Does anyone know why Stonehenge was really made?

Question

Religion, trade, nightclub?

Answer 1

to understand stonehenge forst we need to understand the colture and the religious beliefs of the people that built it and used it.

many theories abound about stonehehge this is my personell theory based on research into Celtic colture.

I am a Celtic Pagan.

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stonehinge is many things. it is a huge calendar that can predice solstices and equinoxes.

it is a religious tool. many celts were sun worshipers. and stonehenge was built in a way that on the solstices while facing the altar the sun would pass directaly behind a set of 2 pillars and illuminate a perfect square of space that would in turn send one solid ray of light onto the altar stone.

third and most ironic...it is not a henge monument.

stonehenge the most famous of the henge style monuments built in europe is not a henge.

henge monuments were built as such

1, a circle of stones on the outside.
2, 13 packed depressions in the ground around the inside of the stone circle.
3, 2 small ridges (possibly a canal to be filled with water) inside the depressions with the altar stone in the exact center...

the idea in most pagan beliefs for this was to create a focus point for magical power and divine energy.


stonehenge is the exact opposite.

the altar is in the center.
then the standing stones.
then the depressions in the ground
and then 2 ridges or a canal on the far outside.


furthermore it lies on a ley line.

so i think that stonehenge was build to disperse or to send power and prayers to all of the celtic people. and possibly the world.

Answer 2

When you think that 'Woodhenge' just down the road from Stonehenge was much easier to build then Stonehenge seems a bit excessive.
Putting a couple of sticks into the ground would have been perfectly adequate.
I can only think that it had 'Religious' significance - the usual cop out for archaeologists - and the guys had nothing else to do during the Winter months.
Sort of a job creation scheme but then less spectacular monuments crop up all over the place.
Just look at the work that went into Stonehenge getting those pillars the same size with bumps on to to stop the cap stones falling off and they were the right distance apart.
These were no fools these lads.
RoyS

Answer 3

I saw a special on the history channel about it. Not that anyone really knows for certain but....

The picture they showed with computer generation shows an open area facing the sunrise section which also corresponds to a great runway looking patch. I can only imagine a great festivity would take place on the solstices that would an all night party celebrating the rise of the sun the next morning. Perhaps even a king's chair or tribal chief or whoever you7 want to call the head guy in charge sat in the circle and became envigorated by the sunrise.

Pagan traditions celebrate the birthing of the oak king and the holly king on the solstices....perhaps this is the beginning of the idea. Being figuratively "reborn" on the sunrise.

Answer 4

As far as we can tell it was used as an astronomical observation area for the Druids so that they could predict the solstices. It did have a roof at one time so they used the slant and fall of the sun rises and sets through doorways to do this. It was also used as a temple and a burial site for chiefs and head Druids. As for the human sacrifice there is no real evidence that the Druids ever practiced this except as a form of punishment for criminals. Especially at the megaliths. No one has ever been able to pull DNA from the stones or soil like they can at Aztec temples. It seems to have been propaganda spread by the Romans to rationalize an attempt at conquering the Celts. At one point in time the stones were intricately carved with Runes and Ohgum writings. These have mostly worn away or have been destroyed by vandals. That's why you can't go up there any more. As for who built it no one really knows. I think it was the Tuath Te Danna, one of the earliest people to populate the area. The blue stones were used probably because they were sacred and would last a long time.

Answer 5

it is an ancient religious monument that gave the druids a way to reassure their people by demonstrating the reverence they used to have for the moon could still be exercised even though they had started to worship the sun, as the sun grew their crops. before the ancient brits had started farming, they worshipped the moon.

every 18 or so years, at a certain point on one of the solstices(i cant remember which one) the moon would be exactly above the sun in two of the gaps through which they shone, showing the moon to be more important than the sun.

Answer 6

One of the theories put forth on the History Channels docu called Lost Worlds was that Stonehenge was for funeral rites - celebrations of the dead etc. Along a ley line towards the sun further there was another henge called Wood Henge for celebrations of the Sabbats :)

Answer 7

There were Megolithic societies that based all of their culture on Astrology, and mostly on the rise and fall of Venus in the night sky. Stonehenge was built to track the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes. Anyone who tells you that we don't know why it's built didn't watch Discovery Channel last week.

Answer 8

Giant calendar so the priests could predict solstices and therefore the correct time to plant and harvest the crops.

So it had a very important purpose and the priests looked good because they could predict the solstices accurately.

Now why the bluestones were brought there all the way from wales, we wil never know. It's probably all to do with tribes merging, or subjugating each other. Perhaps the bluestones were trophies of some kind.

Answer 9

Everything is lined up according to the movement of the sun, moon, and stars. It was used to keep track of exactly when the seasons change so that they could celebrate their holy days on the correct date each year.
A small sun dial would do the same job, but wouldn't be near as impressive.

Answer 10

Stonehenge was built as a calendar - Druid's also used this site as human sacrifices - that's the large stone in the middle. I have the pictures - the ones written in English & Gaelic