Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the county of Wiltshire. As one of the most famous site in the world, Stonehenge was added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Archaeologists had believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC. Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. In specific, it is composed of circle of Sarsen stones, surrounded by a bank and ditch enclosing a circle of smaller bluestones. Within this inner-circle is a horse-shoe arrangement of five trilithons with the axis alligned on the midsummer sunrise orientation. The construction of Stonehenge was an impressive engineering feat, requiring commitment, time and vast amounts of manual labor.
Archaeological evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project in 2008 indicates that Stonehenge served as burial ground from its earliest beginnings. Since it was made by people who lived there in the prehistoric times, they might have intended the site to be auspicious for performing some sort of religious rituals. As human bones have been recovered from beneath the site it is also assumed that it might have been used as an altar for performig human sacrifices. Plus, the orientation of midsummer sunrise mentioned above gave the idea that the tribes which installed these stones had worshipped celestial bodies like sun, moon and the stars.
However, the stone that we see today represent Stonehenge in ruin. Many of the original stones have fallen or been removed by previous generations for home construction or road repair. Still, Stonehenge is surely Britain's greatest national icon. It symbolizes mystery, power and endurance as the real purpose of bringing such huge stones to this place and arranging them in this particular pattern is subject to much study and speculation.
credit to : wiki & britannia.com
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