Spirituality was at the heart of Stonehenge from start. Neolithic and Bronze Age people put an enormous effort into building this extraordinary structure, despite the fact that it serves no known practical function. Many theories have been put forward over the years about the purpose of Stonehenge. But what does the evidence suggest that it may have been used for?
The sarsen stones, put up in at the centre of the site in about 2500 BC, were carefully placed to line up with the movements of the sun. If you were to stand in the middle of the stone circle on Midsummer’s Day, you would see the sun rise just to the left of the Heel Stone, an outlying stone north-east of the circle. Archaeologists have found a large stone hole to the left of the Heel Stone which may have held a partner stone: if so, the two stones would have framed the sunrise.
On Midwinter’s Day, the sun would originally have set between the two uprights of the tallest trilithon (two upright stones capped by a horizontal lintel). It would have dropped down over the Altar Stone, a sandstone block which was placed across the solstice axis. Today, this effect has been lost because half of the trilithon has fallen. But a laser survey of Stonehenge has shown that the stones that framed the solstice axis were the most carefully shaped, with vertical sides that framed the movement of the sun.
The whole layout of Stonehenge is therefore designed in relation to the solstices, which are the extreme limits of the sun’s movement. The solstice axis is also marked by the Station Stones, which are placed at the corners of a rectangle around the edge of the surrounding circular ditch. The short sides of the rectangle are parallel to the main alignment at Stonehenge.
The late Neolithic monument known as the Avenue, made up of parallel banks and ditches, links Stonehenge to the nearby river Avon. And it is also linked to the movements of the sun – its final, straight stretch close to Stonehenge is aligned on the north-east to south-west solar axis.
Recent excavations across the Avenue have found that the earthworks appear to follow the line of some ridges, with gullies between them (known as periglacial stripes). These are natural features created by glaciation. But it’s possible that Neolithic people noticed that the ridges and gullies lined up with the solstice, and may have chosen to build Stonehenge here as a result.
Marking the movements of the sun was clearly important to the people who built Stonehenge, as they went to such great lengths to align the monument with them. But we have few clues as to what they did here. Excavations show that the area within the stone circle seems to have been kept clean of everyday debris, and we can imagine that people came here to celebrate midsummer and midwinter.
The people who built Stonehenge were farmers, herders and pastoralists. The changing seasons would have been of immense significance to them, both practically – the seasons dictated what they could grow and when – and also probably spiritually. So Stonehenge is likely to have been much more than a calendar. Midsummer and midwinter may have been important times of year to remember the dead or to worship a solar deity.
Spirituality was at the heart of Stonehenge from start. Neolithic and Bronze Age people put an enormous effort into building this extraordinary structure, despite the fact that it serves no known practical function. Many theories have been put forward over the years about the purpose of Stonehenge. But what does the evidence suggest that it may have been used for?
The sarsen stones, put up in at the centre of the site in about 2500 BC, were carefully placed to line up with the movements of the sun. If you were to stand in the middle of the stone circle on Midsummer’s Day, you would see the sun rise just to the left of the Heel Stone, an outlying stone north-east of the circle. Archaeologists have found a large stone hole to the left of the Heel Stone which may have held a partner stone: if so, the two stones would have framed the sunrise.
On Midwinter’s Day, the sun would originally have set between the two uprights of the tallest trilithon (two upright stones capped by a horizontal lintel). It would have dropped down over the Altar Stone, a sandstone block which was placed across the solstice axis. Today, this effect has been lost because half of the trilithon has fallen. But a laser survey of Stonehenge has shown that the stones that framed the solstice axis were the most carefully shaped, with vertical sides that framed the movement of the sun.
The whole layout of Stonehenge is therefore designed in relation to the solstices, which are the extreme limits of the sun’s movement. The solstice axis is also marked by the Station Stones, which are placed at the corners of a rectangle around the edge of the surrounding circular ditch. The short sides of the rectangle are parallel to the main alignment at Stonehenge.
The late Neolithic monument known as the Avenue, made up of parallel banks and ditches, links Stonehenge to the nearby river Avon. And it is also linked to the movements of the sun – its final, straight stretch close to Stonehenge is aligned on the north-east to south-west solar axis.
Recent excavations across the Avenue have found that the earthworks appear to follow the line of some ridges, with gullies between them (known as periglacial stripes). These are natural features created by glaciation. But it’s possible that Neolithic people noticed that the ridges and gullies lined up with the solstice, and may have chosen to build Stonehenge here as a result.
Marking the movements of the sun was clearly important to the people who built Stonehenge, as they went to such great lengths to align the monument with them. But we have few clues as to what they did here. Excavations show that the area within the stone circle seems to have been kept clean of everyday debris, and we can imagine that people came here to celebrate midsummer and midwinter.
The people who built Stonehenge were farmers, herders and pastoralists. The changing seasons would have been of immense significance to them, both practically – the seasons dictated what they could grow and when – and also probably spiritually. So Stonehenge is likely to have been much more than a calendar. Midsummer and midwinter may have been important times of year to remember the dead or to worship a solar deity.
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