Stonehenge interesting facts. Interesting facts and secrets of stonehenge. Why was Stonehenge built?
On December 18, a new museum complex with an electronic panorama and previously unexhibited artifacts opens in the vicinity of Stonehenge. For this event, we have collected interesting facts about this mysterious structure.
purpose
Stonehenge is a group of giant 5-meter stones set in a circle on the Salisbury Plain (Wiltshire County, South West England) between 3000 and 2000 BC. On its main axis, Stonehenge is oriented strictly to the point of the winter solstice. The rays of the emerging sun fall into the gap between the vertical supports of one of the large stones that form part of the circle. This fact gave researchers a reason to believe that Stonehenge is an ancient observatory, but disputes about its purpose have not subsided for more than eight centuries.
So, scientists in the 17th century noticed that the position of the stones can be linked to astronomical phenomena. A theory has also been put forward, according to which Stonehenge originally served to predict cosmic catastrophes associated with the consequences of the passage of the Earth through the tail of a comet. In addition, it is often claimed that Stonehenge was used for burials. Indeed, burials were found on the territory of the monument, but they were made later than the construction of Stonehenge.
Another version describes Stonehenge as a primitive temple - a place of rituals, funerals and festivities.
Stonehenge builders
The first researchers associated the construction of Stonehenge with the Druids, but excavations have shown that the construction was built much earlier: in the New Stone and Bronze Ages.
At the same time, it is noted that before the conquest of Britain by the Romans in the first century AD, the island was inhabited by a small number of primitive captives and communities that simply could not build such a complex structure. Legends associate the construction of Stonehenge with the name of the wizard Merlin. At different times, scientists called the builders of the construction of the ancient Romans, Swiss and Germans.
It was found by radiocarbon method that the construction of Stonehenge lasted in three stages for almost two thousand years, from 3020-2910. BC e. before 2440-2100 BC e.
Delivery of stones
It remains a mystery how huge boulders were brought to Stonehenge. Some of the stones concentrated in the center of Stonehenge were imported from afar. It is believed that these so-called "blue stones" were brought from a distance of 380 km, approximately from the east part of Wales, where the nearest stone quarry is located. Moreover, each stone was about 2 meters high, about 1.5 meters wide, 0.8 meters thick and weighed 4-5 tons.
According to researchers, Stonehenge consisted of 82 five-ton megaliths, 30 stone blocks of 25 tons each, and 5 giant triliths weighing up to 50 tons.
Restoration
In 1901-1965, the monument underwent numerous restorations, which became the subject of sharp criticism and even journalistic investigations. Many researchers point out that Stonehenge was completely reconstructed, and, most likely, even moved to another place. So, the curator of the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge Christopher Chippindale admitted that "almost all the stones were moved in one way or another and now stand in concrete."
Other "stonehenges"
Stonehenge is only the most famous and most imposing stone ring in the British Isles, but far from the only one. In total, about 900 such structures were discovered.
tourist attraction
Every year on the winter solstice (December 21 this year), Stonehenge sees an influx of tourists. Thousands of people from all over the world, including adherents of pagan cults, strive to celebrate this day in Stonehenge. According to British Minister of Culture Maria Miller, Stonehenge attracts a million tourists a year every year.
museum complex
The new museum complex opens on December 18, 2.5 km west of Stonehenge. It includes a modern electronic panorama with a circular view. Artifacts are also exhibited here, many of which have not been shown to tourists before. So, in the spring, visitors to the museum will be shown the reconstructed dwellings of the ancient builders of Stonehenge.
The arrangement of tourist infrastructure in the vicinity of Stonehenge will significantly simplify the life of visitors to the sights. For example, if earlier it was necessary to walk from the entrance to the complex to the monument itself, now guests will be driven by electric cars (the trip will take about 10 minutes). In addition, parking will be significantly expanded here, several restaurants and cafes will open.
Just 130 km from the capital of Great Britain, the oldest building is located, the reason for the construction of which cannot be named until now. Stonehenge is still shrouded in secrets and mystical mysteries, attracting not only curious tourists, but also paleontologists, historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and many other scientists.
