What is Stonehenge? The Mysteries of the Neolithic Stone Circle

Video

Kelly Macquire
by
published on 25 April 2022

Stonehenge is a stone circle that dates back to the Neolithic period, in c. 3000 BCE on the Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire in Southern England. It wasn’t a site built in the late Neolithic period which then sat stagnant for five thousand years but was built, changed and altered numerous times across approximately fifteen hundred years. Thousands of years later we are still asking ourselves, what is Stonehenge and what is its purpose? The mysterious Neolithic stone circle has also been named a UNESCO world heritage site.

The purpose of Stonehenge is still quite a mystery and, because of this, many different theories have been suggested throughout the years including a Druid temple, a calendar, a place for kings to be crowned, or a place for ancestor worship just to name a few. Before the stones were erected, it was used as a place for cremation burial, but in phase two of the construction in circa 2500 BCE and the erection of the Sarsens and bluestones, they were placed with great precision to line up with the sun's movements on midwinter and midsummer.

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— CHAPTERS —
0:00​ Introduction
1:03 What is Stonehenge?
1:50 The Construction of Stonehenge
6:32 What is the Purpose of Stonehenge?
8:23 Outro

— WANT TO KNOW MORE? —
Stonehenge https://www.worldhistory.org/stonehenge/
The Stonehenge Burials https://www.worldhistory.org/article/206/the-stonehenge-burials/
Neolithic Period https://www.worldhistory.org/Neolithic/
Ancient Britain https://www.worldhistory.org/britain/

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— ATTRIBUTIONS —
You can find all attribution and credits for images, animations, graphics and music here - https://worldhistory.typehut.com/what-is-stonehenge-and-why-is-it-so-famous-images-and-attributions-9253

The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:
https://www.ancientlyre.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

— THUMBNAIL IMAGE —
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:November_Sunset_from_inside_Stonehenge_Stone_Circle.jpg
Simon Banton - own work / User: Akhen3sir
CC BY SA 4.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/10173199@N03/1071477228
thegarethwiscombe
CC BY 2.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

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#stonehenge #whatisstonehenge #stonehengehistory

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About the Author

Kelly Macquire
Kelly is a graduate from Monash University who has completed her BA (Honours) in Ancient History and Archaeology, focussing on iconography and status in Pylos burials. She has a passion for mythology and the Aegean Bronze Age.

The video and its description text are provided by Youtube. This website claims no authorship of this content; we are republishing it for educational purposes.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Macquire, K. (2022, April 25). What is Stonehenge? The Mysteries of the Neolithic Stone Circle. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2768/what-is-stonehenge-the-mysteries-of-the-neolithic/

Chicago Style

Macquire, Kelly. "What is Stonehenge? The Mysteries of the Neolithic Stone Circle." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 25, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2768/what-is-stonehenge-the-mysteries-of-the-neolithic/.

MLA Style

Macquire, Kelly. "What is Stonehenge? The Mysteries of the Neolithic Stone Circle." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 25 Apr 2022. Web. 16 Sep 2024.

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