"Stonehenge" a Stonehenge Travel Page by pepino1

This ancient monument of huge stones solitarily standing on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England has captured imaginations for centuries. Theories about who built it have included the Druids, Greeks and Phoenicians. Speculation on the reason it was built range from human sacrifice to astronomy.
Investigations over the last 100 years have revealed that Stonehenge was built in several stages from 2800 - 1800 BC. It seems to have been designed to allow for observation of astronomical phenomena - summer and winter solstices, eclipses, and more.

The legend of King Arthur provides the story of the construction of Stonehenge. That Merlin brought the stones to the Salisbury Plain from Ireland. The high king, Aurelius Ambrosius, wanted to create a fitting memorial to the slain men. Merlin suggested an expedition to Ireland for the purpose of transplanting the Giant's Ring stone circle to Britain. The stones of the Giant's Ring were originally brought from Africa to Ireland by giants. The stones were located on "Mount Killaraus" and were used as a site for performing rituals and for healing. The Britons, none of whom were giants, apparently, were unsuccessful in their attempts to move the great stones. At this point, Merlin realised that only his magic arts would turn the trick. So, they were dismantled and shipped to Britain in a great circle, around the mass grave of the murdered noblemen.

There is nothing quite like Stonehenge anywhere in the world and for 5000 years it has drawn visitors to it. Standing like ‘soldiers of time,' we shall never know what drew people here over the centuries or why hundreds of people struggled over thousands of years to build this monument, but visitors from all over the world come to marvel at this amazing feat of engineering. To this day Stonehenge remains a mystery. In the landscape around it, the National Trust – who own nearly 1500 acres – are equally concerned for the well-being of this area.