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Giant stone giants have been guarding Stonehenge for more than 5 millennia, strictly guarding in secret the true reason for the creation of this peculiar monument of antiquity. Located in the middle of the Salisbury chalk plateau, the structure of huge stone blocks covers an area of 107 square meters. km and is located in the middle of a swampy area near the Devonshire hills. The unsolved mysteries of ancient Stonehenge give reason to call it the eighth wonder of the world. No wonder Stonehenge is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Origin of the word Stonehenge
Like the building itself, the word "Stonehenge" has an ancient origin. It is believed that it comes from the phrase of the Old English words "stan" and "hencg", which translates as a stone rod. In fact, the upper stones are fixed on huge boulders in the form of rods. There is an assumption that the word "Stonehenge" has in its structure the Old English "hencen", which means "gallows" in translation, since stone structures made of two vertical blocks and a horizontal slab lying on them resemble medieval gallows.
These sculptures, reminiscent of medieval execution tools, were called triliths, which in Greek means three stones. There are five such triliths weighing 50 tons. In addition to huge triliths, 30 stone blocks weighing 25 tons each and 82 five-ton megaliths were used in the creation of Stonehenge - large fragments of rocks that were used in ancient times for the construction of structures with religious purposes.
grand building
The stone monoliths of Stonehenge are laid out around the perimeter of a large circle. On top of these blocks are huge stone slabs. Inside the circle there are stone blocks of larger sizes and covered with larger slabs, which are arranged in the form of a horseshoe. In the inner part of this peculiar horseshoe, there are blue stones that form a smaller horseshoe.
Averubi and Silbury Hill
During the study of Stonehenge, even more ancient structures were discovered nearby - a huge circle laid out with the help of stone vertical slabs - Averubi and Silbury Hill - a cone-shaped man-made mound reaching a height of 45 m. When studying these structures, they came to an interesting conclusion that they are all connected between themselves, forming a whole. Scientists made such a conclusion on the basis of the fact that between Stonehenge, Averubi and Silbury Hill the distance is 20 km, and they themselves are located so that they are located at the corners of an equilateral triangle.
Mysteries of Stonehenge
None of the scientists can definitely say for what purpose and how exactly this stone structure was erected. It remains a mystery how, several centuries before the victory over Troy, multi-ton blocks were delivered to the site of the construction of Stonehenge, if the distance to the nearest rocks is 350 km. Even using modern construction equipment, it is not at all easy to deliver a stone block weighing 25 tons to such a distance, but it is impossible to understand how this was achieved in the 2nd millennium BC.
Trying to somehow explain the reason for the appearance of stone monoliths on a swampy plain, people composed legends and tales. According to one of them, the powerful sorcerer Merlin brought legendary giants here by air to heal their wounds here. The British call Stonehenge "the dance of the giants". Indeed, the stones arranged in a circle are associated with a round dance of giants holding hands.
Another mystery of Stonehenge concerns the construction of a megalith over the crossing points of underground rivers. Under Stonehenge there are huge reserves of groundwater. Their presence can be explained by the location of the stone structure in a swampy area, but how to explain how the ancient people managed to accurately position the megalith remains a mystery.
The construction of Stonehenge lasted about 2000 years. Recently, archaeologists have found on the territory of this stone structure evidence of ancient wooden monumental buildings that were erected here 8000 years ago.
cult place
Later, on the territory of Stonehenge, two earthen ramparts were formed in the form of a circle with a diameter of about 115 meters, separated by a deep moat dug by deer antlers. During excavations in some areas of the moat, bones of large animals were found, and in some places the remains of burnt corpses. Based on the conducted research, we came to the conclusion that this place was a cult and sacrifices were made here. Many hundreds of years after the final construction of Stonehenge, it began to be used as a cemetery for cremated remains.
