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Emerald green eyes gazed from beneath a furrowed brow upon the wide Salisbury plain. Merlin looked on Ambrosius laying at the foot of one of the great obelisks, cloaked in royal regalia and awaiting his internment there. The great wizard looked back into the ages from whence the great giants danced in a circle to celebrate their divinity, before being cast into solid stone for celebrating on the sabbath. Light magic empowered the wizard to see all as if in a motion picture, and also the animated faces of the imprisoned figures now looking down on the brother of Uther Pendragon.

Uther commissioned Merlin to transport the legendary stones to this spot in the hopes that his brother might be brought back to the living by their legendary healing powers. But no magic remained in the stones save the cold stares of the once animated giants. The father of Arthur wept at the thought of an intended resurrection becoming nothing more than a shrine to his fallen brother. A tomb, no matter how formidable, is still only a shadow misremembering of greatness he thought.

Legend of the Dance

Such are the legends of Stonehenge, the most significant prehistoric monument in all of England. In this colorful story, the legendary wizard Merlin is commissioned by Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur, to transport these magic stones to Southern England to resurrect his brother Ambrosius. The legend of the “Dance Stones” was that they were once giants in Ireland who danced in a circle holding hands (as the Stonehenge monument suggests) until they were turned to stone for desecrating the sabbath. Even today, not much is known of this fantastic monument from pre-history, Stonehenge rains as much a mystery as much as a monument or ruin from the past.

Fairly tales and legends abound in the abyss of the unknown, though radio carbon dating presupposes this Arthurian tale by over 2000 years. Still, the shear immensity of the task of transporting and erecting these monoliths staggers the mind given archaic methodologies. The site is composed of 30 upright stones (sarasens over ten feet tall and weighing over 25 tons) aligned in a circle. There are also thirty lintels mounted atop the uprights, each weighing about 6 tons. The inner circle of smaller stones are also configured into a post and lintel architecture, giving an eerie symmetry to the site.

Gazing upon this site in the early dawn, just as Merlin might have, gives the visitor a faint glimpse of the power this place holds and as held for centuries. It is clear that something, perhaps many significant things occurred on this spot. Perhaps, somehow, Ambrosius or even Arthur himself at least visited this place?

The How of Stonehenge

Part of the mystique of Stonehenge arises because of the engineering necessary to transport such huge monoliths such great distances (from as far away as 240 miles). Secondly, the raising of such huge stones (25 tons or more) brings to mind hundreds of workers toiling to erect just one, let alone 30 or more. There were no Pharaoh’s let alone armies of workers resident in Britain at the time this monument was constructed. So, except for the chance that Merlin himself transported them, how was Stonehenge built?

Stage One - The Earth Works

Most experts believe that Stonehenge was initially a great earthwork or “henge”. The structure was probably comprised of a series of ditches and pits known as the “Aubrey holes“, which are thought to have been constructed around 3100 B.C. These holes, or pits, form a circle about 280 feet in diameter, from which excavations have rendered the cremated remains of people from the era. Given this, many now believe that the site was initially intended as a monument to some elite class of tribal leaders of the time. It is interesting to note that after this initial construct, that the site was left untouched for over a thousand years. This might indicate that those interned there were of particular importance.

2150 B.C. - Phase Two

This most important stage saw the introduction of some 82 blue stones from the Preseli mountains just to the southwest. Experts believe these stones were dragged via rollers or logs and sledges to Milford Haven where they were loaded onto rafts and floated along the coast of Wales and up the Avon. They would then have been dragged once again overland to near Whitshire and then floated once again along the river Wylye and finally to west Amesbury. This circuitous journey covered over 240 miles after which the stones were erected in the center of the site. These stones were also aligned so that the apparent avenue formed was perfectly aligned with the midsummer - midwinter solstice.

Part 3 - 2000 B.C.

It is thought that the “Sarsen stones” arrived on the scene about this time. The only logical source for these stones is Marlborough Downs close to Avenbury - North of Wiltshire. The journey for these massive monoliths would have certainly required hundreds of workers to literally drag stones weighing in excess of 50 tons the 25 miles. These are arranged in an outer circle, while inside five trilithons were placed in a sort of horseshoe arrangement.

Complete in 1600 -1500 B.C.

Finally, the bluestones were set in the horseshoe pattern visible today around this time. Originally there may have been as many as 60 or 80 of these, but many have long since been carried away. Each of these stones weighed up to 6 tons and two varieties are found at Stonehenge (the spotted and unspotted). No one knows if the site saw use after this latest modification, but Roman coins and medieval artifacts were discovered there. We can only speculate as to how the site may have been used throughout time and after the last construction there.

A Shrouded 5000 Years

Whether we believe in some rendition of the Arthurian legend, or more recent research indicating burial monuments of another kind, Stonehenge is one of our longest lived mysteries. If you think about it, it would seem that such a prominent fixture of the English countryside would possess more of a “linear” history that might have been recorded. One thing is for certain, Stonehenge is a captivating destination for anyone traveling to Britain. As for the legends, someone once said; “If given a choice whether to print a story of fact or legend - print the legend”. Merlin! Can you still see the giants dancing?

For more information about Stonehenge please visit their visitor website. If you would like to see great places to stay near Stonehenge and Salisbury please see the main site of Stay.com.