Henges, circles & summer solstice

Summer Solstice.

The longest day of the year, official start of summer and an excuse for mass revelry at the world’s most famous prehistoric monument. A time when interest in stone henges and circles is possibly at its peak.

While these enigmas can be found throughout Western Europe and even West Africa, it’s Britain, holding over 1,000 catalogued stone circles and 80 known henges, that ultimately gets the most attention from tourists.

And despite what most think, there really is a difference between a stone henge and a stone circle.

Stone circles are sometimes circular, but more often elliptical in size and having anywhere between four and sixty standing stones of varying height. Located throughout the British Isles and dating as far back as 3300 B.C., the reasons behind these structures are still not entirely clear. Some archeologists say the circles were used for ceremonial purposes or talismanic appeasement from the forces of nature.

Pictured below are the Callanish Standing Stones located in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. According to local legend, these stones were originally giants refusing to convert to Christianity who were then turned into stone by St. Kiaran.

Certainly the crudeness and the variation of the stone shapes seen here rule out the possibility of astronomical use. However, the recumbent circles of Scotland will dispute that assertion. Built with similarly sized stones and one recumbent lying between the south/southeast and southwest points, these circles could have been used for recording seasonal changes and lunar observations.

Stone circles may have been a stylistic forerunner within hunter/gatherer times but as humans began shifting to the settled agricultural environment during the late Neolithic and Bronze ages, the more complex henges began to appear.

Henges are usually built on low-lying ground, close to water and fertile agricultural lands. The sites can include stone circles (Avebury has two) or burial mounds, are typically circular and enclosed by a raised bank boundary.

They are also ranked into three different structural classes:

• Class I henges have a single entrance created from a gap in the surrounding earthen boundary;
• Class II henges have two entrances diametrically opposite each other;
• Class III henges have four entrances that face each other in pairs.

Like the stone circles, the reasons behind these megalithic sites are also not entirely clear. Religious rituals, burial sites, astronomical observations or even use as a planting/harvesting calendar have been suggested. One theory even proposes that the earthenwork ditch surrounding the henge protected those outside the boundary against the spirits roaming on the inside.

Certainly the astronomy theory holds weight.

Henges appear to have been placed at particular latitudes or in locations where hills would not interfere with a line of sight to the sky. And as the first photo demonstrates, Stonehenge, built over a 1,500 year period and initially constructed as a cemetery, can direct the rising sun straight through its axis during solstices and equinoxes.

This brings up one of the lingering questions of all times: how was this massive, prehistoric megalith raised? Not only is Stonehenge built from sarsen, one of the hardest materials on earth, but these 50-ton standing stones are linked by complex jointing.

The answer: exceptional engineering skills that are demonstrated in a National Geographic video below. Keep in mind, however, that all the research and scientific discoveries will always pale in comparison to the emotional connection attached to these poignant sites. In 2008, a solstice reveler summed it up best when he told the BBC,  

“It’s all about the feeling you get when the sun bursts through the stone.”

More Resources:
• Stonehenge solstice photo provided by The Pagan Travel Examiner
• An excellent powerpoint from State U. College at Oneonta, NY (click “cancel” to begin the presentation)
• Wikpedia’s Photo Gallery of stone circles found around the world
• Britain Express: Barrows, stone circles, henges, and such
• Neopagan Druid Calendar: Major and Minor High Days
• Epoch Times: Discovering the Builders of Stonehenge
• National Geographic Video: Rituals of Death, New Stonehenge Discoveries