Why was Stonehenge Built?
Stonehenge’s controversial purpose developed numerous theories, however, archaeologists/historians hypothesise the structure was to replicate an ‘astronomical observatory’, signifying astronomy. But how have they analysed the evidence to justify Stonehenge's purpose being of astronomical significance? Stonehenge, located in Salisbury, UK, is a prehistoric monument, consisting of mysterious megaliths and several unusual artefacts surrounding it, making it of uncertainty. After its three main phases of construction (3100BCE to 2800BCE), it has just stood quietly over the earth enduring excavations, x-rays, measures, and surveys. There hasn't been any plausible evidence to explain the erection's purpose, but remains …show more content…
To prove further the non-accidental purpose of Stonehenge, many ethnic groups were hypothesized to worship gods related to astronomy during the construction of Stonehenge(determined by analysing statues of gods buried near Stonehenge - Hawkins "Stonehenge Decoded" 1965)and they could've taken advantage of the replication of astronomical alignments to perform rituals during particular eclipses. The Wessex tribes were one of the constructors of Stonehenge and were believed to have worshipped astronomical gods, as they were proven to have arranged the lintels to create the observatory for astronomical events("Khan Academy"2016); the belief was formed by a presumed purpose for Wessex people developing the astronomical observatory. Basically, Astronomy and religion were proved to be of great significance during the phases of construction of Stonehenge. When the estimated dates of eclipse occurrence(solstices)are accurate, the person making estimations would’ve been perceived to obtain superior powers. Consequently, priests from the Wessex tribe would’ve used the observatory for astronomical movements replicated by Stonehenge to identify certain dates in advance, as to carry out impressive rituals and emphasise their priestly power in the eyes of the multitude gathered at Stonehenge. Since the purpose of Stonehenge depends on the constructors, we can assume through the analysis of …show more content…
The henges are similar in appearance, built around the construction of Stonehenge and they even they even share similar astronomical alignments. Could there be a connection between Stonehenge, surrounding henges and astronomy? The astronomical significance of Stonehenge was further reinforced by groups of archaeologists surveying approximately 900 other stone circles beside the site and they detected ‘more astronomical alignments as the circumference of surveys became gradually of a closer proximity to Stonehenge' (Hill "Stonehenge" 2008). Provided each stone circle forms astronomical alignments, we can be convinced that astronomy was of definite significance to the people during the construction. Furthermore, most henges were constructed in a similar period to the others (Bradshaw Foundation 2016), indicating that a large demographic used astronomy to perform such rituals at the time. Since the application of astronomy in their religion was so popular, it is credible to predict the purpose of Stonehenge having some association with astronomy. Provided each of the prehistoric monuments are henges, historians (Archaeoastronomy at Stonehenge 2016) suggest that the constructors may have been similar to that of Stonehenge. As the constructors also used alike formats, we can assume that the continuous frequency of the similar placement of stones suggests a want to replicate some particular site. As the
Stonehenge’s controversial purpose developed numerous theories, however, archaeologists/historians hypothesise the structure was to replicate an ‘astronomical observatory’, signifying astronomy. But how have they analysed the evidence to justify Stonehenge's purpose being of astronomical significance? Stonehenge, located in Salisbury, UK, is a prehistoric monument, consisting of mysterious megaliths and several unusual artefacts surrounding it, making it of uncertainty. After its three main phases of construction (3100BCE to 2800BCE), it has just stood quietly over the earth enduring excavations, x-rays, measures, and surveys. There hasn't been any plausible evidence to explain the erection's purpose, but remains …show more content…
To prove further the non-accidental purpose of Stonehenge, many ethnic groups were hypothesized to worship gods related to astronomy during the construction of Stonehenge(determined by analysing statues of gods buried near Stonehenge - Hawkins "Stonehenge Decoded" 1965)and they could've taken advantage of the replication of astronomical alignments to perform rituals during particular eclipses. The Wessex tribes were one of the constructors of Stonehenge and were believed to have worshipped astronomical gods, as they were proven to have arranged the lintels to create the observatory for astronomical events("Khan Academy"2016); the belief was formed by a presumed purpose for Wessex people developing the astronomical observatory. Basically, Astronomy and religion were proved to be of great significance during the phases of construction of Stonehenge. When the estimated dates of eclipse occurrence(solstices)are accurate, the person making estimations would’ve been perceived to obtain superior powers. Consequently, priests from the Wessex tribe would’ve used the observatory for astronomical movements replicated by Stonehenge to identify certain dates in advance, as to carry out impressive rituals and emphasise their priestly power in the eyes of the multitude gathered at Stonehenge. Since the purpose of Stonehenge depends on the constructors, we can assume through the analysis of …show more content…
The henges are similar in appearance, built around the construction of Stonehenge and they even they even share similar astronomical alignments. Could there be a connection between Stonehenge, surrounding henges and astronomy? The astronomical significance of Stonehenge was further reinforced by groups of archaeologists surveying approximately 900 other stone circles beside the site and they detected ‘more astronomical alignments as the circumference of surveys became gradually of a closer proximity to Stonehenge' (Hill "Stonehenge" 2008). Provided each stone circle forms astronomical alignments, we can be convinced that astronomy was of definite significance to the people during the construction. Furthermore, most henges were constructed in a similar period to the others (Bradshaw Foundation 2016), indicating that a large demographic used astronomy to perform such rituals at the time. Since the application of astronomy in their religion was so popular, it is credible to predict the purpose of Stonehenge having some association with astronomy. Provided each of the prehistoric monuments are henges, historians (Archaeoastronomy at Stonehenge 2016) suggest that the constructors may have been similar to that of Stonehenge. As the constructors also used alike formats, we can assume that the continuous frequency of the similar placement of stones suggests a want to replicate some particular site. As the