Stonehenge stones
Inside the moat are blue stones, which were laid much later, around 1800 BC. e. Experts have established that these huge blocks were brought here from deposits located in different places, and moved from one place to another repeatedly. How it was possible without modern technology is hard to imagine. Outside the circle is a huge monolith called the heel of the fleeing monk. On the opposite side of the shafts, opposite the "Heel" stone, there is a "Stone block" inside.
Despite its name, the stone has nothing to do with sacrifices. Being exposed to external natural factors, weathering products appeared on the stone - iron oxides, which have a blood-red color. These "bloody" spots gave the stone its name.
In the center of Stonehenge, a block of green sandstone weighing about 6 tons was installed, which served as an altar.
The largest reconstruction of Stonehenge took place at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Huge stone blocks were delivered to the construction area from the southern hills located at a distance of 40 km from the construction site. Even such an insignificant distance by today's standards is difficult to overcome in modern conditions in order to transport 30 huge stone blocks. What can we say about the delivery of stone blocks at the end of the III millennium BC? The results of that ancient reconstruction have survived to this day in almost unchanged form.
purpose
Scientists all over the world are lost in conjectures about the purpose of Stonehenge. There are a number of assumptions and versions on this account. Some consider the gigantic building an ancient observatory, others argue that the Druids performed their religious rites here. It is believed that Stonehenge was built as a landing site for alien ships, and adherents of the existence of parallel dimensions are sure that a portal to other worlds opens here.
Some 5,000-year-old rock carvings discovered 14 km from Addis Ababa allegedly contain images similar to stone blocks of Stonehenge. In one of these ancient drawings above the center of a stone statue, the image resembles a spaceship taking off.
Paranormal activity
Paranormal researchers claim that amazing things happen near the complex. Once, during a tour of Stonehenge, the boy accidentally touched one of the stones with a piece of curved wire and fell unconscious. After this incident, the child could not recover for a long time and lost the ability to move his arms and legs for a whole six months.
While photographing Stonehenge in 1958, the photographer observed rising pillars of light above huge boulders. And in 1968, one of the eyewitnesses said that he saw a fiery ring emanating from the stones of Stonehenge, in which there was a bright luminous object. In 1977, eyewitnesses managed to film a UFO squadron over a megalith on a video camera, and this video was shown on all British television channels. It is interesting that during the observation of unidentified objects, the eyewitnesses' compass broke and the portable TV failed.
In the Stonehenge area, scientists have repeatedly heard clicking sounds and a strange buzz of unknown origin. Many scientists claim that the reason for such phenomena lies in the strong magnetic field that spreads around Stonehenge. Surprisingly, the compass needle, which should point to the south, always turns towards the center of the megalith, no matter which side of the structure you stop on. It is difficult to explain another strange phenomenon. If you knock on one of the stones in a certain way, then the sound will spread to all the stones, although they are not connected to each other.
Versions of scientists
The English architect of the 17th century Inigo Jones, studying the structure, came to the conclusion that the structure of Stonehenge resembles the architecture of ancient times and suggested that these were the ruins of an ancient Roman temple. Another version indicates that the pagan queen Boadicea, who fought with the Romans, was buried on the territory of Stonehenge. In this regard, there is an opinion that the leaders of the ancient tribes were also buried in Stonehenge.
Later, scientists suggested that Stonehenge was erected in order to accurately predict the time of lunar and solar eclipses, as well as the dates for the start of field work. The proof is the fact that on the day of the summer solstice during sunrise, its beam passes exactly in the middle of this stone structure. However, this version was rejected by skeptics, who argue that it was hardly justified to invest so much effort and money to make sure that the ordinary calendar and the change of seasons existed.
According to many scholars, Stonehenge was a place of pilgrimage and healing. An analysis of human bones found in burial places on the territory of stone structures showed that the people buried here suffered from serious diseases. Warriors wounded in battles, crippled and hopelessly ill, rushed to the blue stones of Stonehenge, hoping to get healed here. Many, without waiting for recovery, died and were buried here.
Stonehenge is a giant stone mystery in the very center of Europe. Today, very little is known about its origin, purpose and history. The mystery remains how ordinary people could calculate and build such a hulk. Our review contains 15 facts about one of the most mysterious monuments in Europe.
