Stonehenge, temple of the sun?

Whether this site has sparked myths and legends, folklore and speculation, it is also, today, a source of neo-druidisma Celtic cult venerating the spirits of nature – now a recognized religion in Great Britain – and gathers its followers at the heart of the monument, during the solstices…

A complex building

What the visitor sees of this gigantic megalith is of course a large circle of stones, the cromlech**, vertical slabs on which lintels still rest**. However, many other structures surround this monument: ditches, embankments, other circles without any stone, tumuli, a monumental alley leading to a river (the Avon), all witnessing successive developments and covering a long period between Neolithic and Bronze Age.

Two types of stones make up the building : a gray sandstone said of ” Sarsen » but especially what we call « blue stones “, originally far away, that of the Preseli hills in the south-west of Wales, having required a long transport.

Other “Stonehenge” in Europe?

Neil Wilkin(British curator and Bronze Age specialist), sees through Stonehenge a story that transcends Salisbury Plain, and even Britain, to reach far into continental Europe. However, many other cromlechs are attested in Europe. In 1998, on the shores of Norfolkan astonishing circle of wood was unearthed: “ Seahenge “. Built in the spring and summer of 2049 BC, it consists of 54 oak posts with an oak tree in the center with the roots facing the sky.

In Germany, the circular sanctuary of Pömmelte (2,335 – 2,050 BC), is also made of wood. Its reconstruction required 1,200 tree trunks.

In Spain, the cromlech of Guadalpera, buried under a lake, reappeared during the summer of 2022, thanks to the drought. This consists of some 140 menhirs. In Francemany cromlechs are present, one of the most famous being undoubtedly that of Er Lannic Islandpartly submerged by the waters of the Gulf of Morbihan.

Solar temple or seismic wave detector?

Stonehenge (meaning hanging stones**) was perceived as the witness of a Roman legion petrified by the witchcraft of Merlin**, a gigantic and primitive detector of seismic waves, but we now agree to see in it a real solar calendar.

HAS Stonehenge**, the system seems to be based on the sun and its solstices**. The axis of Stonehenge is oriented from northeast to southwest. This line connects sunrise during the summer solstice (northeast) and sunset during the winter solstice (southwest). Stonehenge would therefore be a perpetual solar calendar. HAS Seahenge, the building’s narrow entrance is aligned with the rising mid-summer sun. Scholarly calculations tend to show that 365.25 solar days formed the basis of a year.

Discovered in Germany, the bronze and gold disk of Nebra is a celestial disk 32 cm in diameter, dated to around 1600 BCE. For many researchers, it is the oldest representation of the celestial vault, with representations of the moon, the sun and seven stars: those of the Pleiades, a sun chariot and even the Milky Way.

For further

• About Claude Mordant : website of Rendez-vous of the history of Bloisand website of Historical and Scientifical works comity (CTHS).
• Publications by Claude Mordant (Decitre website).
• wikipedia page on Cyril Marcignyand that of theresearch unit of the Center for Research in Archaeology, Archaeosciences, History (CReAAH / CNRS).
• Publications by Cyril Marcigny (Academia website, Inrap).
• wikipedia page on Stonehenge.
• Article The prehistoric secrets of Stonehenge open up to the world at the British Museum in London, February 2022 (Euronews website).
• Article Stonehenge, the famous English archaeological site, had connections throughout EuropeRichard Place, February 2022 (franceinfo website).
• Exhibition website The world of Stonehenge which took place in spring 2022 at the British Museum in London (in English).

Cited references

Some videos