An Ancient Monument and the Clues Its Builders Left Behind
Around 3000 BC, people dug Stonehenge’s first earthwork. The great stone structure came later, around 2500 BC. Its builders used stone tools and remarkable teamwork. Many smaller stones came from western Wales; the separate Altar Stone has been linked to Scotland.
They shaped the stones with nothing but hammers made of rock. They carved woodworking joints into solid stone to lock the lintels in place. They aligned the whole structure with the sunrise on the longest day of the year.
Research reveals stages of construction and clues to the builders’ lives. Important questions remain about transport, changing uses and what this place meant to them.
~3000 BC
Construction and rearrangement happened in stages from around 3000 BC. The great sarsen trilithons were raised around 2500 BC. Those stages involved many generations.
36+ tonnes
This unshaped sarsen stands outside the main circle; its original position is debated.
~140 miles
Straight-line distance from Preseli to Stonehenge. The transport route is uncertain.
50+ people
Excavated cremated remains represent more than fifty people, buried around 3000–2800 BC.
The Evidence
Stones from Wales
In 1923, geologist H.H. Thomas linked many bluestones to the Preseli Hills in Wales. Later research investigated proposed Welsh quarries. The separate Altar Stone was linked to north-east Scotland in 2024. A June 2026 study points towards Caithness and tests possible transport stages; its exact source and journey remain unresolved.
Mortise and Tenon
The lintels are locked onto the uprights using woodworking joints carved into solid stone. A raised knob on each pillar fits into a matching hole in the lintel — every one shaped by hand with stone hammers.
The Solstice Sunrise
The main axis of Stonehenge points directly at the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset. This supports an intentional connection with the solstices. Fallen stones, restoration and changing sky positions matter when reconstructing the original view.
Five Thousand Years of Mystery
The First Phase
A circular ditch, bank, and 56 evenly spaced holes (the Aubrey Holes) are dug on Salisbury Plain. Cremation burials from around 3000–2800 BC represent more than fifty people.
Stones Are Rearranged
The large sarsens and smaller bluestones are arranged together. Many bluestones originated in western Wales; when they first arrived and their earlier settings remain debated.
The Great Trilithons
Massive sarsen stones — some weighing tens of tonnes — are dragged from the West Woods, 15 miles north. They are raised upright and capped with lintels using mortise and tenon joints. The iconic Stonehenge takes shape.
The Merlin Legend
Geoffrey of Monmouth writes that the wizard Merlin magically transported the stones from Ireland. The story is widely believed for centuries.
The Druid Theory
William Stukeley makes detailed surveys and links Stonehenge to the Druids. The romantic image sticks — despite the Druids living 2,000+ years after it was built.
Stones Traced to Wales
Geologist H.H. Thomas links many bluestones to the Preseli Hills in Wales. The question of how they were transported becomes one of archaeology's greatest puzzles.
The Riverside Project
The project excavates houses and feasting remains at the already known Durrington Walls site, 2 miles from Stonehenge. Excavation samples suggest a larger settlement. Project leader Mike Parker Pearson interprets Stonehenge as a "domain of the dead."
The Welsh Quarries
Researchers investigate proposed Welsh quarry sites. They later suggest a connection with the dismantled monument at Waun Mawn, based on layout and a possible stone-hole match. That proposed transfer remains debated.
The People in This Story
H.H. Thomas
In 1923, Herbert Henry Thomas linked many bluestones to western Wales by comparing their minerals. Later research has refined those links and investigated sources for other stones.
Geoffrey of Monmouth
In 1136, this Welsh cleric wrote that the wizard Merlin transported the stones from Ireland by magic. His legend dominated for centuries — and contained a surprising kernel of truth: the stones really did come from far away.
Mike Parker Pearson
Led the Stonehenge Riverside Project (2003–2009). Led excavation of houses at Durrington Walls and proposed that Stonehenge was a "domain of the dead" — connected to the living world by water and processional roads.
The Question That Remains
Scientists can reconstruct construction stages, identify several stone sources and test possible building methods. The exact journeys and the monument’s changing meanings remain open questions.
Was it a temple to the dead? An astronomical observatory? A healing centre? A monument of unification? Or something nobody has thought of yet?
Read the full book to investigate the key clues and competing explanations — then decide for yourself.
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Check the evidence
What the evidence supports
The first earthwork dates to about 3000 BC and the great sarsen monument to about 2500 BC. Excavated cremated remains represent more than fifty people, principally around 3000–2800 BC. Many bluestones link to western Wales, most sarsens to West Woods and the Altar Stone to Scotland. The main axis follows the solstices.
Where to be careful
Exact quarry locations, transport stages and changing purposes remain under investigation. June 2026 research found its closest Altar Stone comparison in Caithness and modelled possible earlier glacial transport stages; it did not recover the exact journey. Lunar alignment, healing and unification are interpretations, not demonstrated construction instructions.
Explore the sources
These selected sources support this guide and offer further reading. Some are written for adults; explore them with a parent or teacher.
- English Heritage: current research at Stonehenge
- English Heritage: history of Stonehenge
- From Highlands to Henge: refining Altar Stone provenance and transport (2026)
- English Heritage: investigating the major lunar standstill
- Geological Society: Stonehenge geology and Thomas’s work
The story and illustrations are modern retellings. Imagined scene details are not historical evidence. These sources are a starting point, not citations for every narrative detail.
Evidence guide reviewed .