The Mysterious Monument- “Stonehenge” An Astonishing Discovery in England
Stonehenge
Stonehenge in southern England is the world’s most iconic archaeological site and one of its greatest discoveries in the world. The megalithic circle on Salisbury Plain inspires awe and fascinating the visitors. Stonehenge is a massive stone monument located on a chalky plain north of Salisbury, England. The structure “Of Stonehenge” was built between roughly 5,000 and 4,000 years ago and was part of a larger sacred landscape.
For centuries, researchers and archaeologists have puzzled over the mysteries of Stonehenge. This prehistoric monument took Neolithic builders an estimated 1,500 years to erect. Located in southern England, it is comprised of roughly 100 massive upright stones placed in a circular layout.
Rock uses to make Stonehenge
The biggest Stonehenge’s stones, known as sarsens, are up to 9 meters tall and weigh 22.6 metric tons on average. It is believed that this Sandstone rock were brought from Marlborough Downs, a distance of 32 kilometers to the north. Smaller stones, known as “bluestones”, is actually a Dolerite rock, weigh up to 4 tons had transported from western Wales, nearly 225 km. away from the site.
It’s unknown how people moved them this much distance. Although, recent experiments show that it is possible for a one-ton stone to be moved by a dozen people on a wooden trackway, whether this technique was actually used at that time, is uncertain.
The sandstone slabs make the outer rings of the structure while the bluestones make up its inner ring. Many modern scholars now agree that Stonehenge was once a burial ground; they have yet to determine what other purposes it served and how a civilization without modern technology or even the wheel made this mighty monument.
How this Build
Researchers believe that England’s most iconic prehistoric ruin was built in several stages. With the earliest constructed 5,000 or more years ago. After several hundred years later Stonehenge’s builders hoisted an estimated 80 bluestones, 43 of which remain today. They placed them in either a horseshoe or circular formation.
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The third phase of construction took place around 2000 B.C. and Sarsen sandstone slabs were arranged into an outer crescent or ring. Some 50 sarsen stones are now visible on the site, which may once have contained many more. Radiocarbon dating suggests that work continued at Stonehenge until roughly 1600 B.C., with the bluestones in particularly being repositioned multiple times.
Who Build This?
There are many theories regarding their construction. Many modern historians and Researchers now agree that several distinct tribes of people contributed to making Stonehenge. Each undertaking a different phase of its construction. Bones, tools, and other artifacts found on the site support this hypothesis. The first stage was achieved by Neolithic agrarians who were likely indigenous to the British Isles. Later, groups with advanced tools and a more technical way left their stamp on Stonehenge. Many scientists think they were native Britons.
Purpose To build this Stonehenge
There is strong archaeological evidence that Stonehenge was made for a burial site but most scholars believe it served other functions as well either as a ceremonial site, a religious pilgrimage destination, or a final resting place for royalty, erected to honor and perhaps spiritually connect with distant ancestors.
Stonehenge probably one of the most famous megalithic monuments in the world. Nearly 1 million people visit every year to see this UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s also one of the most mysterious, with its prehistoric concentric rings and numbers of speculation as to why and how they made.
