Tell me what you think of stone circles and Stonehenge...?

Question

Im really interested to hear what everyone thinks they were for, any lore, mythology etc gratefully received x

Answer 1

The stones that retain heat the best are inside the circle whereas the stones that absorb cold are outside. This suggests that the inside was meant for warmth. It's apparent that the larger upright stones once supported joined lintels and some still survive; it would be pointless to make a trilithon to those standards if you weren't going to support anything with it, like a roof. Theoretically then it is plausible that what we had was a covered building, but to what purpose?
If you look at the surroundings, you'll see that in most directions there are barrows, but not all are of the same type.so it isn't a hard leap of the imagination to presume that more than one nation of peoples lived in what is now Wiltshire. This is supported by the fact that other monuments of antiquity are to be found. Stonehenge as we know it today was built over a period of hundreds of years, suggesting continual maintenance and development, which means it played a vital role in its builder's activities. Because of the continual development, it's unlikely to be a temple. Who would risk the wrath of God by knocking it down to build again?
It's a more likely hypothesis that this was a meeting place, probably for whatever the then equivalent of the local nobles were. We know that the west country appeared more advanced in early English history than did the rest, and it's plausible that the advancement came about by common consultation amongst the peoples living there.
There may amongst the nobles have been a titular overlord who sat at what we look at as an altar.
Where you find a seat like this you find a support mechanism and the presence of holes all over the site suggests that some kind of temporary accomodations were put up. Finally there may have been a market buying what was in deficit and selling surplus.
Of course it's all conjectural. The best anybody can do is make an educated guess given the facts, so don't take what I've said as gospel. It may just as well have been a launderette!

Answer 2

I'm on the fence over this but according to history in all races and culture people believed in witchcraft (comes under other names but basically witchcraft) and in some societies it is believed that the way the stones are positioned and how the stones are supposedly to do with the moon it is believed to be a place of "magic" qualities and healing powersand apparently in the woods near to stone henge there is a water pool that never changes temperature even in the winter so this adds to the "magical" theory but in truth I don't think anyone will ever find out why or how it was built but there will always be theories one I got told by one of my grandparents was that the site was where they first ever used a bomb and that is how the rocks got the way they are but if that was the case I'd rather it be magical it seems nicer and more pleasent and in a world full of war it would be nice to have something that was just peaceful don't you agree?

Answer 3

Stone circles are prevalent across the UK from the Scottish island down to Cornwall and across the sea to Island. The earliest appear to be Neolithic in origin, with the one covering the greatest area, and pre-dating Stonehenge, being at Avebury in Wiltshire.

I think they were both places of worship and meeting places for outlying settlements. There is also evidence to suggest that people also lived within the circles and avenues of Avebury. As appears to be always the way there is also the sexual aspects with both 'male' and 'female' stones, possibly used in fertility rites for the people, the animals and the harvest.

Stonehenge as we currently see it has had stones put back where people thought they should be within the last 200 yrs. Were they right?

As for folklore I like the thought that they could be 'gateways' between here and the hereafter, but better still you could transport between them. The later is of course a more recent idea.

I could go on quite a bit about this area, but will just say I like the question, and look forward to some interesting answers.

Answer 4

Stonehenge is probably the most important prehistoric monument in the
whole of Britain and has attracted visitors from earliest times. It stands as a timeless monument to the people who built it.

The stonehenge that we see today is the final stage that was completed about 3500 years ago, but first let us look back 5000 years.


The First Stage
The Earthworks or Henge
The first Stonehenge was a large earthwork or Henge, comprising a ditch, bank, and the Aubrey holes, all probably built around 3100 BC. The Aubrey holes are round pits in the chalk, about one metre wide and deep, with steep sides and flat bottoms. They form a circle about 284 feet in diameter. Excavations have revealed cremated human bones in some of the chalk filling, but the holes themselves were probably made, not for the purpose of graves, but as part of the religious ceremony. Shortly after this stage Stonehenge was abandoned, left untouched for over 1000 years.



