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Learn a little more about the stones of Stonehenge, and test yourself with our 5-question Quick Quiz!
Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit.

Photograph courtesy The Stones of Stonehenge. CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
Discussion Ideas
- New research investigates the possible origins of at least two stones at Stonehenge. What is Stonehenge?
- What we know:
- Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain, in the county of Wiltshire, in southwest England. Archaeologists think it was constructed over the course of more than 1,000 years, between the Neolithic (~3000 BCE) and Bronze Age (~1500 BCE).
- Stonehenge consists of concentric circles and semi-circles of earthen ditches and mounds, standing timbers (now eroded), and upright carved stones. Some stones were freestanding, while others were topped by lintels. The largest stones reach 4 meters (13 feet) high, 2.1 meters (7 feet) wide, and weigh about 25 tons.
- Stonehenge’s central “avenue” is aligned to the sunset of the winter solstice and the sunrise of the summer solstice.
- The Stonehenge site includes hundreds ritual burial mounds, called barrows, as well as cremated remains.
- Many of those buried at Stonehenge did not come from England. Archaeologists have unearthed remains of people from Wales, Brittany (on France’s Atlantic coast), the Alps, and even the Mediterranean.
- What we don’t know:
- Archaeologists and historians don’t know exactly what Stonehenge was used for, although almost all agree it was a multi-function site that served many purposes. Some ideas:
- Due to the solstice alignment and the importance of solstices (midwinter and midsummer) to most ancient peoples, many historians think Stonehenge had an astronomical significance.
- Due to the long-term effort involved in constructing the site, some historians think Stonehenge had a social, political, or spiritual function.
- One theory suggests Stonehenge was a place of healing. This would explain the unusual number of illnesses and injuries suffered by those buried at the monument.
- Another theory suggests Stonehenge was one part of a massive “ritual landscape” now recognized as the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. In this context, Stonehenge may have been a cemetery or place of ancestor worship. Learn more about the site and the possible “roots of monotheism” with our video here.
- Archaeologists and historians don’t know exactly what Stonehenge was used for, although almost all agree it was a multi-function site that served many purposes. Some ideas:
- What we know:
- The Stonehenge stones that were analyzed are called sarsens. What are sarsens?
- Sarsens are sandstone boulders that are common in southern England. “Sarsen” describes both the type of rock (which was used at several Neolithic monuments in southern England) and, in situ, the stones themselves.
- Sarsen was one of two types of rock used to construct Stonehenge. (The other type is bluestone.)
- About 80 blocks of sarsen are found at Stonehenge, including the largest stones on the site and those used in the iconic central circle. Take a look at this terrific diagram of the stones at Stonehenge here.
- The sarsens at Stonehenge were quarried locally, from about 30 kilometers (18 miles) away in the Marlborough Downs. (Or, according to this new hypothesis, even closer …)
- The bluestones at Stonehenge were quarried much further away. Learn more about them with our fun resource here.

Illustration by Adamsan, courtesy Wikimedia. CC-BY-SA-3.0
- The Heelstone and Stone 16, the sarsens analyzed in the new research, are distinct from other stones at Stonehenge. How?
- The Heelstone and Stone 16 are the only stones that were never carved or polished. They have a distinctly rough texture and uneven appearance compared to “dressed” stones, which have been deliberately carved with tools.
- The Heelstone sits somewhat apart from the main stone circle, at the top of the so-called “Avenue.”
- Perhaps most importantly: “When lined up, these are also the stones marking the horizon where the Sun rises on the summer solstice, and sets on the winter solstice.”
- Looking away from the circle, the summer solstice sunrise appears in front of the Heelstone. Great photo of that here.
- Looking toward the circle, the winter solstice sunset appears directly in front of the Heelstone. Great photo of that here.
- Why do archaeologists think the Heelstone and Stone 16 may have been in place long before the other stones arrived on Salisbury Plain—and long before people arrived on Salisbury Plain?
- (Now might be a good time to remember that all the stones in Stonehenge actually formed millions of years before humans showed up on Earth. The new research is analyzing when the stones got to their present location. (A lot of the stones formed in what is now Wales, and you can check out how ancient engineers got them to Salisbury Plain with our nice map here.))
- Mike Pitts, the archaeologist who conducted the new research, discovered two pits near the present locations of both stones, with stone impressions at their bases. Each pit was “too large just to hold a standing stone. It’s not unlikely that the stone had always been there, and was raised where it lay outside a great natural hollow.”
- “The pits, like the stones, lay along a solstice axis—and the entire geometry of Stonehenge could have been built around this naturally occurring coincidence.” (!!!)
TEACHERS TOOLKIT
Science Alert: An Archaeologist Says Parts of Stonehenge Were There Long Before Any Humans
British Archaeology: Stonehenge Without Borders
Nat Geo: Stonehenge Quick Quiz
English Heritage: History of Stonehenge
UNESCO World Heritage: Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites
Clear your mind of all you have learnt about Stonehenge and start again.
What do we know of it ? It is there on salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England. 51.1789°N latitude.
When is it first found in historic records ? The earliest English record I can find is about 1100, Geoffrey of Monmouth mentions it.
But could it be written about in 3,400 BC ? In the Book of Enoch ? ‘ When the sun rises in heaven he comes forth through that fourth portal. Are these portals the trilothons of Stonehenge ? Further reading’ And it returns to the East and enters into the sixth portal…….on that day the day becomes longer than the night and the day becomes double the night. The day becomes twelve parts and the night six.’
A reading of the Book of Enoch shows that he was somewhere about 51°N and studied the apparent motion of the sun and moon for a year or more in an observatory with several portals or windows. Stonehenge sits at 51.1789°N where on the summer solstice the sun rises at 45° NE and sets at 45 NW and daylight is 16 hours to 8 hours dark. Where else could Enochhhh have been but Stonehenge ?
The date of 3,400 BC is taken from the Ussher timescale but I suggest it is far older and pre-dates the cosmic cataclysm that destroyed many ancient sites around the world. Built by the Annunaki or Sumerians It was a magnificent structure of dressed stones with mortice and tenons on the lintels and dovetails locking them together.What we see now is the distorted remains left by the plasma event.
Has it been considered that the stones came by way of river severn