Stonehenge is surely Britain’s national icon, symbolizing the mystique, power and endurance. Its primary purpose has remained unknown until now. However, it is likely that this was the church built as a symbol of worship of ancient gods. There are other versions of the meaning of this object, for example, that it was the observatory,
which was followed by time and calendars, or that this was the place
where the victims were sacrificed in the name of goods. The very use of
this forgotten ancient wonder of the world is not as interesting as it
is interesting way of its construction. What we can see
today are only ruins of Stonehenge. Smaller and larger parts are
removed for road construction, family houses. Also the visitors who
could come very close to it since 1978 were taking small rocks as
souvenirs.
Building of Stonehenge was very slow process,
its construction began around 4000 years ago and it was completed
around 3500 years ago. During that time, this was a huge project in
which thousands of workers were involved, it was
necessary to make special tools, unknown at that time and this project
asked a lot of time and money. The inner circle of Stonehenge is made of
so-called “blue stones” that have been passed down from the mountains
of Wales, which are located more than 300 kilometers
away. At that time, transportation of the stones was very difficult.
Stones had to be transported over very inhospitable
terrain across two rivers and to be set in Stonehenge. Each stone
weighed about 4 tons, and there were about eighty in an inner circle.
This section
is now almost completely destroyed, although it still considers that
the construction of this part has not been fully completed. The outer
circle is made of stones that have been passed down from the mountains
about 30 kilometers away. These stones are even higher than the
previously mentioned, they weigh over 50 tons and its transport was even
greater problem than transport of the “blue stones”. It is believed
that in some inaccessible areas needed more than 600 people to move one stone over the obstacle. When stone reached the spot it was necessary to utilize high leverage
and strong ropes in order to set the stones in an upright position. Who
built Stonehenge? This is a question that even today no one has a
conclusive answer.
There are various theories and opinions,
but each of them is missing a detail, which makes it remain just a
hypothesis. According to legend, Stonehenge was built of stones from
Africa, taken by the Giants, which was set in circles by the wizard Merlin,
who used its magic to do so. Today it is relatively easy to reach
Stonehenge, because in less than a kilometer from the highway. Today
Stonehenge is Britain tourist attraction, the challenge for many historians and archaeologists, but also a meeting place of many religious sects that believe that today there is a spiritual power in this object.
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