Stonehenge
Late Neolithic – Early Bronze Age·Late Neolithic Wessex / Beaker·🇬🇧 Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom
About
About Stonehenge
Iconic Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age henge and stone circle on Salisbury Plain. Concentric ditch, bank and settings of sarsen stones and smaller bluestones forming lintelled circle and inner horseshoe, aligned to midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset. UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986 as part of Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites.
Why it mattersType-site for British Late Neolithic henge monuments; central to debates on Neolithic mobility and long-distance stone transport.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Transport of bluestones 250 km from Preseli Hills, Wales
- 02Precise solstitial alignment without written plan
Theories
- 01Solar/lunar observatory
- 02Ancestral burial and healing centre
- 03Unifying monument for dispersed farming communities
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 3000–1520 BCE (earthworks c.3000 BCE, sarsen circle c.2600–2400 BCE)
- Period
- Late Neolithic – Early Bronze Age
- Culture
- Late Neolithic Wessex / Beaker
- Purpose
- Ceremonial gathering, astronomical alignment, burial
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c. 3000–1520 BCE (earthworks c.3000 BCE, sarsen circle c.2600–2400 BCE)
Initial construction
c. 1153 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
51.1789° N · 1.8262° W · 102 m · 3 mapped features
Sarsen Circle & Lintels
stone circleOuter circle of 30 upright sarsens with lintels
51.1789° N · 1.8262° WBluestone Horseshoe
stone settingInner setting of smaller bluestones
51.1790° N · 1.8261° WHeel Stone
outlier stoneOutlying sarsen marking midsummer sunrise
51.1783° N · 1.8245° W
Gallery