Stonehenge was built around 3000 BC. It is kind of a circular earthwork. It is one of the world’s most famous monuments. It is in the center of a large number of Bronze Age and Neolithic monuments. It is located on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. This monument is managed by the English Heritage and owned by the crown.
The exact reason is still not known why Stonehenge was built but it has fascinated historians, archaeologists and the general public for many years. It was built in several phases, began about 5,000 years ago. There are a total of 83 stones in the structure.
Quick Facts: –
- Two different types of stones have been used: – the larger sarsens and the smaller bluestones.
- Stonehenge originally had two entrances: – a wide one to the north east and a smaller one to the south.
- It has been estimated that the structure would have taken more than 30 million man-hours to build.
- In 1986, it was included in the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.
- Now it has become a tourists’ magnet as more than a million people visit here every year.
- The structure was a cemetery in its early days.
- Stonehenge used to be a complete circle of standing stones.
- It was once put up for auction.
- English naturalist Charles Darwin conducted his research on earthworms here in 1877.
- Earlier, Summer Solstice gatherings were banned at Stonehenge.
- Some people believe that the tall stones of the structure are actually grave markers and some of them believe that the entire structure is a giant clock.
- It is still a mystery how these stones got to the site.
