Stonehenge has been the subject of many theories about its origin, ranging from the academic worlds of archaeology to explanations from mythology and the paranormal.
Early theories
Many early historians were influenced by supernatural folktales in their explanations. Some legends held that Merlin had a giant build the structure for him or that he had magically transported it from Mount Killaraus in Ireland, while others held the Devil responsible. Henry of Huntingdon was the first to write of the monument around AD 1130 soon followed by Geoffrey of Monmouth who was the first to record fanciful associations with Merlin which led the monument to be incorporated into the wider cycle of European medieval romance. According to Geoffrey's Historia Regum Britanniae, when asked what might serve as an appropriate burial place for Britain's dead princes, Merlin advised King Aurelius Ambrosius to raise an army and collect some magical stones from Mount Killarus in Ireland. Whilst at Mount Killarus, Merlin laughed at the soldiers' failed attempts to remove the stones using ladders, ropes, and other machinery. Shortly thereafter, Merlin oversaw the removal of stones using his own machinery and commanded they be loaded onto the soldiers' ships and sailed back to England where they were reconstructed into Stonehenge. Contrary to popular belief Geoffrey did not claim Merlin had commanded a giant to build Stonehenge for him, it appears this detail was embellished by Robert Wace who later translated Geoffrey's original text into French. In 1655, the architect John Webb, writing in the name of his former superior Inigo Jones, argued that Stonehenge was a Roman temple, dedicated to Caelus, (a Latin name for the Greek sky-god Uranus), and built following the Tuscan order. Later commentators maintained that the Danes erected it. Indeed, up until the late nineteenth century, the site was commonly attributed to the Saxons or other relatively recent societies.
Druids and scientific evidence
The first academic effort to survey and understand the monument was made around 1640 by John Aubrey. He declared Stonehenge the work of Druids. This view was greatly popularised by William Stukeley. Aubrey also contributed the first measured drawings of the site, which permitted greater analysis of its form and significance. From this work, he demonstrated an astronomical or calendrical role in the placement of the stones. The architect John Wood, the Elder was to undertake the first truly accurate survey of Stonehenge in 1740. However, Wood's interpretation of the monument as a place of pagan ritual was vehemently attacked by Stukeley, who saw the druids not as pagans, but as biblical patriarchs. By the turn of the nineteenth century, John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury was able to attribute the site to the Bronze Age based on the bronze objects found in the nearby barrows.
Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating of the site indicates that the building of the monument at the site began around the year 3100 BC and ended around the year 1600 BC. This allows the elimination of some of the theories presented. The theory that the Druids were responsible may be the most popular; however, the Celtic Britons who spawned the Druid priesthood emerged only after 300 BC. Additionally, the Druids are unlikely to have used the site for sacrifices, because they performed the majority of their rituals in the woods or mountains, areas better suited for "earth rituals" than an open field. The fact that the Romans first came to the British Isles when Julius Caesar led an expedition in 55 BC negates the theories of Inigo Jones and others that Stonehenge was built as a Roman temple.
Early references to Stonehenge
The classical Greek writer Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC) may refer to Stonehenge in a passage from his Bibliotheca historica. Citing the 4th-century BC historian Hecataeus of Abdera and "certain others", Diodorus says that in "a land beyond the Celts" (i.e. Gaul) there is "an island no smaller than Sicily" in the northern sea called Hyperborea, so named because it is beyond the source of the north wind or Boreas. The inhabitants of this place chiefly worship Apollo, and there is "both a magnificent sacred precinct of Apollo and a notable temple which is adorned with many votive offerings and is spherical in shape." Some writers have suggested that Diodorus' "Hyperborea" may indicate Great Britain, and that the spherical temple may be an early reference of Stonehenge. Christopher Chippindale commented that "This might be Stonehenge, but the description is short and vague, and there are discrepancies = the climate of the Hyperboreans is so mild they grow two crops a year." Aubrey Burl noted that other parts of Diodorus' description make it a poor fit for Stonehenge and its neighbourhood. Diodorus also says that in that area Apollo (meaning, the Sun or the Moon) "skimmed the earth at a very low height". However, both the Moon and the Sun are always seen far above the horizon at the latitude of Stonehenge; only 500 miles farther north can they be observed to remain near the horizon.
The bluestones
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