Situated in Wiltshire, United Kingdom, Stonehenge is a fascinating and mysterious monument that has been capturing the special attention of archeologists and cosmologists from all over the world for many centuries. First of all, Stonehenge has been found to date back to the Neolithic and Bronze Age, as it was most probably constructed between 3000 and 2000 BC (Morgan, 2008).
As of today, Stonehenge is an incomplete stone circle whose stone blocks weigh between 25 and 50 tons; at the center of the circle lies a horseshoe-shaped setting consisting of several sarsen uprights (Gingerich). Gingerich is certain that the function and significance of Stonehenge are purely astronomical as it is so accurately aligned that if we were to sit at the center of the circle during the summer solstice, we would be able to see the sun rising over one of the four station stones, i.e. the so-called heel stone.
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"Stonehenge: Cosmological Significance".
In the early 1900s, English astronomer Norman Lockyer analyzed Stonehenge in relation to Egyptian temples and observed that their layouts expressed certain astronomical principles (Lankford, 1997, p. 498). Based on the assumption that the main axis of the structure was meant to coincide with summer solstice sunrise, Lockyer attempted to find out more about its orientation and eventually concluded that Stonehenge was built between 1900 and 1500 BC (Lankford, 1997, p. 498).
After a few decades, experts’ growing interest in the cosmological and astronomical significance resulted in archeologists discovering that when Stonehenge was constructed, the axis of the Avenue pointed towards the exact place where the sun rose on summer solstice (Lankford, 1997, p. 498).
As explained by Sabatino (2013, p. 21), archeologists believe that the people who built Stonehenge were astronomers who had a specific purpose; according to some, the stones that compose Stonehenge were positioned in such a way to line up with the Sun on what are believed to be the longest and shortest days of the whole year; as a result of that, it is possible that early astronomers used Stonehenge as a calendar to mark and celebrate specific holidays (Sabatino, 2013, p. 21). Ever since experts found numerous graves around the site in 2013, archeologists have been hypothesizing that Stonehenge was a place where people from all over the nation sought treatment and / or buried their loved ones (Sabatino, 2013, p. 25).
According to Stover (2003, p. 119), Stonehenge hides many political and cosmological secrets that could be unveiled by simply taking into consideration certain Celtic myths. He argues that in Celtic mythology, there are five Cardinal directions (the traditional four Cardinal directions plus an additional one called axis mundi, i.e. the center of the world) which kings kept in mind when designing their kingdoms (Stover, 2003, p. 119). Analyzing the history and structure of Stonehenge, Stover (2003, p. 119) concludes that the site might reflect a cosmological interpretation of the kingdom’s geography.
Others believe that Stonehenge was a very common layout in Druid society, to the extent that similar structures could be found in Salisbury Plain between 3000 and 2000 BC; however, while these structures were made of timber or wood– which were not particularly resistant -, Stonehenge was made of stone, a much more durable material which the Druids may have selected in order to create a permanent site that would survive through the centuries (Blake, 2010). It has been hypothesized that sites like Stonehenge represented the final step of long rituals whose main goal was to treat and honor the dead; it is possible that people met at Woodhenge (the wooden version of Stonehenge) in the East to then walk down the Avon and reach Stonehenge in the west at the end of the day (Knapton, 2015). Interestingly, Woodhenge – which is close to the river Avon – is constructed on the same summer solstice alignment as Stonehenge (Knapton, 2015).
In view of their cosmological similarities, archeologists believe that the two structures were part of the same ritual, with Woodhenge symbolizing the realm of the living and Stonehenge symbolizing the realm of the dead (Knapton, 2015).
Recent discoveries appear to confirm that Stonehenge was in fact a very important burial site whose cosmological significance and mysterious layout are linked with Celtic priests and people’s perception of death and the afterlife (Kennedy, 2013).
