What is Stonehenge?

About Stonehenge:

• It is a prehistoric stone circle monument and archaeological site located in Wiltshire, England.
• It is composed of roughly 100 massive upright stones placed in a circular layout.
• It was built in several stages:
  • The first monument was an early henge monument, built about 5,000 years ago, and the unique stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period, about 2500 BC.
  • In the early Bronze Age, many burial mounds were built nearby.
• Purpose:
  • Though there is no definite evidence as to the intended purpose of Stonehenge, it was presumably a religious site and an expression of the power and wealth of the chieftains, aristocrats, and priests who had it built.
  • It is just one part of a larger sacred landscape that contained many other stone and wooden structures, as well as burials. 
  • It was aligned with the Sun and possibly used for observing the Sun and Moon and working out the farming calendar. 
• Along with more than 350 nearby monuments and henges (ancient earthworks consisting of a circular bank and ditch), including the kindred temple complex at Avebury, Stonehenge was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.