Indeed, life is full of its own little mysteries. These may include the reason that the dinosaurs died, where we end up after life, or even the ultimate reason for existence itself. But those are all completely different stories. One mystery that has haunted scientists and people alike for generations is: why was Stonehenge built? Over the years, many theories about this mystical monument have risen. Despite the heated debate of the reason, no true and undeniable hypothesis has been proven. To this day, we still know very little of Stonehenge. Two of the most explainable and plausible theories are that it was an astrological viewing site, or a sacred religious site. In my opinion, the astrological aspect seems to make a bit more sense. Both of these are distinct possibilities, but to their truth, none can actually say. Another possibility is that Stonehenge was both sites at the same time. Suppose that the ancient builders of the place worshipped the sun, moon, stars and other heavenly entities. Would it not be a good idea to have a place to not only worship them, but also observe them as they move across the sky? These builders, regardless of a language, must have had a very expansive knowledge of building techniques, mathematics, and physics to be able to complete the structure. And there must be some kind of explanation to the place, because why would a group of people sacrifice so much time and energy to create a meaningless monument?

Throughout the years, Stonehenge has baffled the masses. Many questions have risen and few have been answered. One thing that is fact to most people about Stonehenge is that it gives a certain feeling. Some describe it as physical sensation, others a personal and indescribable awe of the place. These feelings are certainly understandable as the mere sight of Stonehenge is amazing. (Wilkins) Being near it makes you wonder: “Why was this built?” or “Who would build this?” Both are interesting questions because they’re both difficult to answer. Of the many stones that make up the fantastic monument, most are well over twenty tons. (The Mystery of Stonehenge) At first it may seem just amazing, but if you think about it, Stonehenge is in the middle of a large valley. Since there isn’t much of a source for these rocks, where did they come from? And the people who built this very likely didn’t have the tools to carve the stones so it must have taken a good deal of time just to find stones that fit their criteria. Next, since the stones had to have been brought from a far away area, how were these massive stones transported? These questions are difficult to answer for sure, purely because of the lack of physical, written proof. To the best of our knowledge, the builders of Stonehenge had no written language, which raises even more questions.

This five thousand year old monument has changed a good amount over time. People have taken some of the stones for building purposes. Others would chip off parts as a token of their adventure. Although this information is somewhat interesting, the fact stands that no one knows exactly why Stonehenge was constructed. If the truth behind the standing stones could be revealed, this not only would finally be an answer to one of the greatest questions in history, but it may also bring us some kind of information that could be extremely useful.

Around the time of three thousand five hundred years B.C., the construction of Stonehenge was begun by a group of supposed nomads. These people built it for a specific reason. Two possible reasons are to watch celestial beings, and to worship their gods. The sun, particularly, was what they were observing. This place was, and still is, very accurate when it comes to seasonal changes. On the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, the sun rises right behind a huge stone called the Heel Stone (for various reasons from old tales around the area). The sun will rise and at a certain point appear to hover on the top of the Heel Stone. The sun’s rays will shine directly down a path called the Avenue, straight to the center of Stonehenge. This kind of “phenomenon” within Stonehenge is one of many things called sightlines. On the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, the sun will set directly behind the Heel Stone. Also, there are two “Station Stones” around the center of the monument. At one time there were four of them, and they are believed to point out the directions of the moonrise, moonset, sunrise, and sunset. (The Mystery of Stonehenge)( Dimitrakopoulos)

It is very possible that around the time of its actual use, the people around Stonehenge were farming and would use Stonehenge as a tool to judge the change in their growing seasons. Though it is possible, it doesn’t seem extremely likely for an agricultural society to use, build, and understand such a complicated idea. Another possibility, which almost makes perfect sense to me, is that the ancient constructors of the monument were not only very well off in the way of intellectual knowledge, but also very religious and highly sentient. If these social characteristics are truths, it’s also feasible to think that they worshiped the sun and other celestial bodies. If these both were true, it would only make perfect sense to build a structure that could not only be used to observe their gods, but also to worship them. This area would seem a prime location as the sky is largely unobstructed. But, with the same idea in mind, there are many other similar areas around the site that probably would have been easier to maintain and an easier area to build Stonehenge. Maybe there was something special about the exact location. The problem is that it is, once again, impossible to prove at the moment. (Dimitrakopoulos)

With all these theories, you would think that, eventually, we might have come up with some new evidence as to the reason behind Stonehenge. Up until only a little while ago, we had had no new findings. Recently, however, there is a new theory about the megalith. A new excavation on the Stonehenge site has come up with the idea that it wasn’t a temple or observatory, but a place of magical healing of some kind. (CBS News) This, yet another, theory also cannot be proven which makes Stonehenge not only one of the most confusing places on the planet, but also one of the most intriguing.

In the end, we can only know so much about Stonehenge. These almost useless facts have come from a few tools and some carbon dating of the stones. It may sound crazy but in my completely unprofessional opinion, the mystery of Stonehenge shouldn’t be solved. If it were to be solved, it may go down as just another checkmark on the mysteries list. Where’s the fun in that? Say it was to stay unsolved forever, it leaves us with that tiny, little idea deep in the back of our heads: “Why was Stonehenge built?” If this mystery were solved, all the enjoyment of thinking about it and coming up with new ideas would be gone. And after all, life wouldn’t be very interesting if everything was known by everyone, would it?