Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, composed of a ring of standing stones set within earthworks. It is one of the most famous sites in the world, and has been the subject of much myth and legend. The site and its surroundings are managed by English Heritage; Stonehenge itself is owned by the Crown. Archaeological evidence suggests that the first phase of Stonehenge was built between 3000 and 2000 BC. The site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1986.
The name “Stonehenge” is derived from the Old English words stān (meaning “stone”) and hencg (meaning “hinge”), meaning “stone hinge”. The word henge refers to an earthwork or artificial bank or mound used as a defensive work or marker for territorial boundaries. It has been suggested that Stonehenge was originally a burial ground for Britain’s early Neolithic people known as the Beaker culture, who inhabited Britain from around 2800 to 1900 BC. Over time, it evolved into a place of worship and ceremonial burial for Britain’s Celtic Iron Age people (from around 600 BC), who had brought with them new religious beliefs and practices from continental Europe.
It is not known exactly how Stonehenge was built, but it is thought that its construction involved dragging massive stones from faraway quarries using teams of oxen, then raising them into place with wooden scaffolding before finally shaping and finishing them with stone tools. It has been estimated that it would have taken 500 men about 15 weeks to build one complete ring of Stonehenge using this method. Another theory suggests that some of the stones may have been floated upriver on barges from Wales before being dragged inland to their final resting place at Stonehenge.