man John Aubrey who found the holes in the year 1666.

Timber posts were added to the northeast entrance during the second phase of the construction around 2460 BC.

The third phase saw Stonehenge get its famous structure as workers added the heavy stones to the monument.

Thirty standing stones were placed in the fourth phase to form an outer circle as it surrounded five arches in the form of a horseshoe. Rings of stones were added to the horseshoe later on by the workers.

The fifth and sixth phases of the construction began around 2030 BC, and two more rings of holes were dug around the stones by the builders.

An estimated 4,000 people who lived at the Durrington Walls campsite are credited with the construction of the monument.

The stones were erected using a large hole with a sloping side, and the wooden stakes were lined at the back of the hole, and the stones were pulled upright using plant fiber ropes.

Speculation And Excavation

Based on legends, Merlin, the wizard, actually displaced Stonehenge from Ireland, where the ancient giants built the monument! Merlin is credited with the rebuilding of the structure in Salisbury Plain as a tribute to 3,000 nobles who lost their lives in the battle against the Saxons.

Cultural depictions and folklore have indicated that the Devil placed Stonehenge! The nearby Heel Stone, which is also known as Friar's Heel, was supposedly thrown at the Friar by the Devil itself, and it stuck to the ground upon impact.

Another famous theory regarding Stonehenge is that the structure served as an astronomical observatory! Evidence supporting this theory is seen in the placement of the stones that lie in the position of the rising and the setting of the sun.

One of the most bizarre theories relating to the construction of Stonehenge is that it was actually built by Aliens! Erich von Däniken, a Swiss author, claimed Stonehenge was used as a landing pad by aliens, and this theory was a proper explanation of how such heavy stones were moved around such a vast distance.

However, this theory was easily debunked as there is evidence that humans could carry heavy stones during the early Bronze Age with the use of available tools.

There are also theories pointing to the fact that Stonehenge served as a place of healing by prehistoric humans, and many skeletons with injury or illnesses have been discovered in the nearby burial spots. This belief was linked to the presence of supernatural abilities in the bluestones used in the construction of Stonehenge.

Wooden Posts At Stonehenge

It is believed that timber poles and platforms were used by people who built Stonehenge. Timber platforms were used to raise heavy stones and hold them upright in a vertical position during the construction.

Did You Know...

There are actually 1,000 henges all over the British Isles that were constructed by the Neolithic people after 3000 BC.

In the year 1986, Stonehenge was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it was also listed among the seven Ancient Wonders of the World. Stonehenge's importance to the English Heritage is linked with its reputation as a complex prehistoric stone circle!

The ring of standing stones that makes the outer and inner circle and based on archaeological evidence found in 2008, it can be said that the site was a religious site for prehistoric humans which also served as a burial ground.

It is believed that the River Avon played an important part in the ritual as funeral bodies were carried along the water and borough to Stonehenge for the funeral ceremony.

Stonehenge has helped us in learning more about the practices of the early Bronze Age.

The structure of the stones in Stonehenge is estimated to have been moved using complex and raised through the use of interlocking joints, the use of which has never been seen before in any other prehistoric monument. Stones were fit upright using protruding tenons and mortice holes, and the horizontal lintels were put together using groove and tongue joints.

These joints are only found in woodworking.

An estimated number of 1.5 million visitors come to see Stonehenge each year! A visitor center was built in 2013 at the cost of 35 million dollars (27 million pounds).

Salisbury Plain is seen as a site of interest for prehistoric humans as the area has traces of the existence of Neolithic houses and ruins in the form of the Woodhenge, Stonehenge, and Avebury.

There are around 80 bluestones in the first inner circle or inner ring. These stones were taken from the Prescelly Mountains in Carn Menyn, Wales. The transportation of these heavy stones is theorized to have been done through the usage of barges, rafts, sleds, and rollers.

There are 56 pits inside the enclosure that were discovered by John Aubrey in the seventeenth century and have been since known as the Aubrey Holes. Aubrey theorized ancient druids were responsible for the formation of Stonehenge.

The Stonehenge landscape has a massive sandstone in the middle of the pile, and this stone weighs around 11,904.9 lb (5,400 kg)!

Stonehenge is actually older than the pyramids in Egypt! Stonehenge is estimated to be around 5,000 years older than the first pyramid.

An estimated 35,000 visitors come to Stonehenge to experience the summer solstice every year!

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Stonehenge then why not take a look at facts about the National Monument in Washington state, or the tallest manmade monument?