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Well, there are tons of stories behind Stonehenge, involving everything from Merlin to aliens (not to mention heavy metal). But maybe we should start with some facts... Stonehenge is a megalithic monument on the Salisbury Plain in England, about 85 miles southwest of London. It consists of a ditch and bank surrounding huge stones -- many weighing between one and 45 tons -- arranged in circle and
horseshoe patterns, along with a lane connecting it to the nearby River Avon. Construction began around 3,000 B.C. and continued until about 1,100 B.C. Unfortunately, the people who built Stonehenge didn't leave much evidence of why they built this massive structure. So writers and researchers through the ages have pondered the stones and come up with their own stories about this prehistoric creation. The most common theories suggest Stonehenge is an astronomical calendar, a religious site, or a combination of the two. From John Aubrey in the 17th century to William Stukeley in the 18th century to Sir J. Norman Lockyer and Gerald Hawkins in the 20th century, scholars have found that the position of Stonehenge's earthworks and stones coincides with solstices and cycles of the moon. But these scholars have interpreted this information differently. Early theorists believed the Celtic priesthood called the Druids built Stonehenge as a temple, but there are no records of Druids existing in the same time period that Stonehenge was created. However, other ancient peoples could have built Stonehenge as a temple that marked the solstices as holy days. But the great attraction of Stonehenge is the
mystery. We may never know why 25 generations of people labored to create this massive and awe-inspiring structure.
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