The Great Mystery of Stonehenge

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Seven Wonders of the World”, but do we actually know what all of them are? They’re actually categorized by the eras in which they were constructed, and in terms of the ancient time period, Stonehenge is actually the fourth Wonder of the World! But what makes Stonehenge so high up on that list? To those who do not know, (and it’s surprisingly quite a bit of people who do not know about Stonehenge) it is simply an arrangement of rocks. In this article, we’ll discuss what Stonehenge is, what its purpose was or is, and the mystery that envelops it.

A Brief History

Most scientists agree that Stonehenge was constructed around 3100 B.C.E. It’s located within the Salisbury Plain in England, and it’s numerous and carefully placed stones are almost all still virtually intact, save for a couple that has crumbled due to weather conditions. The site was actually something that was built in a few different phases. First, ditches were dug to create a type of inside and outside. Next, the stones arrived and were set in place, though no one knows for sure how exactly these ridiculously heavy stones (about 25 tons each) were carried in the era in which Stonehenge was constructed. The stones were arranged in what is called a Sarsen Circle—or a specialized mathematic circle-- and for the time period, this was certainly a show of highly advanced engineering. It has also been found that a large portion of the rocks face the sun on the first day of the summer solstice in England. Was this the work of ancient astronomers? Who knows? What we do know for certain is that it is a site that is still standing today and is otherwise very well taken care of, and the utmost efforts are given to its preservation.

The Theories

Though scientists have went back and forth for the past few centuries over the actual purpose of Stonehenge, there are three very different theories that stand up in the eyes of science. The first is that it was used as an ancient burial or specialized cremation site for important people within the civilization. More recently, some archaeological digs have uncovered hundreds of human bones within and around the site, so this is probably the most popular theory. Humans in ancient times often had very sacred ceremonies when burying their loved ones, so it has been hypothesized that Stonehenge was a type of “temple of the dead” in that era.

The next theory is that this was a type of ancient astrological calendar. This synchs well with the information we have about the stones being positioned to match the summer solstice as well as a few other constellations. The ancient era was a time that was spent searching for answers into whom we are and why we’re here, so it’s not unlikely that a group of people would have spent the time and energy constructing such an intricate thing.

The third theory is that it is an alien landing site. This might sound silly, but just this year, scientists used a specialized magnetic radar camera to see what was beneath this Wonder of the World. Their findings were incredible. Beneath these twenty five ton stones lie circular monuments and carvings, and other types of things that very much resembled the crop circles that we know about now. It is no doubt that all of these were very meticulously placed and this brings light to the existence of other life forms. It appears that whoever constructed this was trying to communicate with something else, and perhaps the stones were to be a type of signal to other life. The way these monuments were found placed under each enormous stone now has scientists thinking that each stone represents something different or perhaps a different word in a language in which we cannot identify as of yet.

Conclusively, whether you believe this was a special place for the noble and dead to be buried believe it’s an astrological calendar, an alien landing site or anything else in between, the fact is that there was once something important going on at this site, but we do not know precisely what. Though we do not have all of the answers quite yet, it is certain that we most likely will in the future. In the meantime, we simply have to accept that Stonehenge is going to remain a mystery—and perhaps that’s the best part about it.