What is STONEHENGE?

When we try to learn to accomplishments of ancient man. we usually have to search or dig for evidence. But there is a case where ancient man has left all the evidence standing in a huge structure, and we still cannot understand what it is, what it was used for, and who built it !

This is Stonehenge. It consists of large, standing stones in a circular setting, surrounded by an earthwork, and located near Salisbury, England. As long as the year 1136, it was written that the stones were magically transported from Ireland by Merlin. Of course, this was only a legend. More recently, it was believed that Stonehenge was put up by the Druids, who were priests in ancient Britain. But there is actually no reason to believe that this is so.

Stonehenge has a somewhat complicated structure. On the outside is a circular ditch, with an entrance gasp. Then there is a bank of earth. Inside the bank is a ring of 56 pits. Between these and the stones in the centre, are two more rings of pits.

The stone setting consists of two circles and two horseshoes of upright stones. Then there are separate stones which have been given names, such as the Altar stone, the  Slaughter stone, two Stations stones, and the Hele stone.

In most of the holes that have been excavated, cremated human bones have been found. By studying the pottery and objects found, and by making radioactive-carbon tests, it has been estimated that parts of Stonehenge date back to about 1848 B.C., and possibly 275 years earlier or later than this date.

Part of Stonehenge is aligned so that the rising sun in midsummer is seen at a certain point, but nobody is sure is this was intentional.

So this huge and remarkable structure, which may be 4,000 years old, still remains fascinating mystery !