STONEHENGE AT 100

Our time at Stonehenge was quite memorable because we visited on summer solstice day, the longest day of the year. I'd honestly call it a coincidence, because my sister wasn't thinking much about it while she planned our itinerary, but I say it's pretty cool that she decided to schedule it on June 21st. 

To simply put, no one really knows till now why Stonehenge is the way it is today. All we know is that these stones have been here for centuries, dating way back from the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Its presence is important for us to know more about pre-history, and to know what kind of things people liked to busy themselves with. 

My initial thoughts before coming here were simply that of: Stonehenge was built to help tell time. I also have to admit that it kind of reminded me of the Flintstones! Hehe. I didn't know about the dead bodies buried down there.... Now, after seeing it myself and listening to the tour guide, I'm still not really entirely sure. In fact, no one really is. 

Stonehenge is located in the middle of Wiltshire, within Salisbury Plain. It's a great open space with lots of chalk in the soil. Ceremonies and rituals were often held here, because the chalk is known to reflect sunlight and moonlight which they believed made their gatherings visible and meaningful.

The monument is a circular enclosure, in which a 10 meter ditch was dug around it. The builders of stonehenge used to bury cremated remains of their deceased relatives underneath the poles and ditch. The types of stones used were Sarsen stones from Marlborough Downs which was within Salisbury Plain and Blue stones from Wales. The builders sought after Blue Stones, as they were believed to have healing properties because of the heat they absorbed from the sun. It's highly probable that these Blue stones were shipped via the River Avon, as they are porous (have small holes so water/air can get inside and thus it isn't so heavy as it looks.).

It was believed that building this monument required a communal effort. Within the circular enclosure, is a semi-circle looking much like a horseshoe. Actually, there were lots of circles within the circles, but not all of them are present today. It's important to note that the semi-circle faces where the sun rises, which is why Stonehenge was considered to be a sun temple for the longest time.

Interestingly enough, the Stonehenge is celebrating (or has celebrated rather, since it was given on the 26th of October 1918 by Sir Cecil Chubb... I'm two days late!) its 100th year this year for being gifted to the public. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is continuously being preserved.

My profile picture in two of my personal social media accounts. I look kinda dark here but really, I'm just so glad it wasn't raining on this day and the sun was high up with the clouds.

Me and sis! It was windy despite the sun glaring down upon us. 

People still hold ceremonies and rituals here, especially on the summer and winter solstices. We didn't witness the celebrations/ceremonies, though, but it must've been festive, what with people being allowed to go nearer the stones and partying around it. I've seen photos of what the place looks like during winter, and it's just as beautiful, with the snow looking much like chalk.

I liked the great open space though. It gave me a sense of peace, and the strong urge to run around and be silly was intense.

The Visitor center. There's a museum, cafe, and gift shop inside. I loved how people really took their time to know about the place and its history because truly, there's so much to learn from at a pre-historic site.

Have a semi-blurry photo of me and a stone replica!!

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What do you think of Stonehenge was made for?

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