Why is Stonehenge important?
Stonehenge is a world-famous monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.
Work building Stonehenge began around 3000BC, but it took it took hundreds of years to build.
Archaeologists, who study objects and places from the past, and historians don’t fully know what Stonehenge was used for, but many believe it was used for different religious activities.
Important words
Important words on what we know about Stonehenge.
| Keyword | Definition |
|---|---|
| Archaeologist | A person who studies objects and places from the past. |
| Bronze Age | A time when people discovered how to make and use bronze for tools and weapons. |
| Ceremony | A number of actions people do in a set way for an important and special event, such as a wedding. |
| Chisel | A special tool with a sharp straight edge used to cut or shape hard materials. |
| Monument | A special statue or structure built to remember someone, an event or idea. |
| Neolithic | A time when people started farming. Also known as the ‘New Stone Age’. |
| Sarsen stone | A very large and strong stone made from sandstone. |
| Solstice | One of the two days in the year when we have the longest day (Summer Solstice) or the shortest day (Winter Solstice). |
Where is Stonehenge?
Stonehenge is stands on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire, and its giant stones can be seen from miles around.
Stonehenge took many hundreds of years to build.
Work began around 3000BC in the late Neolithic Age, when people had also begun farming.
Over the next thousand years, people changed parts of the monument.
The last changes were made around 1500BC in the early Bronze Age. During this period people had started to discover how to make and use bronze for tools and weapons.
We may never know exactly why Stonehenge was built, but people probably gathered there for religious ceremonies - special and important religious events where people took part in shared actions.
How did Stone Age people build Stonehenge?
Archaeologists believe that the ancient Britons hammered wood into cracks in large stones.
When the wood was soaked in water, it expanded and split the stone into pieces.
Next, builders used special tools with a sharp straight edge called chisels, along with hammers to shape the stones.
The were then probably carried on rafts down rivers to the building site.
Then it's believed that the stones were pulled along the ground by giant wooden sledges, log rollers and oxen.
The builders raised the stones with ropes.
Then they packed big ditches with rocks to hold the stones in place.
Watch: How did Stonehenge change over the years?
Watch the video to learn more about how Stonehenge has changed since it was built.
Find out how Stonehenge has changed over the years.
More than 4,000 years ago a small ring of stones stood for around 200 years.
Then came a single ring of huge standing stones into which a smaller ring of smaller stones was inserted.
Then another outer circle of small stones was added before the circle of massive stones enclosed the whole thing.
This was the final phase of construction.
Stone Henge’s heyday would last around 200 years until 1900BC.
The stones’ alignment means that on the Summer Solstice the Sun rises directly behind the main entrance to the monument. That is why thousands of people gather here every year at this time to watch the Sun rise.
What was Stonehenge for?
Why did the ancient Britons build such a massive monument at Stonehenge?
What went on at this important place?
Some people think that Stonehenge was used to look at the **movements of the Sun and Moon.
Other people think it was a place where people could rest and get better from illnesses.
The ancient Britons believed that the Sun and Moon had special powers.
They probably held special ceremonies at Stonehenge on Midsummer’s Day, when the day is longest, and on Midwinter’s Day, when it is shortest.
Many experts believe that Stonehenge was used for funerals.
They think that people carried the dead along the River Avon and then walked up to Stonehenge in a big group.
The most important funeral ceremony of the year was probably held on Midwinter’s Night at Stonehenge, this may have been because it is the longest night in the year.
How do we know what happened at Stonehenge?
Over many years, many archaeologists and historians have studied Stonehenge.
People first thought it was built by the Romans.
Ideas about Stonehenge slowly changed as more evidence and artefacts were found. Archaeologists then worked out that it was built by ancient Britons.
Artefacts, like tools made of antlers, have also been found near Stonehenge. All of the discoveries at Stonehenge have helped archaeologists, and people today, to better understand where many of its stones came from, how it may have been built and what it may have been used for.
What other stone circles are there?
Stonehenge is just one of hundreds of stone circles that have been found in Britain. During the early Bronze Age, circles built from stone or wood were very important places where the ancient Britons held religious ceremonies.
Click through the slideshow to learn more about other stone circles in the UK.
Image caption, Avebury stone circle is actually three circles in one! Two rings of stones stand inside a much bigger ring, known as the Great Circle. When it was finished in the early Bronze Age, there were around 100 stones in the Great Circle.
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Think like a historian
Have a look at the thinking points below and think about your answer to each question. You could even write them down on a piece of paper or discuss them with somebody else if you want to.
What do you think can be learnt about the Neolithic people from Stonehenge?
Why do you think other circles, such as Woodhenge and Seahenge, are so important for our understanding of ancient Britons?
Why do you think archaeologists believe Stonehenge was a special place for funerals?
Did you think that it tells us how skilled the ancient Britons were at designing and building structures, as they could build such an impressive monument with simple tools, such as wooden sledges, log rollers and ropes? Maybe you thought that it shows they held religious beliefs as they may have held special ceremonies there. Did you remember that the stones are lined up so that the sun rises or sets between them on the longest and shortest days of the year? This suggests that these times were important to them.
Perhaps you thought that this shows how different ancient Britons had their own special places and ideas. Did you think about how each monument provides different pieces of evidence that can be used to find out new things about ancient Britons, or how this evidence can be linked together to support the ideas of archaeologists and historians?
Activities
Activity 1: Explore what Stonehenge looked like 4,000 years ago.
Activity 2: Stonehenge quiz
Let's find out what you know about Stonehenge in this quiz.
Grown-ups corner
Are you a parent, carer or teacher?
Take a look at some of the links below on KS2 History which are packed full of knowledge, videos, quizzes and activities.
KS2 History: New Stone Age
BBC Bitesize for Teachers
KS2 History: Bronze Age Britain
BBC Bitesize for Teachers
KS2 History / PSHE and Social Studies : What does Stonehenge Gold tell us about the Bronze Age?
BBC Bitesize for Teachers
Horrible Histories: Raid and Trade game! game
Play Horrible Histories: Raid and Trade KS2 History
More on Prehistoric
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