Stonehenge is a British icon, a fascinating remnant of the ancient world and an incredible place to visit on a tour of Great Britain. This prehistoric ruin has been drawing visitors to its megalithic stones for centuries and also happens to have a delicious mystery at its core – unlike other famous landmarks, such as the Egyptian pyramids, we’re still not completely sure what purpose it served when it was first erected…
Here’s what we do know: The structure originally comprised 30 upright stones, each approximately 5½ meters in height and 2 meters in width, of which only 17 stones remain standing today. Some have sizable lintels resting on their tops, and there are smaller upright stones (also capped with lintels) that form an inner ring. There also used to be a structure in the shape of a horseshoe at the centre, around a pillar called the altar stone.
Sufficiently intrigued yet? You haven’t heard the half of it! Over the years, plenty of highly qualified (and heavily curious) people, including some of the world’s foremost historians and archaeologists, have poked and prodded around the site to see if they could surmise what exactly its purpose was. Here are some of the most plausible, and somewhat entertaining, theories that exist regarding the intended purpose of Stonehenge:
Whatever theory happens to be correct, it’s also possible that the site was used for a variety of purposes over the course of its lifetime, in much the same way that it fulfils a number of purposes today. These days Stonehenge is not only a well-known tourist attraction, but also a place of religious importance for modern-day Druids, and a destinations for scientific study as we uncover the details of the lives of those who went before us
Take a day-trip to Stonehenge or see it on a tour of Britain to discover this incredible site for yourself!
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