Astronomy Henge Stone
Most everyone has heard of Stonehenge, the stone circle in England that has been portrayed as an astronomers’ tool, a grave yard, a druidic sacrificial altar, and even in some movies and television programs as a portal to other dimensions and other worlds. It’s not the only stone circle in the world, however. There are other such stone circles all over the world, many containing one astronomy henge stone or even an entire grouping of them. In fact the word henge is an old English word that’s part of the Stonehenge name. Henge means hang, not circle or stone as some people believe. It refers to the Stonehenge site specifically as horizontal stones were hung around the circle by placing them on top of vertical stone pillars. Over time the hanging part of the concept was lost, so any such stone circle was referred to as a henge. There is one condition. The circle of stones must be placed within a circle of earth, either raised above or dropped below the surrounding area. If there’s no such earthen circle, the henge is just a circle of stones.
While they did serve as altars and cemeteries, all of these stone henges, including the well known Stonehenge, had some link to celestial objects and phenomenon. It doesn’t matter if they were built only as observatories or not, let others argue it. There was some real building skill and astronomy knowledge used to erect them. The elements that have to do with astronomy include the markings of important dates, such as the summer or winter solstice, when the sun would rise at a point marked exactly by a stone placement. This might include the sun being viewable through a tiny window at sunrise from a point at the center of a circle. Stonehenge includes a number of precise measurements. It’s not important if they were the design for the site or an afterthought. They’re still amazing.
A lesser known but no less spectacular henge is the Avebury Henge located in Wiltshire. The henge neighbors a number of other smaller stone circles, and encompasses the entire town of Avebury. Because so many of the now downed stones were in precise locations, it’s well known the henge was used for astronomy. In addition there were elements of ancestry and gender concerns in the design, because it had male and female looking stones. A number of people disagree, claiming the stones were simply selected for their general look, with nothing to do with men or women or ancestors.
Some may think it would be cool to steal an astronomy henge stone to use in their home. Aside from the fact that many of these weigh many tons, they completely lose their significance when removed from the earthen circle. Instead, set up your own stone henge at home.
Filed under: Emergency Medical Supplies
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
