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Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire
Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. Photo: garethwiscombe · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Ancient worlds · Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain · c. 3000–1500 BCE

Stonehenge

Established3000 BCE – 1500 BCESalisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England

A stone circle aligned with the solstices, built with stones hauled from as far as Scotland.

Research draft · editor review pending. Every claim below is linked to a checked source, but this dossier has not yet been reviewed by a human editor. Spot an error? Corrections are logged.

Stonehenge was built in stages over more than a thousand years, beginning around 3000 BCE with a circular earthwork and growing into the ring of giant sarsen stones and smaller bluestones visible today. Its main axis aligns with sunrise at the summer solstice and sunset at the winter solstice.

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Connected dossiers

Göbekli TepeComparable case · Monumental stone architecture whose purpose is debated.The Nebra Sky DiscSame era · Prehistoric European astronomy.

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How to read the labels

EstablishedSupported by strong, converging evidence.
ContestedEvidence exists but qualified scholars disagree.
UnresolvedThe question is open; evidence does not settle it.
LegendComes from myth, literature or tradition, not physical evidence.
SpeculativeA hypothesis with little direct evidence so far.

Hero image: Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. Photo: garethwiscombe · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons. Evidence labels describe the written claims, not the image. Version 1 · updated 2026-10-22.