Despite the fact that there are still disputes about who and why Stonehenge was built, scientists have a clear idea of when it was built. The oldest elements of the megalithic structure date back to 3000 BC. (then they started to dig 2-meter ditches to form the outer features of the structure). Stones began to be installed around 2500 BC, and Stonehenge finally acquired its modern appearance around 1500 BC.
2. There are special terms for discussing this kind of monuments
There are two main types of stones at Stonehenge. The large upright and arch stones are composed of sarsen, a type of sandstone that is common in the region. Smaller stones are known as "blue stones". So they were named because they acquire a bluish tint when wetted. The giant three arches that made Stonehenge famous are called triliths.
3 Some Of The Stonehenge Stones Were Delivered From Far Away
When it came time to choose the stones to build, the Neolithic builders of Stonehenge did not like the local stones. Some relatively small bluestones (which can weigh up to four tons) have been imported from the Preseli Mountains in Wales. No one knows how giant stones were delivered over 250 km.
4 Stonehenge Was Originally A Cemetery
Although the original purpose of Stonehenge's construction is still shrouded in mystery, anthropologists can say with certainty that in the period before the appearance of the first large stones, the monument served as a resting place for the remains. Currently, at least 64 Neolithic people are known to have been buried at Stonehenge.
5. The remains continued to be buried at Stonehenge and later
Most of the remains found at Stonehenge were ash. However, in 1923, archaeologists discovered the skeleton of a decapitated Anglo-Saxon man dating back to the 7th century AD. Since the man was executed, it can be assumed that he was a criminal, but his burial at Stonehenge led archaeologists to believe that he could belong to the royal dynasty.
6. Rumors about the purpose of Stonehenge are often completely ridiculous.
Stonehenge's dark past has given rise to countless theories about the monument's original use. Theories range from a Druidic temple or observatory to a solemn site for the coronation of Danish kings. More far-fetched theories suggest that Stonehenge is a model of the solar system built by ancient aliens.
7. The first written mention of Stonehenge dates back to the 12th century.
Historian and explorer Henry Huntington is believed to have made the first written mention of Stonehenge in the following passage, which dates from 1130: “Stanenge, where stones of amazing size are set in the manner of doorways ... and no one can understand how such huge blocks were able to lift, and why it was done that way.
8. In the Middle Ages, people believed that Stonehenge was created by the sorcerer Merlin
In the absence of any more compelling theories about the creation of Stonehenge, medieval Britons believed the speculation laid out by the clergy historian Geoffrey of Monmouth. He claimed that the mysterious monument was the work of the legendary sorcerer Merlin.
9 Popular Myth: The Devil Created Stonehenge
Witchcraft was not the only supernatural explanation for the appearance of the melalitic monument. The mystery surrounding the transportation of the blue stone from Wales to Wiltshire has given rise to yet another paranormal explanation: the stones were placed by the devil simply out of mischief.
10 Neo-Druid Alco Ceremony
In 1905, a group of 700 people, allegedly members of the Ancient Order of the Druids, organized a supposedly religious ceremony at Stonehenge, at which alcohol flowed like rivers. Contemporary print media gleefully ridiculed the event.
11. Visitors are not allowed to climb rocks.
The ban appeared only in 1977, when the fact of significant erosion of stones due to their contact with people was established. And at the beginning of the 20th century, tourists were given chisels to make it easier for them to chip off a souvenir for themselves.
12. Charles Darwin made interesting discoveries while studying earthworms at Stonehenge.
In his old age, Charles Darwin became interested in earthworms. One of the sections of his works is devoted to the studies of the famous naturalist at Stonehenge. In 1870, Darwin studied earthworms and stated that as a result of the activities of these animals, large stones gradually sink into the ground.
13. Stonehenge used to be a full circle
Recently, restorers noticed strange dents in the peat around Stonehenge. Scientists have suggested that these are traces of stones that once closed the ring of the monument, and sank into the ground over the centuries.
