Greg Dachtler 3/25/14 6 Nestor Stonehenge Over 5,000 years ago, an unknown people built a huge monument for

an unknown reason - Stonehenge. Giant sarsen stones form a protective ring around the ancient monument, inside of which small bluestones and huge trilithons arise. Nobody knows why it was built, or how. Some theorize that it was used to study the stars, or as a place of worship. But the question that everyone is asking is: how was Stonehenge built, and why? How was Stonehenge built? The massive stones were quarried from many different places, including Wales, and then transported in some way to the site in what is now Wiltshire, a staggering 148 miles away. Two theories of how the rocks were moved have arisen: stone-age ball bearings and wicker cages. The ball bearings could have been used like wheels to roll the slabs of rock across the ground with oxen, travelling about 10 miles per day1. Large stone balls have been found near other structures like Stonehenge in Scotland, which supports this theory. The other theory, with the wicker baskets imagines that the rocks were wrapped in thin wood strands and rolled around with the help of oxen. When the rocks got to a river or body of water, they were pushed in and the wood helped them float2. Archaeological evidence shows that people were already weaving baskets and other structures before Stonehenge came to be, making this theory possible as well. The other big question concerning Stonehenge is why it was built. Nobody would build a monument that took 1,500 years and so much labor to make just to look at, so there has to be a reason why Stonehenge was constructed. One long standing hypothesis from the 18th century states that because Stonehenges entrance exactly lines up with the sun on the morning of the summer solstice, it was used by the ancient astronomers as a solar calendar to track the sun and moon3. Something that supports this is that certain trilithons point out at certain events, like sun-and-moonrises, and some at constellations. Other theories suggest that Stonehenge could have been part of an ancient burial ground or ritual site. This due to the discovery of bodies, cremated and otherwise, found under Stonehenge that date to the same period that it was built.

"Solving the Riddle of Stonehenges Construction." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. 2 "Solving the Riddle of Stonehenges Construction." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. 3 "Why Was Stonehenge Built?" History.com. A&E Television Networks, 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
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Greg Dachtler 3/25/14 6 Nestor The outermost circle of Stonehenge was constructed with the use of a 56 sided polygon, using square and circle geometry and a piece of rope to make squares within circles, progressively creating a more complex polygon4. In fact, all of Stonehenge and the circle around it is comprised of several different polygons: an octagon, two 30-sided polygons, a 30-sided inner polygon (the sarsen circle), and two 40-sided concentric polygons (probable bluestone rings). Given this evidence, Anthony Johnson of Oxford University stated that, "It strongly suggests that it was the knowledge of geometry and symmetry which was an important component of the Neolithic belief system.5" More so than the astronomy. Johnson also said that the people who built Stonehenge had a sophisticated knowledge of Pythagorean geometry 2,000 years before Pythagoras, a significant achievement for a Neolithic people. How and why was Stonehenge created? For astronomy? For a burial ground? The amazing part is, that in this day of science and technology, nobody actually knows, for certain, how or why this great monument came to be. The world might never know. Possibly, some many generations in the future, someone will figure it out. But, for now, the mystery of Stonehenge remains unsolved.

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The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.