WHO BUILT STONEHENGE?Given the leng

WHO BUILT STONEHENGE?

Given the length of time taken to create Stonehenge, who could have carried out such a feat? We now know that just as the monument was constructed in distinct stages, its builders belonged to distinct groups.

The first group, the Windmill Hill people, named after one of their earthworks on Windmill Hill, near Stonehenge, built the large circular furrows and mounds. They had collective burials in large stone-encased tombs. Most of their burial mounds point east-west. Originating in eastern England, they were one of the first semi-nomadic hunting and gathering groups with an agricultural economy, maintaining a strong reverence for circles and symmetry.
The second group - The Beaker people - is thought to have originated in Spain, migrating northwards and colonising north-west Europe. Their name comes from their ancient traditions in which they would bury beakers, or pottery drinking cups, with their dead.


Instead of burying their dead in mass graves, they showed more reverence for death by placing them in small round graves marked by mounds called tumuli. It is assumed by archaeologists that the Beaker People were more warlike in nature than most tribes of their time because they buried their dead with more weapons, such as daggers and battle-axes. The Beaker Folk were highly organised and industrious, using sophisticated mathematical concepts, and they managed their society by using a chieftain system.


The Wessex People are considered the third and final group to work on the Stonehenge site. They arrived around 1500 B.C. at the height of the Bronze Age. They were among the most advanced cultures outside the Mediterranean during this period. Since their tribal bases were located where ridgeways, or ancient roads, met, we can assume they became skillful and well-organised traders, controlling trade routes throughout southern Britain. These people are thought to have been responsible for the bronze dagger carving found on one of the large sarsen stones within Stonehenge.