Stonehenge

Stonehenge is that amazing stone structure we all reconize, located in Southern England.  It has puzzled men from one generation to the next.  For it's time, Stonehenge was an astounding engineering feat.  It required large amounts of time, commitment and men.  Just how were the men of this time capable of moving and building with such huge stones?  

The building of Stonehenge started 5,000 years ago.  It was first a bank and ditch arrangement called a henge.  The tools used to complete this phase are believed to have been antlers of red deer and the underlying chalk was loosened with picks and shoveled with the shoulderblades of cattle.  The chalk was loaded into baskets and carried away.   Experiments of today have proven that these tools did the work of earth digging and moving equipment.
Sarsen stones, the larger ones that form the outer circle, can weigh as much as 45-50 tons (90000-100000 pounds) each!!!  These large stones had to be moved 20 miles!  This was not an easy task.  It is estimated that to get one stone over the steepest part of the journey at Redhorn Hill, 600 men would be needed.

Today, Stonehenge is in ruin.  The old and original stones have been taken for repair and construction in generations past.  Close contact to the stones has been prohibited since 1978, to prevent visitors from damaging the stones.