What is the secret of Stonehenge?

The great stones stand gaunt against the sky in the countryside of Wiltshire, England. What is their origin? There are many theories. One of the earliest recorders of this stone system was Henry of Huntingdon, who died in 1154. But the stones are older than that. Some people thought that Boadicea, a queen of the ancient Britons was buried there. Another legend, as related by Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. A.D. 1136) was that the Wizard Merlin magically transported the stones from Ireland and rebuilt them or Salisbury Plain. Wizard Extraordinary he must have been, for investigation in more recent years has indicated that some of the great stones were taken from the Prescelly Mountains in Dyfed, in south-western Wales.

A further opinion was that Stonehenge was Danish. The architect and surveyor, Inigo Jones, who made a plan of it for James I, said it was Roman. Another expert said: ‘the Druids’. Was it a Sun Temple? Some astronomers, working on this assumption, put its date as 1680 B.C. Almost certainly, Stonehenge was built in three stages during Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age (1800-1400 B.C.). Almost equally certainly it was constructed as a place of worship. But Stonehenge keeps its secret. The mystery remains.