The Ancient Monument of Stonehenge

The monument of upstanding stones is one of the world famous tourist sites situated in the parish of the town Amesbury. It is nearby the ancient complex of England, which go back to Neolithic and Bronze Age. According to archeologists, the construction of the monument went through several stages. Roughly estimated, the circular stones were built between 3000 BC and 2000 BC (a theory suggests that the first stone of the monument was put as early as 3000 BC). Meanwhile, a radiocarbon dating (a technique to determine the age of organic materials) supports the theory that they started to build the monument from 2400 BC. The site was listed in the UNESCO Heritage List in 1986.

On the spot where the ancient  circular monument, Stonehenge (England) is located,
was a sacred site long before its construction.  

The inhabitants of the place were the Britons, which are supposed to have built the monument for over one thousand years. There are different theories on the purpose of the Stonehenge, each of them mysterious till nowadays. The monument consists of big stones (sarsens) which have an average height of 9 meters (30 feet) and weigh over 20 and more tons. The smaller stones called bluestones, weigh over 4 tons and were brought from the west of Wales. One of the mysteries is that stones weighing twenty tons required a special system of tools to be moved. Most probably these stones were transferred from one place to another by means of water. According to the theory, scientists have determined that men of that time didn’t have to move those stones all the way from Wales. By the end of the ice age, the smaller stones were moved by glaciers to the current area of the Stonehenge.

More than 240 tombs find their place on this site. Most probably this had been a sacred place some 500 years before the initial circular monument was erected. Another theory for the purpose of the monuments is that it was a site for worshiping the sun. The study conducted also reveals that the Stonehenge was a site of prehistoric beliefs. Accordingly, different religious ceremonies were carried out at the place. To understand its religious significance through ceremonies, the archeologists reconstructed the possible way how the pre-historic men could carry out the ritual which took place annually at the site of the Stonehenge.

This investigation revealed not only the Stonehenge is a sacred place, but also indicated its ancient origins as compared with Cursus (it is considered to be much older, than the upstanding stones of the monument). According to an archeologist from Birmingham university, it is possible that Curcus is even an older construction than the circular stones nowadays.

In the 1960s, there was a theory, according to which the site had an astronomical significance. Later on critics come forward to argue this theory by admitting that, at that time, the inhabitants of the area would probably lack that depth of astrological knowledge, and, moreover, the weather in England could hardly allow them to carry out any astrological activities and studies. Another point of view is that, the site of Stonehenge was cured, and many people visited the place to get healed.

As one of the world famous pre-historic monuments, the Stonehenge attracts over one million visitors each year. Some of the stones have been moved from the area to save them from collapsing. During the years restoration and excavation have been carried out, the latter revealing more henge of stones.