Ancient History Of Stonehenge

There is something uniquely special about structures on our planet

. They either tell us about the genius of man at creating them. Or Gods imagination while designing them. The only structure in the world that possibly has elements of both man and god is the Stonehenge of England. This is one site where one gets boggled by all the WH - type of questions- who? What? Why? Where? When? And most interestingly, How? We will break down (not literally), the Stonehenge using the same questions.

The Stonehenge was said to be built around 3500 years ago in Salisbury Plain, England. The Stonehenge is made up of 162 large stones, also called menhirs, consisting of sandstone and blue stone. The innermost structure is the Altar Stone, which is made of blue stone. Around this is the sarsen horseshoe, made also of blue stone. This is encompassed within a ring of blue stone menhirs. The outermost circle of stones is called the sarsen Circle. Due to natural weathering and human destruction, around half of this structure is now missing.

There are many suggestions to the history of Stonehenge, as to who built it. They range from the Greeks and Egyptians, to the Celts and even aliens. The creation of the Stonehenge is also said to be the work of the magician, Merlin, from the fame of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Since there is no written proof of the creator of this megalith, we can only make guesses about it. However, the most popular guess on the builders of this massive structure have to be the Druids. Druids were the ancient high priests belonging to the Celtic race. And the Stonehenge was supposed to be a sacrificial altar.

The Druids were said to be originally members of a learned class of the Celtic culture during the final centuries BCE. These people used to pass on their knowledge through oral tradition, and hence no written records were maintained of them. Some theories propagate that the Stonehenge was like a calendar, it marked the astronomical and seasonal events like the summer and winter solstices, the lunar eclipses and the equinox.

Latest techniques of carbon-dating have however, proved that although the druids must have used the Stonehenge as an altar, it was not them who built it. The history of Stonehenge now has newer aspects. The most accurate techniques suggest that the Stonehenge was built in three stages. The first people to work on the structure were most probably the Windmill hill people, who were a Neolithic tribe from eastern England. There were a semi-nomadic clan who were hunters as well as agriculturists. They were said to be worshipers of circles and symmetry. There are a great many Windmill Hill burial grounds around the Stonehenge. The second group of people to work on the Stonehenge were the Beaker Folk, who came after the neolithic Period.

They were more advanced than the earlier clans of people, as they used metal implements. Being sun worshipers, they worked on the Stonehenge keeping in mind the movement of the sun and also keeping in check the summer and winter solstices. The thirds stage saw the Wessex people, who came along at the time of the Bronze Age. This age saw the completion of work on the Stonehenge. A clear sign of their technological advancement is the carving of copper articles one can find on the blue stone.

There are never going to be definite answers to the questions of the history of Stonehenge. The structure it seems, is meant to be a mysterious clue about ancient people of the world, without letting on too much about them.

by: Celina Johnston

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