Stonehenge - Neolithic England - The Age of the Megaliths

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Stonehenge : Wiltshire England
Why was it built?

As to the purpose of Stonehenge, again we can only surmise. But clearly, the very scale of this unique megalithic structure suggests that the area itself was of importance. But for what? Was Stonehenge a temple to the gods? Who were the gods?

But one presents itself immediately – Stonehenge is aligned northeast–southwest, and it has been suggested that particular significance was placed by its builders on the solstice and equinox points, so for example on a midsummer's morning, the sun rose close to the Heel Stone, and the sun's first rays went directly into the centre of the monument between the arms of the horseshoe arrangement. It is unlikely that such an alignment can have been merely accidental.

It is tempting to assign the giant sarsen stones to astrological alignement. The danger here is that you can find an alignement to almost anything if you search hard enough. But one presents itself immediately – Stonehenge is aligned northeast–southwest, and it has been suggested that particular significance was placed by its builders on the solstice and equinox points, so for example on a midsummer's morning, the sun rose close to the Heel Stone, and the sun's first rays went directly into the centre of the monument between the arms of the horseshoe arrangement. It is unlikely that such an alignment can have been merely accidental.

Or is this too simple? Turning 180 degrees, another alignment becomes apparent…..at the precise moment of the winter solstice, the sun sets exactly between the largest sarsen stones.

	To validate this, we must look at the society of the time. It had become a society now dependent on the seasons, which determined the success of agriculture. Would mid-winter have been more important to a society that had now become dependent upon the fortunes of these seasons? Psychologically, mid-winter would have been more of a critical turning point than the balmy days of summer.

Perhaps therefore it is a mistake to overstate the monument’s spiritual significance. Certainly the area had been of importance prior to its construction, but it had become more than that - Stonehenge was a clock, a clock that that foretold the time not only of the solstices but perhaps also of sun and lunar eclipses.

This is not to say, however, that the priests did not utilise this very functionalism for religious importance – he or she who could announce or predict the return of the growing season would have wielded great power.

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