STONEHENGE

                       One of England's Icons

          After several trips to Britain, Stonehenge was at the top of my list on a separate trip to London. Stonehenge, located in central southern England, is a little over an hour’s drive from London. The guide said that it had been his experience that most people found Stonehenge smaller than they envisioned.      

           Having seen several stone circles in my travels, this was not true for me. The soil is chalky and because it drains so well is good farmland. It is in the county Wiltshire, only about 9-10 miles north of Salisbury. It is often windy and cold as there is little to block the wind at the site.

            Much has been written about the famous circle and there have been numerous TV programs highlighting it, so this is intended only as an introduction. Some years after a chartered trip to the site I had occasion to stop again while moving from one location to another.

          Henge means suspended or hanging. Stonehenge, probably the most famous of the 900 ancient stone circles found in England and France, is not the largest. The original purpose is unknown as there is no written history, but Stonehenge has a definite relationship with the sun. Originally there were 160 stones, 60% of them remain and 40% of them have been lost or destroyed. From the parking lot there is a pedestrian under-street tunnel to the site.

On arrival our guide said, “Interest in the ancient stone circles started in the mid 1700s. The generally accepted theory is that Stonehenge was built in three stages over a period of 1300 years by three distinct groups of people from 2800BC- 1500. The first stage was built by Neolithic man who dug a large trench/ditch (mote like) in a circle placing all the excavated dirt in the center forming a mound. The Circle is 90 meters in diameter. These people used no stone.

“For 700 years there was no activity. The second stage was in 2100BC by people who were potters and were called Beaker People. Many pottery cups with no handles have been found, hence the name. These people brought several 4-5 ton blue stones and planted them in the middle of the circle. This blue stone is found only in one place—200 miles away in the Preseli Mountains in Wales. The entrance into the circle faces northeast. These people disappeared.

“The third stage in 2000 BC involved the Wessix people who placed Sarsen stones weighing 18-20 tons in the outer circle. Eight of these stones weighed more than 45 tons. The Sarsen stone comes from 20 miles north. The stones were dressed, meaning they were cut in rectangular shapes with the corners rounded. The project was finished in 1500 and in the process the blue stones were rearranged. The stones are buried 5-6 feet into the ground. Originally the outside stones were hinged with a stone across the top of each two stones. This cross stone is called a lintel stone. As the sun rises and sets in mid-summer it aligns the heel stone with a direct line into the center of the circle.”

Several ancient burial mounds can be seen in the background. It is fairly certain that Stonehenge was a religious site, and that worship involved cycles of the sun. Most scientists agree that Stonehenge may have been a kind of Neolithic computer with a sophisticated astronomical purpose.

It is an amazing feat which lends itself to making it one of the wonders of the world. It was pretty awesome to think I was standing in a special place viewing a structure that was 5000 years old! Was it a temple to the sun god?