What Was Stonehenge For?

What Was Stonehenge For? book cover — Contents What Is Stonehenge 4 Who Built Stonehenge 14 How Was Stonehenge Built 24 Why Did People Build Stone Circles 36 Glossary 46 Further Resources 47 Index 48

What Was Stonehenge For? — page 1 — What Is Stonehenge The huge stone circle of Stonehenge in southwest England is one of the most well-known monuments of the prehistoric world But why was it built Every year people gather at Stonehenge to watch the sun rise on the summer solstice the longest day of the year They believe the stones were erected as a kind of calendar They think the farmers who built the monument used it to follow the movement of the stars in the sky throughout the year A modern-day druid celebrates the summer solstice at Stonehenge 4

What Was Stonehenge For? — page 2 — The movements of the stars told them when it was the right time to plant their crops or when to hold special rituals Archaeologists do not know if this is true There are many theories about the purpose of Stonehenge No one knows which is correct Preseli Hills Stonehenge IN CONTEXT Salisbury Plain Stonehenge stands on Salisbury Plain a plateau that covers about 300 square miles 780 sq km The grassy plain is home to many early buildings As well as Stonehenge early people built burial mounds called barrows stone circles and earthworks such as Durrington Walls on the plain Much later in the 500s bce Iron Age peoples built hilltop forts there Only parts of the monument still stand upright Other stones have fallen down over thousands of years 5

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