Stonehenge Essay

We humans are curious and it is even obvious when we are children that we want to know more about things we don’t understand. This is one of the reasons for the popularity of Stonehenge, usually referred to as Britain’s greatest national icon. We are fascinated with Stonehenge because we really don’t know for sure who built them and why they were built though different theories have been raised. One day the answers to questions we have about Stonehenge may be answered but it may not decline our fascination with the site because it is an impressive feat of engineering from ancient times.

Stonehenge is located near Salisbury in county of Wiltshire and is considered one of the most famous places in the world. While it is estimated they were built at least 3,500 years ago, no written record related to Stonehenge exists. It is believed Stonehenge was built in three phases over a period of 1,500 years (Stonehenge, 2011). It is important to note that the Stonehenge visitors see today is significantly different from the original structure. Over time, the original structure has changed due to a number of factors such as time-related damage to stones, harm by previous generations for road repair and home construction reasons, as well as human contact though human contact has been prohibited since 1978 (Britannia).

As noted above, Stonehenge was built in three phases. In the first phase, groundwork was laid about 5,000 years ago. It is believed that the ditch was possibly dug with tools made of red deer antlers and maybe wood, too. The second stage involved the construction of the inner circle about 2,000 years ago. In this stage, bluestones were set up though the inner circle was abandoned before completion. The stones have been traced to P...

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... up in a circular pattern (Britannia).

Today, Stonehenge’s site is a popular tourist destination that attracts over 800,000 tourists each year. UNESCO declared Stonehenge a World Heritage Site in 1986 along with Avenbury, another henge that is older as well as larger than Stonehenge yet less well-known. Some restoration work has been done on the stones such as setting some of them in concrete to prevent collapse (History).

People visit Stonehenge for various purposes. Some consider it a sacred place while others simply try to connect with the past. Some go to stir their imaginations and marvel at the work of the ancient people. These days, the site can be visited after 9.30 am in the morning though times may vary throughout the year. The tickets cost 3.5 British Pounds for children and 6.9 British Pounds for adults. The rate for family is 17.3 British Pounds.