Story of Stonehenge

[sloth]

Does anyone know the history of Stonehenge? When was it built, how was it built? What does it symbolise?

[Tophat]

A unique megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Its alleged connection with the Druids dates from the 17th Century, when people's ideas about what constituted 'the past'' were very vague. In the 12th Century it was believed to be a monument over King Arthur's grave; other theories have attributed it to the Phoenicians, Romans, Vikings, and visitors fron other worlds; modern theory inclines to the view that it was a temple. Scientific study and excavation have identified three main constructional phases between c.3000BC and c.1500BC, ie, it was completed in the Bronze Age. The circular bank and ditch, bouble circle of bluestones (spotted dolerite), and circle of sarsen stones (some with stone lintels), are concentric and the main axis is aligned on the midsummer sunrise - an orientation that was probably for ritual rather than scientific purposes. It is believed that the 'bluestones' were transported from the Prescelly Hills, Pembrokeshire, Wales, a distance of 320km (200 miles).