Theories about Stonehenge
Early interpretations StonehengeMany early historians were influenced by supernatural folktales in their explanations. Some legends held that Merlin the wizard had a giant build the structure for him or that he had magically transported it from Mount Killaraus in Ireland, while others held the Devil responsible. Henry of Huntingdon was the first to write of the monument around 1130 soon followed by Geoffrey of Monmouth who was the first to record fanciful associations with King Arthur which led the monument to be incorporated into the wider cycle of European medieval romance.In 1615, Inigo Jones argued that Stonehenge was a Roman temple, dedicated to Caelus, and built following the Tuscan order. Later commentators maintained that the Danes erected it. Indeed, up until the late nineteenth century, the site was commonly attributed to the Saxons or other relatively recent societies.The first academic effort to survey and understand the monument was made around 1640 by John Aubrey. He declared Stonehenge the work of Druids. This view was greatly popularised by William Stukeley. Aubrey also contributed the first measured drawings of the site, which permitted greater analysis of its form and significance. From this work, he was able to demonstrate an astronomical or calendrical role in the stones' placement.By the turn of the nineteenth century, John Lubbock was able to attribute the site to the Bronze Age based on the bronze objects found in the nearby barrows.The early attempts to figure out the people who had undertaken this colossal project have since been debunked. While there have been precious few in the way of real theories to explain who built the site, or why, there can be an assessment of what we know to be fact and what has been proven false.First there is the matter of radio carbon dating the construction of the site itself. As has been already stated in the construction outlines above, the monument building of the site began around the year 3100 BC and ended around the year 1600. This allows the elimination of a few of the theories that have been presented. The original theory that the Druids were the ones who built the site can be discounted first since it is the more popular one. The Celtic society that spawned the Druid priesthood came into being only after the year 300 BC. In addition to this, the theory that the Druids using the site for sacrifices is thin, considering that the Druids were pagans and performed the majority of their rituals in the woods or mountains, areas better suited for “earth rituals” than an open field. As to the other theory relating to the Romans, this is more ludicrous yet. The Romans never even came to the British Isles until they conquered the land in 43AD. The theories of Inigo Jones and others that Stonehenge was built as a Roman temple have been long dismissed. They were early theories, and when the actual dates of construction came out, any talk of merely early Saxon or Roman workers building the site are no longer considered. Other popular notions mentioned, aliens coming to Earth to build primitive man a map to the stars were dismissed out of hand, since besides being utterly impractical. There is absolutely no physical evidence to back it up, save unsupported supposition about the frequency of these sites in the area. The problem with this is that who we do not know who originally started building it or the purpose behind it. It is difficult to imagine it being built for uses only one or two days in the year. And since it appears that it was built in three or four distinct stages, it is virtually impossible to tell what the purpose might have been since it was obviously worked on by a number of different cultures.Other theories that have been taken out of consideration were the idea that Egyptian or Mycenaean or even Greek cultures, which coincided with the popular belief that these cultures infused Europe with Bronze Age culture. After the testing showed that the megalithic structures in both England and France predate these cultures, they were removed. Also mentioned on this site are the findings of John Lubbock at the turn of the 19th century that point to this site being a Bronze Age creation, based on axe heads and daggers and other artifacts that have been found. However, a number of carvings that were also thought to point to Bronze Age origin have since been refuted as being put in later, raising the serious question of whether or not the artifacts were used in the site or buried there at a later date in some sort of funerary rites.The question that dominates the debate as to what Stonehenge was used for can be easily divided into those that believe it to be a religious or a scientific observatory. The scientific idea carries more weight. As outlined in the theories section below, Gerald Hawkins noted 165 key sites that he stated correlated very strongly with the rising and setting points of the sun and moon. He believed that because of this, the site could be used to anticipate interstellar phenomena. There have been odd occurrences, like the Hale-Bopp comet passing directly over this site at the turnoff the millennia to support this theory. This has sparked that the idea that the site was created in order to help commemorate the solstices, as the alignment with the sun and moon would seem to indicate.Further supporting this line of evidence is the fact that the site’s alignment is focused along the lunar lines in a way that increases the accuracy of procession, which is the amount that the Earth’s slight tilt on its axis, or “wobble” Will eventually change the timing of lunar events. In short, this site could have been set up to more accurately predict events taking place in the heavens above. While there is still no conclusive evidence that this site was indeed intended for use as an observatory, the fact also thatMuch of the support for the religious use for this has come from a purely political standpoint. The modern Celts, who were for a long time believed to be the creators of the site, have moved quickly to claim the site as their own. They now hold festivals and ceremonies at different times during the year. The problem with this has been outlined above, with the carbon dating refuting their hand in the site’s creation. There are a number of assumptions that have supported this theory, however. It is known that on the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, the sun shines directly through the center of the structure, which given many of the cultural attitudes of sun worship that were rampant at the time, seems to indicate a religious purpose. In addition, much of what survives from the distant past, buildings, etc., have all been religious in nature.Again, much of the early interpretations as to the nature of this site and the reason for its construction can be theorized and speculated upon, but there is no bulk of hard evidence to point us in one direction or the other. There are portions of the site that have not been excavated, such as the West portion, so there remain possible hard facts out there. All we can say for certain at this point is when it was built and the mathematical facts stated above that go along with it.
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