What is the story of Stonehenge

A.� Sloth asked the question and Tophat gave the answer: There is, of course, much more...< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

�

Q.� Go on, then.

A.� Stonehenge is, arguably, Britain's greatest national icon, greater than beefeaters, red buses and even the bowler-hatted city gent with rolled umbrella. It symbolises mystery, power and endurance.

�

Q.� What was it

A.� Almost certainly a temple for the worship of ancient earth deities. It has also been called an astronomical observatory for marking significant events on the prehistoric calendar. Others claim that it was a sacred site for the burial of high-ranking citizens from the societies of long ago.

�

Q.� How long ago

A.� In its first phase, Stonehenge was a large earthwork - a bank and ditch arrangement called a henge, constructed about 5,000 years ago. The ditch was dug with tools made from the antlers of red deer and, possibly, wood. Shovels were made from the shoulder blades of cattle.

�

Q.� And then

A.� About 2000BC, the first stone circle - now the inner circle - was set up, but not completed. The bluestones used in that first circle - weighing four tons each - came from the Prescelly Mountains, Wales, about 250 miles away.

�

Q.� How

A.� It is thought that the stones were dragged by roller and sledge to Milford Haven where they were loaded on to rafts, sailed to Somerset and hauled overland the six miles to near Warminster in Wiltshire. From there, they were floated down the River Wylye to Salisbury, then up the Salisbury Avon to West Amesbury, and another two miles overland from West Amesbury to the Stonehenge site.

�

Q.� And that was where all the stones came from

A.� Oh no. The giant sarsen stones - which form the outer circle - weigh 50 tons each. They came from the Marlborough Downs, 20 miles to the north.

�

Q.� An easier journey, then

A.� Wrong again. Some of the way was easy going (if you think dragging huge stones is easy) but the route gets awfully steep at Redhorn Hill. Experts believe 600 men would have been needed just to get each stone past this obstacle. Stonehenge was probably finally completed about 1500BC.

�

Q.� Who built Stonehenge

A.� Don't know. Not the Druids, for sure. That idea was floated 300 years ago by the antiquary John Aubrey (1626-1697). Roman writers told of a Celtic priesthood that flourished at the time of the Roman conquest of 55BC. By this time, though, the stones had been standing for 2,000 years - and the Druids had been going for only a couple of centuries. It is most likely that the Stonehenge site was begun by the people of the late Neolithic period (about 3000BC) and finished by the Beaker Folk.

�

Q.� Who Sound like some ghastly bearded folkies from the 1970s.

A.� Hush and learn. They were called Beaker Folk because of their use of pottery drinking vessels. They began to use metal implements and live in a more communal fashion.

�

Q.� Hasn't Stonehenge got some connection with King Arthur

A.� A purely legendary one. According to the 12th-Century chronicler, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Merlin the�wizard brought the stones to the Salisbury Plain from Ireland. Some time in the 5th Century, 300 British noblemen were massacred by the treacherous Saxon leader, Hengest. A fitting memorial was demanded. Merlin suggested an expedition to Ireland to move the Giant's Ring stone circle, on Mount Killaraus, to Britain. King Uther (whom Arthur succeeded) led an expedition and Merlin had to use all his magic to move the vast stones. Uther, Arthur, and Arthur's successor, Constantine, are said to be buried there.

�

Q.� What about Stonehenge's relation with the sun

A.� Stonehenge's axis is pointed roughly in the direction of the sunrise at the summer and winter solstices. Some scientists believe that early people were able to foretell eclipses by the positions of the sun and moon in relation to the stone monument. The site may have served as an observatory where early rituals or religious ceremonies took place on specific days of the year.

�

Q.� And it's worth a visit

A.� Yes, it's wonderful. Stonehenge is an impressive site... and should become even more impressive, as English Heritage rids the area of all the commercial tat that surrounds such an important attraction. Tourists demand car parks and gift shops and now English Heritage must work out how to stop them spoiling the area.

���������������������������������������������������������������

To ask another question about People & Places, click here

�

By Steve Cunningham