Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a famous prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. It has big standing stones arranged in a circle, with other stones on top. Inside the circle are smaller stones and a special shape called a trilithon. The stones are lined up with the sunrise on the summer solstice and the sunset on the winter solstice.

The stones were placed there between about 3100 BC and 1600 BC. The big sarsen stones were put up around 2600 BC to 2400 BC. Radiocarbon dating shows that some smaller stones were added between 2400 and 2200 BC. Stonehenge may have been used as a resting place for people from very early times.

Today, Stonehenge is one of the most famous places in the United Kingdom. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The site is owned by the Crown Estate and cared for by English Heritage, with the land around it looked after by the National Trust.

Etymology

The name Stonehenge may come from old words that mean "stone" and "hanging." This is because the stones look like they are floating in the air. Today, the word "henge" is used for a special type of ancient circle made from earth.

Early history

Stonehenge was a special place for burial right from the start. It was important for remembering people who had died. Over about 1,500 years, many changes were made. People added more stones and built new parts.

Before Stonehenge, the area was covered with trees. Around 3500 BC, people started clearing the trees and building things. The first part of Stonehenge was a round ditch and bank made of chalk. Inside, they placed bones of deer and oxen. Later, they added standing stones, including smaller ones called bluestones that came from Wales. Some of these stones marked graves.

In later times, very large sarsen stones were brought from nearby places. These stones were put into circles and special shapes called trilithons. The stones were shaped and fitted carefully together. Smaller bluestones were also moved inside the bigger circles. The stones were changed and moved many times, showing that people kept caring for the monument for many years.

Function and construction

Main article: Theories about Stonehenge

See also: Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge

Stonehenge was built by people who did not leave any written records. Because of this, we do not know exactly why or how it was built. Some think it may have been used to mark important days, like the longest and shortest days of the year. Others believe it was a place for special ceremonies or to remember people who had died.

The stones were moved using simple tools, like rolling them on logs or pulling them with a sleigh. Some of the stones came from far away, which shows that many people worked together to build this wonderful structure.

Stonehenge-builders and DNA studies

See also: Neolithic Europe, Chalcolithic Europe, and Genetic history of Europe

Studies of DNA from ancient people in Britain show that the builders of the early Stonehenge structures were closely related to people from Iberia and Central Europe. These early farmers had ancestry from people who originated in the Eastern Mediterranean and later mixed with hunter-gatherers from western Europe. They arrived in Britain around 4,000 BC, bringing new ways of living.

Later, around 2,600–2,400 BC, new groups known as the Bell Beaker people arrived from Europe. These people had different ancestries and eventually became the majority in Britain.

Roman era

In 1979, researchers learned that the Roman army did not try to destroy Stonehenge. They found stone pieces from the builders or from the Middle Bronze Age.

In 2008, digs showed Stonehenge was used for rituals or ceremonies in Roman times. They found coins, pottery, and animal bones. A special trench with a bluestone slab and a Roman coin may have been a grave.

Medieval period

In 1926, a skeleton was found inside Stonehenge near a stone called Y-Hole 9. Tests showed he lived between 600 and 690 AD. Some experts think this spot might have been important during the Middle Ages because of what they found nearby. Others believe the name "henge" comes from the shape of the stone structures.

Modern history

People have studied and cared for Stonehenge for many years. In the 1600s, researchers like Inigo Jones and John Aubrey looked at the site and noticed special spots called the Aubrey holes. By the 1700s, John Wood, the Elder made careful drawings before some stones fell down.

In the 1800s, William Cunnington and others dug near Stonehenge and found old objects now shown at the Wiltshire Museum.

Restoration work started in 1901. William Gowland made a wobbly stone safer and learned more about how the stones were put up. In the 1900s, digs by Richard J. C. Atkinson and others found carved marks on the stones. Recent work, like the Stonehenge Riverside Project, looks at how Stonehenge fits into the land around it and helps us learn more about its past.