What is Stonehenge

Stonehenge is an enormous man-made circle of standing stones. The monument was built by our ancestors over the course of many centuries, many thousands of years ago. It is one of the world’s most iconic prehistoric landmarks, and also one of the world’s biggest unsolved mysteries.

When was Stonehenge built?

Work began on the stone circle around 5,000 years ago during the New Stone Age, but it took over a thousand years to build, over four stages. Archaeologists understand that the final changes were made on 1,500 BC, in the early Bronze Age.

Stonehenge could have been a burial ground

In 2013, a team of archaeologists excavated the cremated remains of 50,000 bones at the site, belonging to 63 men, women and children. These bones date back as early as 3000 BC, though some are also dated back to 2500 BC. This suggests that Stonehenge may have been a burial ground at the start of its history, though it is not clear if that was the site’s primary purpose.

The Stonehenge structure is believed to have been built between 4000 and 5000 years ago. It forms one of the largest and highly complex sacred landscapes.

Stonehenge is historically linked with Astronomy

When Stonehenge was first built, archeologists believe that the stones were arranged in a full circle.

4,000 years ago, Stonehenge was made up of an outer circle of 30 standing stones called ‘sarsens’, which surrounded five huge stone arches in a horseshoe shape

Some of the stones were brought from nearly 200 miles away. How could people thousands of years ago have transported and arranged such colossal stones?

They are known as “ringing rocks”

The monument’s stones possess unusual acoustic properties – when struck they produce a loud clanging sound – which likely explains why someone bothered to transport them over such a long distance. In certain ancient cultures, such rocks are believed to contain healing powers. In fact, Maenclochog mean “ringing rock”.