Stonehenge is definitely one of England's greatest icons. Its original purpose is still somewhat unclear, but some have speculated that it was a temple made for worship of ancient earth deities. It has also been called an astronomical observatory for marking significant events on the ancient prehistoric calendar. Others claim that it was a sacred site created by Merlin and King Arthur for the burial of high-ranking citizens from societies of long ago. Many modern prehistorians believe it was built as a temple which was primarily used during festivals celebrating particular lunar and solar occurences. Whatever the reasons for Stonehenge's construction, it was obviously very important to the ancients when the time and effort taken in its construction is considered.

While we can't say with any degree of certainty what it was for, we can say that it wasn't constructed for any casual purpose. Only something very important to the ancients would have been worth the effort and investment that it took to construct Stonehenge.

Construction began in around 3500BC when the semi-nomadic peoples that populated the Salisbury Plain dug a circular ditch and mound with 56 holes forming a ring around its perimeter.

Stonehenge was built in several stages by generation after generation over almost 2000 years.

Situated in a vast plain, surrounded by hundreds of round barrows, or burial mounds, the Stonehenge site is truly impressive.