by Bonnie W., Been There! Manager
Stonehenge. The word itself conjures all sorts of reactions. "Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble?" Witchcraft. A place for pagan worship. Maybe a wonderful, astronomical observatory. A clock. A calendar. Maybe just a bunch of big rocks. A mystery for the ages? The answer to the Stonehenge question is up to you. And your guess is as good as any other. Though many people have tried to determine the exact age and use for Stonehenge, those factors have remained pretty much a mystery. What we do know for sure is that a huge circle of giant rocks was built during several periods of man's existence here on earth. The real questions of course, are who built it, and why? Stonehenge originally was a collection of thirty rocks in a central area, topped by other rocks that formed a lintel (a horizontal architectural member supporting the weight above an opening) tying all the rocks together. This circle surrounded a horseshoe shaped setting of five trilithons (formations in which two uprights support a lintel). It's thought that two miniature trilithons were situated inside the horseshoe shaped area as well, but were later removed.

Stonehenge was no small feat to build when you remember that each of these huge rocks weighs in at about 50 tons and were moved to the site from an area about 20 miles away from Stonehenge.

Scientists have been able to establish that Stonehenge was built in several eras. From about 3100 - 2300 BC, the site was enclosed by a circular ditch or moat. Inside the moat area 56 pits were used for the burial of cremated bodies. Over the years, a large number of those mounds were dug up by treasure hunters. However, there are still some mounds currently being excavated by scientists in hopes of solving some of the mystery surrounding Stonehenge.

The first stone set at the site was the giant Heel Stone. Eighty blocks of bluestone, carried from more than 200 miles away, were installed next. These bluestones were probably ferried by boat along the coast of Wales on their way to the Stonehenge site. The bluestones were rearranged when the circle of stones was put in place about 2000 - 1500 BC. A few remain to be seen today.

On our bus ride to Stonehenge, our tour hostess posed three questions: "What is Stonehenge? What does it mean to you? And, how will it affect you?" Great thought-provoking questions about one of the most mysterious sites in the world. If you've visited Stonehenge, you know immediately what our guide was talking about. If you haven't been there, you've probably heard about it and may find it hard to define just what this standing rock monument means to you.

Stonehenge, located about two hours out of London in Wiltshire, England, is said to be situated in one of the coldest, windiest places on earth. Additionally, the stones are obscured from sight a great deal of the time by clouds, mist and fog. These last three ingredients, add to the mystique of Stonehenge and somehow make it more baffling than it probably would be if it sat sun bound all year long.

As we rode toward Stonehenge on the bus, I pondered our hostess' questions. Why was I riding for hours on a bus to see a pile of rocks? What did I expect to see when I got there? True, I had seen pictures of Stonehenge, but would I experience something else when I was standing at the foot of these giants? A tension mounted in the bus as we rode along toward our goal.

There are legends about Stonehenge, of course. Some say the Druids built it for devil worship. Somewhat logical ideas since even today Druid worshipers hold ceremonies at Stonehenge. However, Druids didn't inhabit this region when Stonehenge was built. Others say the stones just magically appeared, tossed from UFO's, or that the stones were left by angels to help mankind tell time and distinguish seasons. Some believe the stones can tell the future. Take your pick and you'll probably find a story to firm up your belief, whatever that is.

How were they able to stand up the huge stones, and then hang the top stones? The lintels (or top stones) are so heavy that a giant crane would be needed today to lift one of them. And, the lintel stones installed all those years ago fit perfectly to each of the other stones they touch. Someone with superior engineering knowledge knew how to build this monument, but who was it, and, mostly why did he build it? Perplexing questions indeed.

A few minutes later our tour guide stood up at the front of the bus. "Ladies and Gentlemen," she said softly, but clearly, "Will everyone please look toward the front of the bus?" The bus went over a small rise and there it was. Stonehenge, standing in the middle of nowhere at the side of a small country road, and swathed in sunshine. It was absolutely breathtaking.

"You were lucky today," our hostess said a few minutes later. "Yesterday, the weather was so bad that when we came over the rise, we couldn't see the stones."

The bus pulled into the parking lot across the road from Stonehenge. The wind was blowing quite hard. Now, dark clouds kept trying to blot out the sun and even a few raindrops fell on our heads as we stepped from the bus. No one seemed to be concerned about the weather though, as our guide led us toward the ticket gate and the underground access tunnel to Stonehenge.

We took the offered audio player and walked slowly into the darkened tunnel, aware we were about to experience something for which there is no description. At the end of the tunnel, a flight of stairs led to a wall with a picture of what Stonehenge must have looked like when it was first built. It was apparently much larger then. Souvenir hunters, stone masons and gardeners, have carried away a lot of the stones.

Today, just the inner, or horseshoe sections of rocks remain, and not all of those are standing. As we topped the stairs, the sight was awe-inspiring. The sun drifted in and out from behind the clouds, filtering through the uprights and casting shadows on both the ground and the people gathered around the circle of stones. The biting wind seemed to lend an extra eerie feeling to the whole picture as it whistled through the stones and past our heads. Our eyes were riveted on the giants standing before us. Like a magnet, they drew us toward them and we hurried down the path in their direction.

Was it how big everything was? Was it the mystery surrounding the site or was it the sense that something important happened here, something that we might never understand? Hard to say. But as the people walked the large circle surrounding the stones, they whispered to each other in hushed tones, as if lifting their voices might break the spell. I held my camera to my eye and snapped a few pictures, each more exciting than the one before it.

It was cold on the plain that afternoon. The wind tore at our clothing, but no one hurried to the warmth of the bus. We walked slowly and reverently around the pile of stones until we again reached our starting point. Then, we drifted away in groups, cocking our heads from side to side we examined the various points of the rocks. Me taking pictures as fast as I could, my sister, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

Leaving Stonehenge somehow seemed unnatural. I think everyone on the bus looked back as we pulled away. Why had some big rocks affected us so profoundly? Why were we so enthralled by walking around them? How had these stones gotten here, who built Stonehenge and why they had built it?

These were questions for which we have no answers even after our visit, but somehow, it really didn't matter.

Our visit to Stonehenge reminded me of a saying I once heard: "Who knows the riddles of the earth? Only the one who has watched for millenniums of time."

Photographs by Bonnie W.