By Steven A. Culbreath

More than nine hundred stone rings exist in the British Isles, and scholars estimate that twice that number may originally have been built. These megalithic structures should be referred to as rings rather than circles since only 2 percent of the structures are in the shape of true circles; the other 98 percent are constructed in a variety of elliptical shapes. Stonehenge, however, is roughly circular. It is nearly impossible to precisely date the stone rings because of the scarcity of datable remains associated with them, but it is known that they were constructed during the Neolithic period. In southern England, the Neolithic period dates from the development of the first farming communities around 4000 BC to the development of bronze technology around 2000 BC, when the construction of the megalithic monuments was mostly over. Because of the scantiness of the archaeological record at the stone rings, any attempts to explain the functions of the structures are interpretive. Most such attempts have tended to reflect the cultural biases of their times.

In the seventeenth century, well before the development of archaeological dating methods and accurate historical research, the antiquarian John Aubrey surmised that the Druids constructed Stonehenge and other megalithic structures. While this idea (and a whole collection of related fanciful notions) has become deeply ingrained in the uneducated minds of popular culture from the seventeenth century to the present age, it is a matter of certain knowledge that the Druids had nothing whatsoever to do with the construction of the stone rings. The Celtic society in which the Druid priesthood flourished came into existence in Britain only after 300 BC, more than 1500 years after the last stone rings were constructed. Furthermore, no evidence suggests that the Druids, upon finding the stone rings situated across the countryside, ever used them for ritual purposes; they are known to have conducted their ritual activities in sacred forest groves...

Bill Kramer

Some years ago I learned that someone had put forth the notion that Stonehenge, the famous archeological site in England, could have been used to predict eclipse events.  As an eclipse chaser, I was naturally intrigued by this concept and wanted to learn more. 

 During a visit to Stonehenge in 2001 the tour guide said that Stonehenge might have been used as an astronomical calculator.  He mentioned that it was said to predict eclipses however he did not know the specifics when I questioned him.  This led me to begin researching the subject deeper in order to learn more about Stonehenge and how it could have been used as an observatory.  The gift shop at the Stonehenge monument site contained several small booklets that assisted greatly in this quest.  I've supplied a list of good references at the end of the article.

The following article is a summary of what I've learned along with an analysis of a simple numeric method for eclipse prediction.  References are provided at the end for those wanting to learn more about this fascinating subject.

The fact that many of the large stones line up to mark the solstice and equinox as well as other astronomical timings related to the seasons is well known.  However, this knowledge alone cannot help in eclipse prediction unless it is done to a much higher degree of precision than can be accomplished with large rocks and wooden posts.  And the degree of sophistication needed to conduct a long term experiment into the repeating cycles of the Sun, Moon, and Earth would have resulted in more than just a ring a well placed stones.  Archeological studies have found evidence of holes that once held wood posts that mark the positions of the moonrise relative to other stones.  This leads one to wonder just how much the ancients who built Stonehenge were researching the cycles of the heavens. 

 Several clever explanations for the stone configurations related to solar system objects have been proposed along with the sun and moon tracking.  Other stone circles from the same archeological time period do not have the same configurations thus making Stonehenge somewhat unique in that regard. A lack of written records from the time period in question means that we can only guess.  Some of the guesses have been interesting while others can only be considered preposterous given what is known these days about the civilization and times through archeological study.  But then, archeology is a science of based on the scientific method with little opportunity for definitive proof.  This means that sometimes there are breakthroughs that prove previous conceptions incorrect.  Perhaps the builders of Stonehenge were astronomical geniuses and their work is only preserved in our spirit to understand.....

Stonehenge is a megalithic monument on the Salisbury Plain in Southern England, composed mainly of thirty upright stones (sarsens, each over ten feet tall and weighing 26 tons), aligned in a circle, with thirty lintels (6 tons each) perched horizontally atop the sarsens in a continuous circle. There is also an inner circle composed of similar stones, also constructed in post-and-lintel fashion....

Stonehenge is a circular setting of large standing stones surrounded by an earthwork. No one is quiet sure how old it is, who built it or what it's function was. There are many theories, ranging from an astronomical observatory (it is aligned such that it can predict eclipses etc) to religious temples to a calendar.

Stonehenge is angled such that on the equinoxes and the solstices, the sun rising over the horizon appears to be perfectly placed between gaps in the megaliths. But this is purely coincidence - the Earth's orbit has shifted several times in the 5000 years since it was built, and at the time of it's construction, the sun would not have lined up with the gaps at all!

