Most everyone has heard of Stonehenge, the stone circle in England that has been portrayed as an astronomers’ tool, a grave yard, a druidic sacrificial altar, and even in some movies and television programs as a portal to other dimensions and other worlds. It’s the most well known, but not the only one. The world is full of other similar circles, some with one astronomy henge stone, others with many. As a matter of interest, the name Stonehenge comes from Henge, Old English for the structure it describes. Henge doesn’t mean circle or stone or earthwork, it means hang. It refers to the Stonehenge site specifically as horizontal stones were hung around the circle by placing them on top of vertical stone pillars. Over time the hanging part of the concept was lost, so any such stone circle was referred to as a henge. However the term henge necessitates an earthen circle. If there’s no earthen circle there’s no henge. It’s just a stone circle.
While many of these stone henges, including the famous Stonehenge, were used as burial grounds and sacrificial sites, almost all of them have some element related to astronomy. Even today scientists marvel at the precision contained within these structures. Many of these stones followed phases of the moons or marked the sunrise and sunset at certain key times of year. There were even tiny openings that would direct the sunlight on key areas at the right time of the year. Stonehenge has an amazing array of astronomical measures built into the circle. Whether they were built in from the beginning or added at a future time is of little importance. They’re still amazing.
A lesser known but no less spectacular henge is the Avebury Henge located in Wiltshire. It encloses an entire town, Avebury, and is surrounded by a host of smaller stone circles. Because so many of the now downed stones were in precise locations, it’s well known the henge was used for astronomy. In addition the stones came in two types, tall female and squat male, possibly having to do with gender and ancestor worship. Some archaeologists dispute this, however, claiming the stones were chosen for no other reason than their beauty and size.
Don’t even think about grabbing an astronomy henge stone for your personal use. But they’re meaningless when removed from their earthen circles. Try painting an image of one instead.