Stonehenge

Guide Note:

Stonehenge is a several millennia-old prehistoric monument of mysterious origin located on the Salisbury Plain in southern England. Consisting of a circle of large standing stones, many weighing 30 tons or more, Stonehenge is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Fast Facts:

1. Location on Salisbury Plain used to be heavily forested
2. Built in phases
3. Consists of a circle of large standing stones
4. Apparently erected many miles from where the stones came from
5. Believed to have been constructed between 3000 and 5000 years ago
6. Builders unknown
7. Believed by many to be used as a calendar or astronomical device
8. During the summer solstice visitors are allowed to walk among the stones

Historians believe that three different prehistoric cultures in what is today England constructed and maintained the site. Excavations of the area by John Aubrey in the 17th century revealed the existence of postholes surrounding the site, leading researchers to believe that they once contained standing timbers which acted in some way in conjunction with the stones. Today, many neo-pagan and druidic sects regard Stonehenge as a religious location of high power and make regular pilgrimages to the site on significant days in the solar calendar. The stones have attracted attention throughout history; in Arthurian legend, the wizard Merlin was said to have brought the stones from Ireland, where they had originally been brought by Giants who constructed them in Africa.