14 An Ordinary British Citizen Owned Stonehenge For Three Years
Stonehenge has been the legal property of the British state for most of the last century, but would never have fallen into the hands of the government were it not for the charity of Cecil Chubb. In 1915, a millionaire bought Stonehenge for his wife for £6,600 as a gift. However, his wife did not like the gift and three years later Chubb donated Stonehenge to the state on the condition that the monument be maintained unchanged and open to visitors.
15. In the fall of 2015, you can bet on Stonehenge
For the centenary of Chubb's landmark purchase, an interactive re-enactment of the 1915 auction called "Sale of the Century" is being held. All bets will go to the reconstruction of the monument.
Lovers of history and antiquities will be interested in and who will dispel many of the myths that existed about this monument.
About 130 kilometers from London there is a very strange place - a bunch of huge stones neatly arranged in a circle in the middle of an open field - Stonehenge.
Their age cannot be accurately estimated even by the means of modern science - either three thousand years, or all five.
Why did our ancestors, literally just climbing down from the trees, suddenly begin to cut huge boulders out of the rocks and drag them hundreds of kilometers away? An ancient observatory, a cult building of the druids, a landing site for aliens and even a portal to another dimension - all this is Stonehenge!
Stonehenge is one of the most famous buildings in the world. It has 82 five-ton megaliths, 30 stone blocks of 25 tons each, and 5 giant triliths weighing up to 50 tons.
The very word "Stonehenge" is very ancient. There are several versions regarding its origin. It could be formed from the Old English "stan" (stone, that is, stone) and "hencg" (rod - since the upper stones were fixed on the rods) or "hencen" (gallows, torture instrument). The latter can be explained by the fact that the medieval gallows were built in the shape of the letter "P" and resembled the trilithons of Stonehenge.
Megalith(from the Greek "megas" - large, and "litos" - stone) - a large hewn piece of rock used in the construction of ancient places of worship. As a rule, such structures were erected without the use of mortar - stone blocks were held under their own weight or on hewn stone "castles".
Trilith(or "trilithon", from the Greek "tri" - three and "litos" - stone) - a building structure of two vertical blocks supporting a third, horizontal one.
Stonehenge. How it was.
The earliest surviving religious building on the territory of Stonehenge looks very primitive and does not resemble later stone buildings. Stonehenge No. 1 was built no earlier than 3100 BC and consisted of two round earthen ramparts, between which there was a moat. The diameter of the entire object is about 115 meters. A large entrance was arranged on the northeast side, and a small one on the south.
Presumably, the ditch between the ramparts was dug using deer antler tools. The work was carried out not in one step, but in sections. Studies have shown that the bottom of the moat was covered with animal bones (deer, bulls). Judging by their condition, these bones were carefully monitored - they probably had considerable cult significance for people who visited the temple.
Directly behind the inner rampart inside the complex, 56 recesses were dug, arranged in a circle. They were called "Aubrey Holes" after the antique dealer who discovered them in 1666. The purpose of the holes is unclear. According to the chemical analysis of the soil, wooden supports were not placed in them. The most common version is that lunar eclipses were calculated from the holes, however, the accuracy leaves much to be desired.
What was Stonehenge for?
As soon as people did not rack their brains - why did the ancients need Stonehenge? The very first references that have come down to us connect it with the legend of King Arthur - supposedly this monument was built by the wizard Merlin himself (according to another version, he transferred it with his charms from Mount Killaraus in Ireland).
Other stories "blamed" the construction of Stonehenge on the devil himself. In 1615, the architect Inigo Jones claimed that the stone monoliths were built by the Romans - allegedly it was the temple of a pagan deity named Knelus. In the 18th century, researchers discovered the “astronomical” function of Stonehenge (its orientation to the solstice) - this is how the version appeared, according to which this building belonged to the Druids. Nowadays, some experts claim that Stonehenge can predict solar eclipses or even perform complex mathematical calculations. The "planetarium" and "calculator" theories are very controversial - the evidence is usually refuted either by the simplest astronomical facts or by history itself (Stonehenge has been repeatedly rebuilt, changed its structure and probably served different purposes).
