December
22
/ 2023
Today, as the northern hemisphere experiences the Winter Solstice, English archaeoastronomers remind us that Stonehenge was built to honor the sunset on this crucial date, and not just the Summer Solstice sunrise, that modern pilgrims flock to every June. So those early risers who have gone there today to see the sunrise are actually visiting at the wrong time, and also looking in the wrong direction! Mistaken Stories of Stonehenge The original purpose of Stonehenge in Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England, has been lost in the fogs of time. However, in 1100 AD, Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed the wizard Merlin built the monument, in 1640 AD, the philosopher John Aubrey associated it with the druids, and In 1655 AD, architect John
