Stonehenge--An Ancient and Modern Marvel

Little is known about Stonehenge’s architects (“MSN Learning”1). Three centuries ago an antiquary named John Aubrey decided that is was the Druids, a caste of Celtic priests, who made Stonehenge. By this time, though, the stones had been standing for 2,000 years before the Celts had even arrived and was disproved by archaeologists. The legend of King Arthur provides another story of the construction of Stonehenge (Stonehenge 2). In the fifth century there had been a massacre of 300 British noblemen by the Saxon leader Hengest. The King wanted to create a mem

Why anyone ever decided to build Stonehenge remains a mystery, with theories ranging from religion to astronomy and from temples to burial grounds. Astronomers argue that is was used as a calendar for astronomical events (“Stonehenge period 3” 2), while archeologists and historians see it as a sacred place used for either temples to worship ancient earth deities or burial grounds for the ashes of cremated people of the Neolithic period/Bronze ages (“Stonehenge,” par. 3). Today, there is enough left of Stonehenge to speculate on its purpose, but not enough to say for sure why or how it was constructed (Stonehenge 2). But while astronomers, archaeologists and historians continue to debate theories on its construction and purpose, the only thing that can be said for certain is a description of what still exists today.

Stonehenge was constructed in three phases over a 2,000-year period between 3000 BCE and 1400 BCE. Erosion, time, and human invasion have worn it down, leaving many of the stones in stumps similar to a set of baby teeth (“Unearthing” 2). In its day, the construction of Stonehenge was an impressive engineering feat, requiring commitment, time and huge amounts of manual labor (Stonehenge 1). In the first period, Stonehenge was just earthwork. The builders made a circular enclosure outlined by two banks and a ditch with an entrance to the northeast and a standing stone a bit away from the entrance (“Building periods” 1). It is believed that the ditch was dug with too

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