Stonehenge

One of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular and U-shaped structures made of large menhirs. It is located in the center of the densest complex of Neolithic monuments and Bronze Age in England. The monument and its surroundings have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 along with Avebury. Stonehenge transferred to the management of the British Crown "English Heritage", while surrounding areas belong to the National Trust.

Purpose of Stonehenge Legends associated with the name of the construction of Stonehenge Merlin. In the middle of the XVII century English architect Inigo Jones put forward the theory that Stonehenge was built by the Romans. Some scholars of the Middle Ages believed that Stonehenge was built Swiss or Germans. At the beginning of XIX century, has established itself as a version of Stonehenge, the Druids of the sanctuary. Some thought that this tomb Boaditsei - pagan queen.

Even the authors of XVIII century noticed that the position of the stones can be associated with astronomical phenomena. The most famous modern attempt to interpret Stonehenge as a grand observatory belongs to the Stone Age, J. Hawkins and J. White. Scientific evidence, it is not. It is also often argued that Stonehenge was used for burials. Indeed, in the burial monument found, but they were made well after the construction of Stonehenge. For example, in the ditch the skeleton of young men, dated by radiocarbon method over the years BC. e.

The history of Stonehenge (Stonehenge) has more than four thousand years, but until the mid-twentieth century AD there was no clear understanding of what constitutes this giant megalithic monuments. And only through many years of work English professor and astronomer Gerald Hawkins, who used in their research the latest electronic computers, was able to prove that Stonehenge was the largest megalithic observatory of ancient civilizations, as of megaliths which define the solar and lunar eclipses, the days of the winter and summer solstices and etc.