Stonehenge is a prehistoric arrangement of huge stones on the Salisbury Plain in England. It has been a source of wonder and mystery for thousands of years. Even in first century BCE, Romans knew little of its purpose, as it was already 2000 years old, and likely in partial ruin. It has been studied and investigated for hundreds of years; however, even today there are merely theories as to its purpose and guesses or assumptions about the people who built it. The construction of Stonehenge took place over a period of approximately 500 years, from 2000 BCE to 1500 BCE. Only a stable society, with a continuity of purpose, desire, and belief in the importance of Stonehenge could have built this structure.

Stonehenge however is not entirely unique. In England during the late Stone Age, many wooden temples were built with similar designs as Stonehenge. Many other circles of stone were also constructed at this time. This helps us to understand how its creators had the knowledge and skill to construct it. The stone beams are fastened to the pillars as if they were made of wood, using tongue and groove joints. This suggests that the builders of Stonehenge primarily built things out of wood, and applied their knowledge of building wooden structures to the construction of Stonehenge. This demonstrates the knowledge and skill that was practised in making it. The method of building must have been tested and improved upon over years of building similar structures. It suggests the culture’s purpose and design for these temples stayed relatively the same, and remained stable for a long time.

Stonehenge is comprised of very large sarsen and bluestones, which would take considerable effort to move and arrange. The construction of Stonehenge took many years of hard work and dedication from a culture whose want for such a structure remained consistent. The ring of stones was built some time from the late Stone Age to the Early Bronze Age, approximately 2000 BCE. The main structure was arranged from the Early Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age. The inner ring of bluestones was first set up in 2000 BCE but was left uncompleted. All 80 of these bluestones, which were from the Prescelly Mountains 240 miles away, each weigh 4 tons. It is thought that the bluestones were moved on land by roller and sledge, as well as carried by boats or rafts on the coast of Wales, and the Rivers Avon and Frome. The stones were moved to Warminster, Wiltshire, then by water once again along the River Wylye to Salisbury and finally arriving in West Amesbury from which there is only a 2 mile distance to Stonehenge. The sarsen stones were made around 1500 BCE. The sarsen stones of the outer circle weigh about 50 tons each, and are said to have come from Marlborough Downs, 20 miles north of Stonehenge. This distance would have been difficult crossing, as Redhorn Hill is in the way and would take 600 people to move each stone over the hill. The entire structure took at least 500 years to complete. Clearly, Stonehenge was something that remained important for a very long time, and the society that built it consistently believed that Stonehenge was worth the effort.

Stonehenge serves no practical function, and therefore it represents something that is of more importance to its builders than the basic aspects of living. The creators of Stonehenge probably built it for religious purposes. In 1964 Gerald S. Hawkins matched Stonehenge’s measurements with that of the astronomical positions from 1500 BCE. This proved that it could have been used for predicting the positions of the sun and moon in relation to the Earth. This means that Stonehenge could have had many purposes such as predicting the seasons, summer and winter solstices, vernal and autumnal equinoxes, eclipses of the sun and moon, and even as a daily calendar. Although they must have had impressive knowledge of science to do this, they probably thought of it in terms of how these natural occurrences affected their everyday lives. The sun, moon, and stars have always had an influence in religion and people’s perception of the world, and were most likely an important part of the religion of the people who built Stonehenge. Their beliefs in this religion had to have been quite strong, as a great dedication would be required to create such a monument.

There have been enormous changes within the past 500 years in our society. There would have been no influence at this time from the Romans and other cultures that invaded England later. Because the time frame in which Stonehenge was built lasted for so long, it took several generations of people to construct the arrangement. Life expectancy would have been considerably less than it is now, so there would have been even more people involved with the creation of Stonehenge. It is surprising that a culture could maintain the same goals, beliefs, and purpose for so long. Yet, Stonehenge remains proof that such a culture did exist. Only a society with a continuous culture could have constructed a monument like Stonehenge.

- Funk and Wagnall. Funk and Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnall’s Inc: United States, 1983

- Britannia Internet Magazine. Stonehenge. 1996. http://www.britannia.com/history/h7.html. May 2002.

- Burl, Aubrey. Great Stone Circles. United States: Yale University, 1999.