England Guide
Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire
Stonehenge
No ancient structure in England arouses more controversy than Stonehenge (daily: mid-March to May & Sept to mid-Oct 9.30am–6pm; June– Aug 9am–7pm; mid-Oct to mid-March 9.30am–4pm; £6.50), a mysterious ring of monoliths nine miles north of Salisbury. While archeologists argue over whether it was a place of ritual sacrifice and sun-worship, an astronomical calculator or a royal palace, the guardians of the site struggle to accommodate its year-round crowds. Conservation of Stonehenge is an urgent priority, and unless you arrange for special access (book at 
01722/343834 or www.english-heritage.org.uk), you must be content with walking round rather than among the stones, equipped with handsets that dispense a range of information.
What exists today is only a small part of the original prehistoric complex, as many of the outlying stones were probably plundered by medieval and later farmers for building materials. The construction of Stonehenge is thought to have taken place in several stages. In about 3000 BC the outer circular bank and ditch were built and around 2500 BC the first stones were raised within the earthworks, comprising approximately forty great blocks of dolerite (bluestone), whose ultimate source was Preseli in Wales.
During the next six hundred years the site was transformed by the addition of a circle of twenty-five trilithons (two uprights crossed by a lintel) and an inner horseshoe formation of five trilithons. Hewn from Marlborough Downs sandstone, these colossal stones (called sarsens) ranged from 13ft to 21ft in height and weighed up to thirty tons. More bluestones were also added. The purpose of all this work remains baffling, however. The symmetry and location of the site (a slight rise in a flat valley with even views of the horizon in all directions) as well as its alignment towards the points of sunrise and sunset on the summer and winter solstices tend to support the supposition that it was some sort of observatory or time-measuring device. Recent excavations have also revealed the existence of a very substantial Neolithic village covering a wide area.