Ancient site · Megalith
Stonehenge
Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in England was built in stages from about 3100 to 1600 BCE. It began as a circular ditch and bank.
The great ring of sarsen stones, each about 25 tonnes and topped by lintels joined with woodworking-style joints, was put up between about 2600 and 2400 BCE. Smaller bluestones were brought from Wales. The monument lines up with sunrise at the summer solstice and sunset at the winter solstice, and hundreds of burial mounds surround it.
- Dates
- c. 3100–1600 BCE (sarsen circle c. 2600–2400 BCE)
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 51.18° N, 1.83° W
How we know
No writing existed; radiocarbon dating of antler picks, bones and pits shows its building phases, but its purpose is still debated.
Nearby sites
- Cairn of Barnenez built c. 4850–4000 BCE; reused in the 3rd millennium BCE
- Star Carr c. 9300–8500 BCE
- Carnac stones c. 4500–3300 BCE
- Newgrange built c. 3100 BCE; out of use by the Bronze Age
- Hadrian's Wall begun 122 CE; Roman rule ended c. 410 CE
- Ness of Brodgar c. 3500–2200 BCE