Astronomy

While many of these stone henges, including the famous Stonehenge, were used as burial grounds and sacrificial sites, almost all of them have some element related to astronomy. It’s sometimes argued whether or not these stone formations were built for astronomy first, but there’s no doubt of building skill and scientific know how that went into erecting them. The elements that have to do with astronomy include the markings of important dates, such as the summer or winter solstice, when the sun would rise at a point marked exactly by a stone placement. This might include the sun being viewable through a tiny window at sunrise from a point at the center of a circle. Stonehenge has an amazing array of astronomical measures built into the circle. It really doesn’t matter if they were the purpose for the site or added later. They’re still amazing.

A lesser known but no less spectacular henge is the Avebury Henge located in Wiltshire. The henge neighbors a number of other smaller stone circles, and encompasses the entire town of Avebury. It is believed that this henge had astronomical purposes as many of its stones, now mostly fallen, had positions that corresponded with key phenomenon. But it also had a relationship to ancestral and gender worship as the stones come in two main types ? tall, slender stones and short, squat stones ? that may have represented female and male archetypes. Some archaeologists dispute this, however, claiming the stones were chosen for no other reason than their beauty and size.

It may be a compelling idea to grab an authentic astronomy henge stone to set up in your living room. Aside from the fact that many of these weigh many tons, they completely lose their significance when removed from the earthen circle. Instead, set up your own stone henge at home.

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