Stonehenge – an unsolved puzzle Around 4900 years ago, people of unknown origin began constructing what was going to become one of England’s greatest mysteries – Stonehenge. How did they manage to haul huge rocks over sea and great distances of land? Is it possible, in their era, to have such knowledge in which you require to stack huge rocks on top of each other - or was it pure muscle? The rocks were placed in a certain way making it look like a sacred, ritualistic monument. Who were these knowledgeable, mystical and religious people? And what is Stonehenge, really?
In the plains of Southern England 4900 years ago, people started working on a monument that was never to be forgotten. It took a long time for it to evolve into what is Stonehenge today. In the beginning there were two circles, beside each other. The outer circle was a ditch – stuffed with animal bones - and the inner was a bank made of the chalky soil coming from the ditch. Afterwards, the builders dug 56 holes on the inside of the circle, in which we think they placed timber posts.
50 years later, the timber posts had rotten, and almost every hole was filled with human cremations; the holes contained cremations of over 200 bodies. Stonehenge was at this time, a burial ground, more or less.
It wasn’t until 500 years later the builders gathered what Stonehenge is most famous for – the rocks; 80 bluestones were somehow transported to from the southwestern Wales to Stonehenge – the journey was 300 kilometres. Some of the rocks were so heavy they could weigh up to 50 tons. The mere thought is… amazing. Archaeologists have tried to re-create the journey, though with less fortunate results - it works in theory, but requires lots of effort. The most probable way the rocks were transported, is that they were already there, and then hauled to spot with rope and wood; there’s a chance that the glaciers throughout the ice age moved the stones to another location.
The final construction of Stonehenge should’ve looked like this. It consisted of 30 trilithons (two upright stones with a third one lying on top of them) forming a circle, with a diameter of 31 metres. In the middle, there is a formation of stones similar to a horseshoe, surrounded by 5 gigantic trilithons of sandstone, weighing up to 50 tonnes, each. In the very middle is the recumbent thick piece of sandstone - the altar.
Whoever built this masterpiece is a controversial subject. In the 12th century, people thought the wizard Merlin had built this for whatever reason. Later on, in the 18th century, it was the druids, because they are known to be a very ritualistic kind of people. However, the druids were, according to facts, not even present when the stones were erected – they appeared in Great Britain 1000 years later. Today, we still stick with the “druid-theory” or nothing at all, because that’s true, we don’t really know.
The purpose of Stonehenge is unclear, in the beginning it served as a burial ground. Later on, it was more of a ritualistic meeting point. It is also thought to have astronomical meaning. All we know is that it was of great importance to the people who lived nearby. Researching has been done, and proven that, with their tools; it would take around 22 million hours to finish Stonehenge - 20 hours for the stones. Why such an effort, we might never find out.
No matter how hard we try, we won’t find the ultimate solution to the Stonehenge puzzle. But maybe this is enough. We know the basics. Now is the time for our imagination to flourish. Stonehenge wouldn’t be half as interesting as it is now, if everything could be explained. Just the feeling of having something, which not even modern science can take away from you – is sometimes better. That is relative though, I’d personally prefer the truth!
The closest you can get to Stonehenge and its ancestors is to visit it. That is my personal advice to you! No matter how much you read or discuss about it, it’s nothing compared to the feeling of actually being there. Stepping foot into such historical wonders is, in my words, indescribable.
Resources
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/previous_seasons/case_stonehenge/index.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge Arkeologins största upptäcker – By Douglas Palmer, Paul G. Bahn and Joyce Tyldesley
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