Stonehenge sits on a major Grid Point on this planet. Constructed without the use of draft animals and shaped by stone tools, Stonehenge was erected many miles from the quarry from which the stones came. It is an amazing feat of engineering, and many stories, both old ones and retellings, frequently name Merlin as this engineer. The building of Stonehenge is usually portrayed as a grand project commissioned by the King of Britain (be it Arthur, Aurelius or Uther). However, the archaeological evidence at Stonehenge simply does not support this.The archaeology points to a construction date between 5,000 and 3,000 years ago (more than likely, several construction dates over this time).

The monument is believed to have been an astronomical calendar used for clocking and predicting the seasons. Some researchers link it to the Crop Circle phenomenon and visitors from other worlds. In the summer of 1996 investigator and friend, Colin Andrews, discovered a 7 inch glyph in the inner ring of a stone about four feet from the ground. The pattern matches one of the Crop Circles.

Stonehenge has a long history of building and remodeling, but excavation has revealed that there were 3 main periods of building. The first beginning, about 3100 BC, was late in the Neolithic age and included the digging of a circular ditch and ring of 56 pits called the Aubrey Holes.

In the second period, about 1,000 years later, the massive rock pillars were somehow transported from Southernwestern Wales, and put up in two distinct concentric rings around the center of the site. It is believed that this double circle was never finished and was dismantled during the period of rebuilding....

Stonehenge is one of the most famous megalithic monuments in the world and may once have been an observatory for predicting important astronomical events.  But what is not clear is who built it, when, why and how?  What was the extent of the architect's knowledge and was it designed as a center for religious ritual?  These are just some of the questions raised about Stonehenge and here I shall attempt to find some answers.  

Stonehenge is a strange and powerful magnet, attracting people of all kinds, from all across the world to view and sense the mystical and magical aura of its huge and ancient stones.  Many people of all faiths and religious denomination now make it an annual pilgrimage, particularly during the summer solstice.  Yet the original purpose of Stonehenge is still an enigma, one that even the best brains in the world have failed to unravel.  Lord Byron in his poem 'Don Juan' echoed one of the questions many have sought to answer: ?The Druid's groves are gone - so much the better.  Stonehenge is not, but what the devil is it?? 

The Saxons called the group of stones 'Stonehenge' or the 'Hanging Stones', while medieval writers refer to it as the 'Giant's Dance'.  Inigo Jones the renowned 17th-century architect and the first to make a serious study of it, considered Stonehenge to be a Roman temple.  Then William Stukeley an 18th-century antiquary and freemason convinced many that Stonehenge was once a ?Temple of the British Druids?.  Only in the 20th century have archaeologists established the true age of the monument and arrived at a more realistic conclusion as to its purpose.  

The open Wiltshire countryside surrounding Stonehenge lies in the heart of southern England and is rich in prehistoric remains, these include:  Woodhenge (a henge or enclosure once consisting of great wooden posts), Durrington Walls (once a structure similar to that in Avebury) and the Cursus (a pair of banked ditches 100 m (300 ft) apart and running straight for about 3 km (2 miles), they are believed to be dated around the 4th millennium BC).  Then there are some 400 barrows, a lying testament to the intense communal activity of our ancient ancestors, those who grazed animals and cattle, grew wheat and other crops while at the same time worshiping their gods in and around Salisbury Plain.  The purposes of some of these sites are still unknown, but many believe them to have been religious.  Then in around 3500 BC they started to build Stonehenge...

The megalithic ruin known as Stonehenge stands on the open downland of Salisbury Plain two miles (three kilometres) west of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, in Southern England. It is not a single structure but consists of a series of earth, timber, and stone structures that were revised and re-modelled over a period of more than 1400 years. In the 1940s and 1950s, Richard Atkinson proposed that construction occurred in three phases, which he labelled Stonehenge I, II, IIIa, IIIb, and IIIc. This sequence has recently been revised in Archaeological Report (10) published by English Heritage.

Phase I (2950-2900 BCE)

Phase II (c. 2900-2400 BCE)
After 2900 BCE and for approximately the next 500 years (until 2400 BCE), post holes indicate timber settings in the centre of the monument and at the north-eastern entrance. The Aubrey Holes no longer held posts but were partially filled, some with cremation deposits added to the fill. The numerous post holes indicate timber structures but no clear patterns or configurations are discernible that would suggest their shape, form, or function.