Stonehenge

Earth’s four corners are filled with astonishing heritages, were it natural or man-made. Almost all countries have a preserved heritage on their territory that attracts hordes of tourist each year. Sometimes, however, the cause of such fame is not the beauty of the attractions, but rather the mystery behind their existence. In this essay, I will cover the case of Stonehenge, a touristic yet strange spot.

Located in the southwestern county Wiltshire in England, Stonehenge has been one of the world’s most utmost ancient sites. It consists of a ring of prominent standing stones displayed in horseshoe shape, that date back well over 3000 BC. Ordinary bystanders may wonder why do people give so much importance to such a simple design of rocks thrown over each other, but to those who are familiar with the piece’s history, it’s way more.

One of the most recurrent questions that comes up during discussions about Stonehenge is the way it was built. How did prehistoric men, with limited tools, manage to lift tons of rocks and place them in a circle formation? It is physically impossible for humans to push, let alone levitate, such a mass. Some explanations have been proposed: they used a wooden sledge to drag them over to the site. But the exact reason is still ignored until now.

Another question comes to the mind: Why did they do it? There isn’t enough evidence to determine the reasoning behind the building of such a spot. Some assumed it was a ritual site for the druids (people who follow the Celtic religion): its motif does remind us of places displayed in movies about priests and magicians. Modern druids reclaim Stonehenge, and organize annual pilgrimage trips during the summer solstice. Other than that, we have no other clue of why could a group of persons decide to build circular formations of rocks.

In conclusion, Stonehenge is a mysterious location. The simple rocks stacked on top of each other hides different unanswered and frustrating questions behind its normal appearance. Experts still wonder how did men build it and how did they do it. Some assumptions were made, but nothing is still clear