 Europe's
most famous and most easily recognisable ancient site continues to impress and to
intrigue. The origins of Stonehenge go back some 5,000 years to 3000 BC, when the first
bank and ditch was constructed, possibly with a wooden building at its centre. A thousand
years later the first stone circle was raised, but left unfinished. The
present stone circle, 1500 BC, is possibly the remains of a temple and is famous for its
trilithons, the large door-frame shaped stone arrangements, which are actually slotted
together with mortise-and-tendon joints. These are arranged so that when the sun rises and
sets on the solstices it shines straight through the circle along The Avenue on to the
Heel Stone. However, despite this solar alignment, evidence that Stonehenge was some sort
of observatory or lunar calendar is still slight and the purpose of the remains a mystery.
Unfortunately, because of its site next to a horribly busy main road, its limited
visitor facilities and the annual efforts of New-Age-Style groups to 'reclaim' the stones,
Stonehenge remains controversial. |