Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a prehistoric stone circle monument dating from 3000 BC in Wiltshire England.

The site is unique both because of it’s construction out of huge shaped blocks of cenozoic silcrete arranged in a post-and-lintel-formation as well as for the remote origin of it’s smaller bluestones from 100 to 150 miles away in South Wales. 

The whole monument is oriented towards the sunrise on the summer solstice.

Stonehenge in July 2007
By garethwiscombe – https://www.flickr.com/photos/garethwiscombe/1071477228/in/photostream/, CC BY 2.0, (Wikimedia)

Possible uses include an ancient astronomical observatory, burial ground, temple, religious center or place of healing. How or why such a monumental building task was accomplished 5,000 years ago remains a mystery??

Whatever the reason for it’s construction, experts speculate that the dolerite bluestones that were transported from nearly 140 miles were considered extraordinary for some reason, when you consider that the giant sarsen stones that are used to make up Stonehenge have been estimated to have been transported only 15 to 20 miles comparatively. 

As this century progresses, there is a growing awareness that ancient cultures had a level of knowledge and awareness that we do not have NOR do we really understand.