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The sense of being in a place so ancient
you can actually feel the spirits whispering to each other.
Stonehenge is undoubtedly Britain’s greatest National monument
symbolizing endurance, history and the strength and determination of
those who built it.
Situated on the Salisbury plain, Stonehenge is a destination for
visitors from all over the world. Exactly who built Stonehenge or
the purpose behind building it is still unknown. We can only guess
at its origins.
The question of who built Stonehenge is largely unanswered to date.
The Danes, Romans, Saxons, Greeks, Atlanteans, Egyptians,
Phoenicians, Celts, King Aurelius Ambrosious, Merlin and even Aliens
have been credited with building this great megalith.
The best guess seems to be that the people of the late Neolithic
period began the construction of Stonehenge and it was carried
forward by the Bearer Folk. Their use of pottery drinking vessels
and metal implements and their communal manner of living support
this theory.
John Aubrey attributed the Druids with the construction of
Stonehenge. According to him, these high priests of the Celts
constructed it for sacrificial ceremonies. However, by the time of
the Druids, Stonehenge had already been standing for 2000 years as
recent discoveries have proven.
The legend of King Arthur also provides another theory. According to
Geoffrey of Monmouth it was Merlin who brought the stones to the
Salisbury Plain from Ireland. Sometime in the fifth century, there
had been a massacre of 300 British noblemen by the treacherous Saxon
leader, Hengest. The high king, Aurelius Ambrosius, wanted to create
a fitting memorial to the slain men. Merlin suggested an expedition
to Ireland for the purpose of transplanting the Giant's Ring stone
circle to Britain and hence Stonehenge.
Stonehenge was built in three stages. The first stage happened
around 50 centuries ago or 3100 BC when a circle of timbers
surrounded by a ditch and bank was constructed. The ditch was
probably dug by hand using animal bones and antlers. This is where
the mystery begins. Excavators found not only the bones used for
digging, they also found 56 holes that were dug to hold wooden
posts. They were later named as Aubrey Holes after the 17th century
antiquarian, John Aubrey, who found them in 1666.
Then in about 2100 BC Stonehenge was rebuilt. This time the 4 tonne
bluestone megaliths from the Prescelli Mountains in Pembroke, South
Wales (a distance of about 245 kms) were used. Considering that each
stone weighs about 5 tons it must have been quite an amazing feat to
transport the stones from Pembroke to Stonehenge. However, the
second phase of Stonehenge was stopped before it was completed. No
one is entirely sure for what reason.
Then in 2000 BC, work began again. This was the third and final
stage and the Stonehenge that was built now turned out to be even
bigger and better than the original one. The bluestones were dug up
and rearranged and even bigger stones were brought in from
Malborough Downs (about 32 kms from Stonehenge). These giant
sandstones or Sarsen stones weighed in at about 25 tonnes each. The
heaviest of them is said to weigh about 45 tonnes. The Sarsens were
positioned in a circle and capped with morticed stone lintels. This
is the Stonehenge as we see it today.
About 7 centuries later two mysterious rings of pits were dug around
the stones. With the passage of time, the landscape around
Stonehenge underwent considerable change and development. In the
Neolithic period long barrows and huge earthworks such as the Cursus
and Durrington Walls were created. In the Bronze Age hundreds of
round barrows were built for the burial of chieftains or leaders,
often with grave goods to support them on their journey into the
next world. The Avenue, a ceremonial approach to the Stones aligned
on the midsummer sunrise, was also built around this period.
Just as it is unclear who built Stonehenge and exactly when, the
purpose for building it is also ambiguous. A monument of nearly
imperishable quality, it was erected at a site of terrestrial
energetic power recognized by the people of then. It was most
definitely used as a device for astronomical observation used to
predict the days in the annual cycle when the earth’s energies were
most influenced by the movements of celestial bodies. It was also a
temple used to celebrate festivals of renewal during the
energetically charged days. It was also built with materials chosen
very carefully with specific intent. The diorite bluestones brought
from 240 miles away show evidence of prior use in another religious
structure; the micaceous, green-tinged "altar" stone of unknown
origin, and the great sarsen stones all are positioned in a way as
to resemble a pre-existing kind of sacred enclosure but, more
important, to function as a sort of battery for gathering, storing,
and ultimately expressing the earth energies of the site on the
festival days. Lastly, perhaps we are given some indication of the
power of the site by an old surviving record of an even more ancient
folk memory.
The stones are great
And magic power they have
Men that are sick
Fare to that stone
And they wash that stone
And with that water bathe away their sickness
- “Brut” by Layamon, 1200 AD.
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