Stonehenge in England: history, photos, interesting facts, map
Just 130 km from the capital of Great Britain, the oldest building is located, the reason for the construction of which cannot be named until now. Stonehenge is still shrouded in secrets and mystical mysteries, attracting not only curious tourists, but also paleontologists, historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and many other scientists.
Where are
Giant stone giants have been guarding Stonehenge for more than 5 millennia, strictly guarding in secret the true reason for the creation of this peculiar monument of antiquity. Located in the middle of the Salisbury chalk plateau, the structure of huge stone blocks covers an area of 107 square meters. km and is located in the middle of a swampy area near the Devonshire hills. The unsolved mysteries of ancient Stonehenge give reason to call it the eighth wonder of the world. No wonder Stonehenge is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Origin of the word Stonehenge
Like the building itself, the word “Stonehenge” has an ancient origin. It is believed that it comes from the phrase of the Old English words “stan” and “hencg”, which translates as a stone rod. In fact, the upper stones are fixed on huge boulders in the form of rods. There is an assumption that the word “Stonehenge” has in its structure the Old English “hencen”, which means “gallows” in translation, since stone structures made of two vertical blocks and a horizontal slab lying on them resemble medieval gallows.
These sculptures, reminiscent of medieval execution tools, were called triliths, which in Greek means three stones. There are five such triliths weighing 50 tons. In addition to huge triliths, 30 stone blocks weighing 25 tons each and 82 five-ton megaliths were used in the creation of Stonehenge – large fragments of rocks that were used in ancient times for the construction of structures with religious purposes.
grand building
The stone monoliths of Stonehenge are laid out around the perimeter of a large circle. On top of these blocks are huge stone slabs. Inside the circle there are larger blocks of stone and covered with larger slabs, which are arranged in the form of a horseshoe. In the inner part of this peculiar horseshoe, there are blue stones that form a smaller horseshoe.
Averubi and Silbury Hill
During the study of Stonehenge, even more ancient structures were discovered nearby – a huge circle laid out with the help of stone vertical slabs – Averubi and Silbury Hill – a cone-shaped man-made mound reaching a height of 45 m. When studying these structures, they came to an interesting conclusion that they are all connected between themselves, forming a whole. Scientists made such a conclusion on the basis of the fact that between Stonehenge, Averubi and Silbury Hill the distance is 20 km, and they themselves are located so that they are located at the corners of an equilateral triangle.
Mysteries of Stonehenge
None of the scientists can definitely say for what purpose and how exactly this stone structure was erected. It remains a mystery how, several centuries before the victory over Troy, multi-ton blocks were delivered to the site of the construction of Stonehenge, if the distance to the nearest rocks is 350 km. Even using modern construction equipment, it is not at all easy to deliver a stone block weighing 25 tons to such a distance, but it is impossible to understand how this was achieved in the 2nd millennium BC.
Trying to somehow explain the reason for the appearance of stone monoliths on a swampy plain, people composed legends and tales. According to one of them, the powerful sorcerer Merlin brought legendary giants here by air to heal their wounds here. The British call Stonehenge “the dance of the giants”. Indeed, the stones arranged in a circle are associated with a round dance of giants holding hands.
Another mystery of Stonehenge concerns the construction of a megalith over the crossing points of underground rivers. Under Stonehenge there are huge reserves of groundwater. Their presence can be explained by the location of the stone structure in a swampy area, but how to explain how the ancient people managed to accurately position the megalith remains a mystery.
The construction of Stonehenge lasted about 2000 years. Recently, archaeologists have found on the territory of this stone structure evidence of ancient wooden monumental buildings that were erected here 8000 years ago.
cult place
Later, on the territory of Stonehenge, two earthen ramparts were formed in the form of a circle with a diameter of about 115 meters, separated by a deep moat dug by deer antlers. During excavations in some areas of the moat, bones of large animals were found, and in some places the remains of burnt corpses. Based on the conducted research, we came to the conclusion that this place was a cult and sacrifices were made here. Many hundreds of years after the final construction of Stonehenge, it began to be used as a cemetery for cremated remains.
Stonehenge stones
Inside the moat are blue stones, which were laid much later, around 1800 BC. e. Experts have established that these huge blocks were brought here from deposits located in different places, and moved from one place to another repeatedly. How it was possible without modern technology is hard to imagine. Outside the circle is a huge monolith called the heel of the fleeing monk. On the opposite side of the shafts, opposite the “Heel” stone, there is a “Stone block” inside.
