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Why Did Humans Create Stonehenge?

Stonehenge is one of the most popular and enigmatic prehistoric monuments in the world still attracting historians, archaeologist and tourists from all over the world. This historical building dates back thousands of years; it is nothing more but a mystery in itself. Recent studies have given a new insight into the origin, functionality and role of this site, and its place in the culture allowing for a better understanding of its mysterious past.

Where Is Stonehenge Located in England?

Stonehenge, which is perhaps England’s most famous prehistoric monument, stands in the county of Wiltshire, within easy reach of Salisbury, to be precise approximately 8 miles to the north of the town. This mysterious and ancient monuments located in the area of lush meadows of southern England has inspired people all through millennia. It could have been used for a purpose, perhaps function as a gathering point for different communities in Britain.

Who Built Stonehenge?

According to archeologists, Stonehenge was built by Neolithic people and irrespective of the final impressive spectacle, the construction began thousands of years ago and then occurred in stages. Some of its construction is believed to be as early as 3000 BC, though period of progressive construction are recorded. Look at those builders; they brought such incredible creativity and cooperation and carried stones from distant lands to design this monstrosity.

What Is Stonehenge and Why Is It a Mystery?

Stonehenge is a primitive structure one that is made up of a circle of specially selected vertical stones. It is also old and consequently, very mysterious considering the fact that nobody knows the purpose for which it was created with any certainty. Theories about Stonehenge’s role range from it being:

An astronomical observatory for tracking celestial events
A ceremonial or religious site
A burial ground
An ancient healing center

Further complimenting this it has an exciting history attributed to the stones that form it. The Altar Stone is a central megalith that has been dated to come from north of Scotland, 700 kilometers in distance. Similar ‘blue stones’ were brought from the Preseli hills right in the southern Wales about 225kilometers away from the site while the sarsen stones were gotten from north beside the Wansdyke, almost 24 kilometers. Efforts such as these seem to transcend the concept of functionality or usefulness as their goal.

Is Stonehenge One of the 7 Wonders of the World?

Stonehenge therefore cannot be regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Old World. But today it is listed among the wonders of the world because of its great historical, cultural and architectural value. The mesas’ continued fascination makes them rank among the most famous landmarks anywhere in the world, even being referred to as one of the World’s Seven Wonders of the Prehistoric age.

Is Stonehenge Older Than the Pyramids?

Indeed, certain elements of the monument are older than some of the famous pyramids. Stonehenge was started at around 3000BC while the Great pyramids of Egypt was at around 2580-2560BC. This timeline just underlines that the beginnings of Stonehenge first tentative phases predate even the pyramids by several centuries – making the monument truly ancient.

A Monument to Unity

New studies suggest that Stonehenge was not only a religious or astronomical structure, but more than that. It was perhaps a grand gesture to try to weld Neolithic Britain together at a time when society was going through changes, and immigration from Continental Europe had steadily risen. The author of the article, Professor Mike Parker Pearson on this matter noted that the use of stones from distant region makes the monument more political and cultural. Stonehenge was presumably employed to express solidarity as well as relations to our ancestors and cosmos.

Stonehenge is the same in that its builders transported stones significant distances as opposed to other megaliths where stones were moved only a few kilometers away if at all. This effort is a unique example of unity and perseverance of Neolithic people.

Cultural Cooperation Across Long Distances

Stonehenge’s incorporation of the Altar Stone from North of Scotland was a means of proving that distant cultural exchange existed. Perhaps it was given or presented by the northern regions because it represents togetherness. This theory is backed by archeological categorization of Neolithic houses in the villages around Stonehenge and Orkney, northern Scotland. Such linkages suggest that there exists some form of a cultural bond across vast geographical divide:

Response to Social Changes

Stonehenge construction also occurred during a time of movement and community change. In coinciding with the period when the Altar Stone was placed at Stonehenge, some Britons of the steppe provenance started tricking into the island and brought numerous changes in the Britons’ gene pool and culture. Stonehenge may have been intended as an effort of Neolithic British people to cement their coherent identity and declare, to themselves and to others, that they belong to this place despite the aforementioned transformations.

But this rather grand project thus did not turn out as was planned. By the time stonehenge was completed the British Indigenous people had been displaced by the new settlers of steppe origin.

Conclusion

Stonehenge is an exciting archaeological monument, which reflects the initiative, scale and solidarity of the Neolithic communities. Its construction contains necessary and exceptional engineering and long-range cooperation that support practical and symbolic functions. However one choses to explain it, Stonehenge remains a great symbol of politics, religion or even astronomical purposes. The questions that Milan’s mausoleum poses continue to concern society with what our civilization and history involved and the relationships our forefathers tried to establish with one another, earth and the universe.