The Second Stage
The Arrival of the Bluestones
The second and most dramatic stage of Stonehenge started around 2150 BC. Some 82 bluestones from the Preseli mountains, in south-west Wales were transported to the site. It is thought these stones, some weighing 4 tonnes each were dragged on rollers and sledges to the headwaters on Milford Haven and then loaded onto rafts. They were carried by water along the south coast of Wales and up the rivers Avon and Frome, before being dragged overland again to near Warminster in Wiltshire. The final stage of the journey was mainly by water, down the river Wylye to Salisbury, then the Salisbury Avon to west Amesbury.

This astonishing journey covers nearly 240 miles. Once at the site, these stones were set up in the centre to form an incomplete double circle. ( During the same period the original entrance of the circular earthwork was widened and a pair of Heel Stones were erected. Also the nearer part of the Avenue was built, aligned with the midsummer sunrise.)



Third Stage
The Arrival of the Sarsen Stones The third stage of Stonehenge, about 2000 BC, saw the arrival of the Sarsen stones, which were almost certainly brought from the Marlborough Downs near Avebury, in north Wiltshire, about 25 miles north of Stonehenge. The largest of the Sarsen stones transported to Stonehenge weigh 50 tonnes and transportation by water would have been impossible, the stones could only have been moved using sledges and ropes. Modern calculations show that it would have taken 500 men using leather ropes to pull one stone, with an extra 100 men needed to lay the huge rollers in front of the sledge.

These were arranged in an outer circle with a continuous run of lintels. Inside the circle, five trilithons were placed in a horseshoe arrangement, whose remains we can still see today.



The Final Stage
The final stage took place soon after 1500 BC when the bluestones were rearranged in the horseshoe and circle that we see today. The original number of stones in the bluestone circle was probably around 60, these have long since been removed or broken up. Some remain only as stumps below ground level.

Answer 5

The main theory i've heard is that they were for religious rituals, often connected with the calender (i.e. the summer of winter solstice). Different communities would come together so they would also be a meeting place. Often there are lots of longbarrows near stone circles, so presumably the sites they were located in were thought to be particularly significant. However this is just a vague guess - it's very difficult to pinpoint exactly what they were used for. Random information: at Stonehenge, different rocks are hotter than others, i don't know what to make of that.

Answer 6

Stonehenge and stone circles where built long before civilization was born. I wonder what were the living condition and mental state of these ancient people?

Without any books or epics, witnessing life events like death and birth and the struggle for existance must have made these people to look for freedon from fear. Probably the stone structures were the external symbol of protection from the mishaps of life..Whether these served the purpose or not we will never know. Today's church spires and tall pillars of mounuments may be a continuation of the ancient structures like the stonehenge, exprssing the human wish for something which is much more permanent, that which cannot be defiled by death and that which will last for ever,or simply the wish for immortality!

Answer 7

If there is one to be made, it is that we don’t know much anything, which is exactly as much as we did know before. Whereas it’s disputable to claim that Stonehenge was used to predict or even observe astronomical events, it is quite obvious that those Neolithic people who started to build Stonehenge did place a great importance to their gods – mainly the Sun and the Moon and if the megalith in the middle of Salisbury Plains wasn’t exactly built for skyworship, it was probably built with certain amount of honoring to the unknown.

Answer 8

They are placed over special places that have alot of extra energy (called dragons breath). The circles are made to concentrate this powerful energy into the center. People often meditated, buried the dead, did magick, and many other things within these spots. Spiral rock patterns were used as well as circles. These spots are everywhere. Some small ones can even be found in your backyard. All you have to do is dowse for them. I don't just think this. I know this! It has been proven by many people and even some scientists.

Hope this helps!

-Wiccan Teen )O(

Answer 9

Stone circles and Stonehenge are great calenders that mark the solstices and equinoxes by where the Sun rises in relation to certain stones and gaps between the stones. It was by the use of these stones that early people knew when to worship.

Answer 10

I want to get there some day when I am ready. One story was that stone circles contain some very ancient information but you have to be ready to get it. As long as I am not there- I am not ready. Around the World just few places of that kind. Lots of them quite forgotten or used in different way ( churches, masks, temples)