Despite its name, the stone has nothing to do with sacrifices. Being exposed to external natural factors, weathering products appeared on the stone – iron oxides, which have a blood-red color. These “bloody” spots gave the stone its name.
In the center of Stonehenge, a block of green sandstone weighing about 6 tons was installed, which served as an altar.
The largest reconstruction of Stonehenge took place at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Huge stone blocks were delivered to the construction area from the southern hills located at a distance of 40 km from the construction site. Even such an insignificant distance by today's standards is difficult to overcome in modern conditions in order to transport 30 huge stone blocks. What can we say about the delivery of stone blocks at the end of the III millennium BC? The results of that ancient reconstruction have survived to this day in almost unchanged form.
purpose
Scientists all over the world are lost in conjectures about the purpose of Stonehenge. There are a number of assumptions and versions on this account. Some consider the gigantic building an ancient observatory, others argue that the Druids performed their religious rites here. It is believed that Stonehenge was built as a landing site for alien ships, and adherents of the existence of parallel dimensions are sure that a portal to other worlds opens here.
Some 5,000-year-old rock carvings discovered 14 km from Addis Ababa allegedly contain images similar to stone blocks of Stonehenge. In one of these ancient drawings above the center of a stone statue, the image resembles a spaceship taking off.
Paranormal activity
Paranormal researchers claim that amazing things happen near the complex. Once, during a tour of Stonehenge, the boy accidentally touched one of the stones with a piece of curved wire and fell unconscious. After this incident, the child could not recover for a long time and lost the ability to move his arms and legs for a whole six months.
While photographing Stonehenge in 1958, the photographer observed rising pillars of light above huge boulders. And in 1968, one of the eyewitnesses said that he saw a fiery ring emanating from the stones of Stonehenge, in which there was a bright luminous object. In 1977, eyewitnesses managed to film a UFO squadron over a megalith on a video camera, and this video was shown on all British television channels. It is interesting that during the observation of unidentified objects, the eyewitnesses' compass broke and the portable TV failed.
In the Stonehenge area, scientists have repeatedly heard clicking sounds and a strange buzz of unknown origin. Many scientists argue that the reason for such phenomena lies in the strong magnetic field that spreads around Stonehenge. Surprisingly, the compass needle, which should point south, always turns towards the center of the megalith, no matter which side of the structure you stop on. It is difficult to explain another strange phenomenon. If you knock on one of the stones in a certain way, then the sound will spread to all the stones, although they are not connected to each other.
Versions of scientists
The English architect of the 17th century Inigo Jones, studying the structure, came to the conclusion that the structure of Stonehenge resembles the architecture of ancient times and suggested that these were the ruins of an ancient Roman temple. Another version indicates that the pagan queen Boadicea, who fought with the Romans, was buried on the territory of Stonehenge. In this regard, there is an opinion that the leaders of the ancient tribes were also buried in Stonehenge.
Later, scientists suggested that Stonehenge was erected in order to accurately predict the time of lunar and solar eclipses, as well as the dates for the start of field work. The proof is the fact that on the day of the summer solstice during sunrise, its beam passes exactly in the middle of this stone structure. However, this version was denied by skeptics, who argue that it was hardly justified to invest so much effort and money to make sure that the ordinary calendar and the change of seasons existed.
According to many scholars, Stonehenge was a place of pilgrimage and healing. An analysis of human bones found in burial places on the territory of stone structures showed that the people buried here suffered from serious diseases. Warriors wounded in battles, crippled and hopelessly ill, rushed to the blue stones of Stonehenge, hoping to get healed here. Many, without waiting for recovery, died and were buried here.
Many unsolved mysteries are kept in the ancient Stonehenge. None of the stones has an inscription, drawing or any markings. It is difficult for scientists to cling to anything. We have to build versions and put forward hypotheses and assumptions. It is worth noting that similar structures made of stone blocks can be found throughout Europe and on individual islands, although in scale they are clearly inferior to Stonehenge.
Huge boulders of Stonehenge attract tourists and fans of mystery and mystery. Some seek to look at ancient buildings, while others believe that by touching the ancient stones, they will gain the vitality and energy that lies in Stonehenge.
Summer Solstice Festival
Every year, thousands of pilgrims gather near this mysterious stone structure on the day of the summer solstice to celebrate the festival of the same name. This pagan ritual is over a thousand years old. Participants of the celebration decorate their heads with wreaths and dress in their best outfits. Many of those gathered consider themselves pagans who worship the sun. Others call themselves descendants of the Druids. They all greet the morning sun with joyful cries, songs and dances to celebrate the longest day of the year.