CultureEurope

Stonehenge

3,001 BCE – 1,601 BCE

Rebuilt again and again over fourteen centuries

In depth

The monument aligns on midwinter sunset seen from within, and midsummer sunrise seen from without — both requiring generations of observation. Isotopes in teeth show people and animals came from across Britain for the great gatherings. Recent finds suggest the bluestones first stood in a circle in Wales and were moved here, as if an entire monument were carried along in a migration.

For children

Stonehenge was not built at once but reshaped over more than a thousand years. The largest stones weigh thirty tonnes. The bluestones came from Wales, two hundred and forty kilometres away — dragged or carried there by people without wheels.

Connects to

The megaliths rise4,801 BCE – 2,501 BCE
Farming reaches central Europe5,501 BCE

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org