Figure above:

The megalithic monument of Stonehenge, near Amesbury (Wiltshire, Great Britain). Its construction is attributable to a period between 3,100 and 1,600 B.C. The complex is composed by a circular arrangement of big standing stones. The largest of these stones (weighing about 50 tons) have been extracted in a hill, at a distance of about 30 km., while the stones of lesser dimensions come from a place in Wales more than 350 km. far away. It is likely that the choice of the place was not haphazard, but affected by symbolic reasons. Local folklore, indeed, attributes healing power to the springs gushing from these hills, and some researchers have speculated that Stonehenge itself may have been a sacred place for healing (Alexander, 2008).

[Image: http://stonehenge-joe-o.wikispaces.com/]


Figure below:


The prehistoric site of Stonehenge has been investigated intensively for its astronomical correspondences, and some scholars have identified it as an ancient “observatory” of the sky. In particular, some alignments between the stones composing the monument have been observed, marking the point of sun rising at the solstices. In the map of the site (fig. 1 bis) the line connecting the centre of the building with the Heel Stone (a great standing stone outside the circle) points to the rising of the sun at summer solstice. Though avoiding to project upon prehistoric cultures the categories typical of modern thought, one can recognize, nevertheless, that ancient societies attempted to get in tune with the order of the cosmos, and looked for a coordination of human activities (like agricultural works or ceremonies) with the seasonal cycles.

[Image: http://wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Stonehenge_plan.jpg]