Interesting facts about Stonehenge
The most common archeological finds in the ground under Stonehenge are Roman coins and the remains of the Saxons. They date back to the 7th century BC.
There are more exotic theories about Aubrey holes. For example, the ancients could use them to plan pregnancy (based on the 28-day menstrual cycle in women).
"Blue stones" - dolerite, the closest relative of coarse-grained basalt. Dolerite got its “colored” nickname because it turns blue when wet with water. A fresh stone chip also has a blue tint.
"Heel stone" - so named because of the legend according to which Satan threw it at a monk and hit him in the heel.
The origin of the word "sarsen" is unclear. Perhaps it came from the later term "Saracen" (Saracen, that is, pagan stones). Sarsens were used to build not only Stonehenge, but also other megalithic monuments in England.
The inner side of the sarsens was processed much better than the outer. This suggests that, perhaps, the room was closed, and some important rituals were performed inside it, the participants of which did not leave the stone "circle".
Calculations show that the construction of Stonehenge (with the tools available at that time) required about 2 million man-hours of work, and the processing of stones would take 10 times more. The reason why people worked on this monument for almost 20 centuries must have been very good.
The theory of a UFO landing site arose in part due to the fact that there is a military airfield near Stonehenge (near the city of Warminster).
Huge stones, mounds, ditches, pits and ramparts - for many centuries, Stonehenge has been of interest to historians, astronomers, astrologers, who put forward various theories of the reasons for its origin and purpose.
Many people wonder how old this building is and what is the history of Stonehenge. In terms of age, it is not much younger than the Egyptian pyramids - according to the latest data, it was built almost four thousand years ago. The ancient inhabitants called it the “Dance (or round dance) of the giants”, and with just a glance at it, it immediately becomes clear why.
It has long been known where Stonehenge is and what it looks like. The building is located in Wiltshire County in the UK. According to the latest data, its construction began around 1900 BC. e. (at the end of the Stone Age), and ended three centuries later (while it was rebuilt three times).
First, the builders dug a ditch in the shape of a circle, then installed blocks and pillars of wood, dug out and placed 56 holes in a circle. The central element of the building turned out to be the Heel Stone, seven meters high, right above which the Sun still rises on the day of the summer solstice. This is exactly what the old building looked like.
The structure of the UK is extremely resistant to seismic activity. Studies have shown that builders have achieved this thanks to special platforms designed to soften or even extinguish tremors. Another feature is that they do not give the so-called "shrinkage of the soil."
The building itself has the following description:
- 82 stone blocks (megaliths). According to recent studies, the volcanic stones of Stonehenge are blue or greenish-gray in color, weighing 5 tons, most likely brought here from Karn Goedog, which is very far from Stonehenge - at a distance of 250 km. Scientists are still putting forward different theories about how the ancient British dragged a large number of five-ton blocks over such a distance.
- 30 stone blocks. Blocks of stone weighing 25 tons each, four meters high, and about two wide, the ancient builders placed in the form of a circle, the diameter of which was 33 m. Each such stone is a little more than three meters in length. The distance between the top of these lintels and the ground turned out to be about five meters. In our time, an arc has been preserved, consisting of thirteen blocks with crossbars.
- 5 triliths. The weight of each trilith is 50 tons. They were located inside this circle and formed a horseshoe. They were installed symmetrically - the height of one pair was six meters, the next one was higher, and the height of the central trilith reached 7.3 m. By the nineteenth century, only two southeastern triliths remained, as well as one curved support of the main stone. At the beginning of the 20th century, experts restored one northwestern trilith and straightened the support of the central one, which brought its appearance closer to the original.
Building Versions
Many people ask who built Stonehenge, how Stonehenge was built and how old it is. Stonehenge was built for several centuries and a huge number of people worked on the construction (it should be borne in mind that at that time very few people lived in the UK). Therefore, many scientists believe that all the peoples living at that time in this area were involved in the construction.
To build such a structure, the ancient British used dolerite, volcanic lava, volcanic tuff, sandstone and limestone.
