In the article, “The walk among the giants- Stonehenge”, we are going to discuss the mystery of Stonehenge. Stonehenge is denoted as the wonder of the world. Stonehenge is an ancient site on the land of Britain. They are situated on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. It is made up of pillars of rock in a circular pattern. They are 13 feet tall and made of sandstone. They weigh 25 tonnes each. They are believed to be 5000 years old.
Henge means a bank and a ditch so Stonehenge is not just a name but a description of a stone surrounded by a henge. Stonehenge was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The present Stonehenge is incomplete, with many of its original torn down or taken away. It is in ruins.
They are located at different places at a distance. It is one of the most astonishing structures of ancient engineering and mystery about its construction still remains.
They are so heavy that it is still unknown how such heavy stones have been moved at different places. The types of stones that are used in Stonehenge are the larger sarsens and smaller bluestones. The bluestone from which the original Stonehenge was built has been moved 120 miles to the west. There is a theory according to which these stones were brought by wooden rollers. But no one knows for sure and we will probably never know.
Many scholars suggested that Stonehenge were a place for worship or simply a burial ground or clock or calendar. During summer solstice i.e. 21st of June, the sun rises and the stone channels sunlight into the centre of the circle. The same view appears during the sunset of the winter solstice (21 December). But why did ancient people spend thousands of years building churches and cemeteries?
According to a recent study, human remains have been found here. It appears to have been a huge cemetery; the relationship between worship and burial is still unknown.
We don’t even know who were these people and where they came from. There is a big question, “What does that it all mean?”. It leaves so much to the imagination.
Read more:
- Acclimatization: The Subtle Dance Between Humans and Their Environment
- The Anthropology of Sleep
- Lamarck’s Theory of Evolution
- Bipedalism and Structural Changes
- Natufian Culture
