Stonehenge -- UK's Mysterious Monoliths

Ancient English Henge Marks the Summer Solstice

Feb 18, 2009

Arthurian legend is that Merlin magically constructed the henge. Celtic Druids didn't build it, but they're closely associated with these Neolithic stone structures.

Stonehenge is one of the UK’s greatest treasures. Its original purpose is shrouded in mystery. Some speculate it was a place of worship. Others postulate it was an astronomical observatory for marking significant events or a sacred burial site for high-ranking citizens from ancient civilizations.

Many of the original stones have fallen or were removed by previous generations. Before the 1978s edict prohibiting touching the bluestones, visitors severely damaged some. The prehistoric carvings on the larger sarsen stones show signs of significant deterioration.

Building Stonehenge

The henge was a large bank and ditch arrangement constructed approximately 5,000 years ago. It‘s believed the ditch was dug with tools made from red deer antlers or wood. The underlying chalk was loosened by tools made from cattle’s shoulder-blades.

Bluestones, weighing up to four tons apiece, are in the inner stone circle, the first one built circa 2000 BCE. It’s thought they came from the Prescelly Mountains, about 240 miles away, in southwestern Wales and were dragged over land and carried by rafts in water.

The Outer Ring consists of giant sarsen stones, each weighing as much as 50 tons, transported from Marlborough Downs, about 20 miles away. It’s estimated that it took over 600 men to get the stones past Redhorn Hill. Stonehenge was probably completed around 1500 BCE.

Who Constructed Stonehenge?

While different groups of ancient people were given credit, the most well-known theory is that the Druidsbuilt it. This theory was espoused by English writer and antiquary John Aubrey in the 1600s. Julius Caesar and other Roman authors wrote about the Celtic Druid Priesthood around 55 CE, the time of the first Roman conquest in Britain. The stones had already been there for 2,000 years. Druids worshipped in forest temples, not henges. It’s more likely that people of the late Neolithic period, circa 3000 BCE originally built Stonehenge and the later Beaker Folk continued construction.

Stonehenge: Arthurian Legend

Twelfth century writer, Geoffrey of Monmouth, wrote that Merlin brought the stones to the plain from Ireland. Saxon leader Hengest massacred 3000 Anglo noblemen in the fifth century. High King Aurelius Ambrosius wanted to create a memorial to them. Merlin was to go to Ireland to bring the Giant's Ring stone circle to Britain, but he employed his magic to accomplish moving them. These stones, on Mount Killaraus, were taken from Africa to Ireland by giants and used for rituals and healing.

Stonehenge and the Druids

Druid civilization was neglected by the conquering Romans, then the early Christian missionaries. During the Renaissance, interest in ancient Greek and Latin writers was revived. People read the works of Tacitus, Julius Caesar and Pliny that described the Celts and Druids. By the 1600s, a romantic portrait of the Druids surfaced in English and French literary fiction. Edmond Bolton created Boudicca, the Celtic warrior queen, and credited her with building Stonehenge as a monument to herself. While John Webb claimed Stonehenge had been built by the Romans, people still associated the henge with the Druids.

There is evidence to support the earliest revival of the Druids was the Ancient Order of Druids, AOD, founded in 1781 by Henry Hurle. There were conflicts within the group that led to the founding of the still active United Order of Druids which has lodges in the USA and Australia. Winston Churchill, initiated into the Oxford’s Albion Lodge, was a member of the AOD.

It’s unknown when the AOD started their annual Summer Solstice celebration at Stonehenge. There are photographs that date back to the late 1800s. By 1900, visitors were causing significant damage to the henge, so property owner, Sir Edward Antrobus fenced it in and charged a fee to visitors. In 1918, Stonehenge was donated to the UK. It was placed under the jurisdiction of the English Heritage, a quasi-independent agency founded by Parliament in 1984, which has the responsibility of caring for ancient sites in England.

Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experience, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, (HarperSanFransico, 1991)

The copyright of the article Stonehenge -- UK's Mysterious Monoliths in Mysterious Places is owned by Jill Stefko . Permission to republish Stonehenge -- UK's Mysterious Monoliths in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.