Half of the monoliths were delivered from a site located more than two hundred kilometers from the building. According to some assumptions, they were delivered first by land, then - by water, according to others - they themselves sailed here by natural means.
Even experiments were carried out that showed that in a day twenty-four people are able to move a one-ton block of just one kilometer. This means that the delivery of one heavy monolith from ancient people most likely took several years.
Stones were processed in several stages in order to obtain the desired look and shape. First, even before moving, they were prepared for transportation with blows, fire and water, and after delivery they were already processed and polished, after which they acquired the desired look.
In order to install a block, they dug a hole, lined it with stakes, along which they rolled the monolith. After that, the ropes were installed in a vertical position and fixed.
Laying the crossbars was much more difficult. According to some assumptions, in order to put them on parallel stones, earthen elevations were made, along which the monoliths were tightened. According to others, they raised them using logs. First, they put them at the same height, dragged a block on them, then they built a higher pile of logs next to it, lifted a stone on it, etc.
purpose
Considering how many years and centuries it took to build Stonehenge, the number of people involved (according to some sources, at least a thousand) and efforts, the question arises why Stonehenge was built in the UK.
At first, its construction was attributed to the Druids. In the Middle Ages, most people believed that Merlin erected it overnight after the victory of the British king over the Saxons. During the Renaissance, historians decided that the Druids could not erect such a building, so the Romans most likely built it.
Now some scientists are convinced that this building is the burial place of Queen Boadicea. Moreover, the remains of ancient people were found here, according to the version of scientists, who belonged to 240 representatives of the local elite. At the same time, most of the human bones belong to 2570-2340. BC, and the oldest ones are older by another millennium.
Most researchers are inclined to think that buildings of this type were not only ritual, but also astronomical structures, since here they could intensively study other planets, stars, sunrises and sunsets.
Astronomical theory
Now, few people question the fact that Stonehenge was a huge observatory from which they watched the sky. Here it was determined on which day the summer and winter solstice would occur (at this time the Sun rises directly above the Heel Stone), and they began to keep an annual count of time.
Also in the course of research, scientists noticed that on the day of the winter solstice, the Sun is perfectly visible through one trilith, and the sunsets of celestial bodies through the other two. And two more were used to observe the moon.
Some scientists have put forward the idea that the holes located inside the circle accurately imitate the trajectory of the Pole of the World, which existed from 12 to 30 thousand years ago, as a result of which a version appeared that Stonehenge may well be much older than it is now suggest.
For example, David Bowen, a professor at the University of Wales, conducted research that enabled him to claim that this structure is 140 thousand years old. The theory, of course, is unlikely, but it exists.
Interestingly, when the scientist reconstructed the primary view of Stonehenge with the help of a special computer program, he came to surprising conclusions: the ancient observatory was also an absolutely accurate model of the solar system, consisting of twelve planets. At the same time, two, unknown to us now, are hiding behind Pluto, another one is located between Mars and Jupiter. The model surprisingly confirms the latest hypotheses of modern astronomy.
eclipse predictor
Eclipses of celestial bodies have always caused an ambiguous reaction among our ancestors - they were simply afraid of them. Therefore, according to one of the hypotheses, Stonehenge in the UK was built precisely in order to warn of a possible danger in time.
For example, Gerald Hopkins claims that at the time of the construction of Stonehenge, eclipses were when the rising moon appeared over the central block in winter. Autumn eclipses of the night light occurred when its rising completely coincided with one of the stones from the outer side of the circle.
It was in this place that the moon appeared once every eighteen years. And this means that three such cycles add up to fifty-six years - the number of holes installed in Stonehenge. Many years ago, when the ancients, after a certain time, shifted stones from one hole to another, they determined when such an event frightening them would occur, accurate to the time of the year.
Stonehenge is a wonderful place that attracts and attracts those around who are interested in its description and history. Stonehenge: interesting facts is the most requested question of tourists, to which the guides are happy to answer, revealing the secrets of the amazing construction of the ancient inhabitants.
