As you drive to the location of Stonehenge, you find very few road signs to help to locate the monument until you are within about 5 miles of the site.  As you follow the signs along a small country road, Stonehenge suddenly appears as you reach a crest in the road.  It is a magnificent sight.

The oversize picture below is a drawing of the site.

Stonehenge was constructed in three main phases over several thousand years.  The circular ditch and bank shown in the sketch is known as a "henge".   It was constructed about 3050 B.C. and can still be seen at the site.  A wooden structure was constructed around 2500 B.C. and the stone monument in the center was constructed, arranged and rearranged over a period of almost 1000 years from 2500 - 3500 B.C.  The stone monument, known as Stonehenge III,  is about 30 meters wide and the stones are about 4 meters in height.

At the top left in the sketch above, you can see the "Heel Stone".  It is located 60 meters outside the outer circle of stones.  If one stands at the center of the circle on the summer solstice, the Sun rises directly over the Heel Stone.  Other alignments are related to the rising and setting of the Sun at other times of the year.  Still other sight lines point to the most northerly and southerly risings of the Moon.

The builders of Stonehenge had no written language and left no record of their intentions.  Nevertheless, it is almost certain that these ancient peoples were very aware of the movement of the celestial bodies and that Stonehenge is some form of ancient calendar.  However, as one stands near the magnificent stones in this monument, one has the feeling of being in a cathedral or temple of sorts.  In earlier times, science and religion were not separate as they are today, so Stonehenge was probably erected for both astronomical and religious purposes.

Below are some pictures of Stonehenge:

In order to protect the monument, the public can no longer walk among the stones.  However, there is a path which completely circles the monument, allowing one to approach to within about 30 feet at one place.   This is a view of the circle of stones taken from a distance.  Notice that it is constructed on a quite flat plain.
 
 
 
 
 
 

  The path around the monument is visible in the lower right of this picture.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This is the closest one can approach the stones.  Actually, this picture was taken with a low power telephoto lens, so you can't get quite as close as it looks here.  The large stones in the foreground of this picture, and all of the large stones around the outside are known as Sarsen stones, brought from Marlborough Downs, 30 kilometers away.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This is a different view as one proceeds along the path circling the monument.  Notice the notch sticking up on the large stone in the center of the photograph.  Each of the upright stones has a notch carved into it.  That notch fits into grooves carved into the stones which sit atop the uprights so that the top stones are locked into place.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Still further along on the path, one gets this view of Stonehenge.  The massive upright stones around the outside weigh about 10 tons.  It was a very impressive feat to get those stones into an upright position some 4000 years ago.  The large stones are about 4 meters tall.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                                   Two more views as we progress around the circle
 
 

This is the Heel Stone, located 60 m from the center of the circle.  It and the smaller stones inside the circle are known as the Bluestones and are from the mystical Preseli Mountains in Wales, 385 miles away.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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