What was Stonehenge for?

What was Stonehenge for?

Stonehenge is of the most spectacular stone “henge” that can be found in England. It is situated in south-west England and was built by the Iberians during the Bronze Age. Stonehenge consists of a group of huge stone slabs positioned in a large circle. The stones are rare blue stones coming from the south-west part of Wales, now looking more dark grey probably because of some weathering effect. The stones weight up to five tons and they must have required several people to be shifted on the land. Moreover the positioning of the 7-tons lintels must have involved a remarkable extra effort. They sort of make sure the vertical stones will never fall down, and in fact Stonehenge has been an active site for at least 1700 years. The effort that the builders put into constructing Stonehenge is factual evidence that the site was to be built to serve a high scope.

But what is the meaning of Stonehenge? What was it for? Mainly, these questions remain unanswered and the mystery about Stonehenge lingers on. Considering the long period of activity of the site, one can think that the purposes of the location were diverse, or have been diverse through the centuries. The blue stones recall the blue color that was not only important for the gents of the Bronze Age but also for the Celts that arrived later. The Celts used in fact to paint themselves in this color and the name “British” itself means “the (blue) painted Celts”. At the time of its builders, the Bronze Age people were sky-worshippers and Stonehenge might have had a ritual and/or religious function. Moreover, primitive gents used to personify things or Gods and it is possible that each stone was given a “soul” representing some divinity or astrological entity. Indeed, some believe that Stonehenge may also have served as an observatory. Besides, the ring of large stones can be viewed as a ring of open doors that invites the gents in, leaving no one outside. As such it may have served also other purposes. It is possible for example that it was used as truce-grounds in tribal disputes or as a site for judgments and law enforcement or even as a market place.