Is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England two miles west Amesbury. Consist of a ring of standing stones, with each standing around 4m high, 2m wide and weighing 25tons. The stones are set within earthworks in the Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.
Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, with constitute the earliest phase of monument have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC
One of the most famous landmarks in the United Kingdom, Stonehenge is registered as a British cultural icon it has been a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1882 when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain. The site and its surroundings were added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage. The surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.
Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from earliest beginnings. Deposits containing human bones date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug and continued for at least another five hundred years.
