Page 40 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

38 EUROPE Stonehenge

Built in several stages from about 3000 BC,
Stonehenge is Europe's most famous prehistoric
monument. We can only guess at the rituals that
ATLANTIC
OCEAN took place here, but the alignment of the stones
NORTH
SEA leaves little doubt that the circle is connected with
GREAT
B£ UTAIN the sun and the passing of the seasons, and that its
builders possessed a sophisticated understanding of An impression of the completed
prehistoric monument
both arithmetic and astronomy. Contrary to popular
belief, the circle was not built by the Druids; this Iron
Age priestly cult flourished in Britain from around Avenue
Built by the B e ake r
THE BELL-BEAKER CULTURE 250 BC, more than 1,000 years after Stonehenge people, this dirt path
It is believed that the Beaker people emerged was completed. forms a ce re monia l
in Britain around 2 2 00 BC. Their name derives approac h to the s ite.
from the distinctive bell-shaped pottery cups RECONSTRUCTION
found in their burial mounds, They are OF STONEHENGE
credite d with building the Bluestone Circle at This illustration shows what
Stonehenge because concentric circles were Stonehenge probably looked like
about 4,000 years ago. The stones
typical of the ir culture and much of their pottery
was unearthed in the vicinity. Their advanced remaining today create a strong
impression of how incredible the
construction techniques s uggest that the Beaker original site would have been to see.
people were s un worshipers, as well as highly
organized and skilled craftsmen They created Heel S tone
the Avenue, wh1ch runs d1rectly toward the A la rge s a rsen stone quarried in
midsummer sun, and widened the entrance to the Ma rlborough DCMII'ls stands at
the henge, aligning 1t more predsely wrth the the entrance to the site.lt casts a
long sha dcm straight to the heart of
sunrise of the summer solstice
the inner cirde on mdsunmer's day.
THE SITE
Slaughter S tone
Despite centunes of archeological, rehg1ous, Na med by 17th-century
fact one of a pair of stones y
and mystical interest 10 Stonehenge, the site's antiquarians who beliwed
original purpose rema1 ns unknown. The building S tonehenge to be a place of
human sacrifice. this was in
of this inscrutable prehistoric megalith has been
attributed to Greeks, P hoenicians, Druids , and that formed a doorway.
Atlanteans. Theories on the reason it was built
range from sacrifi cia I ceremonies to astronomical
calendars. Unearthed evide nce of burials Outer Bank
suggests that human sacrifices took place here, Dug around 3000 B C , this is
the oldest part of the s ite.
and most experts agree that S tonehenge has
rei igious foundations. The arrangement of the
stones fuels beliefs in an astronomical purpose.
The s ignificance of this s ite must have been
great, as the stones used were not quarried PREHISTORIC WILTSHIRE
locally but brought from as far away as Wales.
Ringing the horizon around S tonehenge
are scores of circular barrows , or burial
THE DRUIDS mounds , where ruling class members
Archeologists once cla1med that Stonehenge were honcred with burial dose to the Station Stones
was built by the Dru1ds, the pnestly class of the temple site. Ceremonial bronze weapons, F our pilla r stones stood inside
andent Celts, who performed ntuahstiC cere- jewelry, and other finds excavated around the ban k. lWo. dia gona lly
monies and sa entices here Although the Site Stonehenge can be seen in the museums opposite each othe r, ha d
is still assooated wth the Dru1ds, radocarbon at Salisbury and Devizes. mounds a nd ditches.
dating has proved that rt was ra1sed more than
1,000 years before they were established in the
region, and they may have used the existing site
as a temple. T oday, Stonehenge IS famous for
KEY DATES
modern Druid ceremonies and festivals. Eng I ish
300~1000 BC 1648 1900 1978 1984
Heritage, who control the s ite, perm1t Druid
gatherings in the inner circle each yearfor the Stonehenge is The site Is recognized On New Year's eve, two The British government S tonehenge is added
solstices and equinoxes. However, the s ite itself constructed in as a prehistoric of the Sarcen Circle prohibits visitors from to UNESCO's World
three phases. religious~. stones fall down. walking w~hin the Heritage Site list.
is cordoned off to protect against damage stone circle.
caused by an increas ing number of tourists.