Located in Great Britain in the county of Wiltshire, near Salisbury, Stonehenge is one of the most famous monuments in the world.
It is considered a prehistoric site.
Made of earthworks in a circular area it is comprised of large standing stones which archeologists think were erected around 2000 BC.
The earth bank and ditch which are the earliest aspect of it have been dated to about 3100 BC.
Stonehenge and its immediate vicinity were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in the 1980’s and Stonehenge is a legally protected monument, listed in Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
It is owned and managed by the English heritage and the National trust owns the surrounding areas.
Stonehenge Complete gives the meaning of Stonehenge as coming from the ancient English words “stān” meaning “stone”, and either “hencg” meaning hinge (because the stone lintels hinge on the upright stones) or “hen which meant gallows, or “instrument of torture”. Stonehenge is a “henge monument”.
This means it consists of several menhirs (huge rocks) in a circle.
Nathan Do you think Stonehenge really classifies as a natural wonder? Being man-made and everything?
Greetings. Glad that this query is made. I think Stonehenge is hyped. Being man-made, it cannot, and should not, qualify as a “natural” wonder because it came about through human intervention.
There should be a Classification of the “Wonders” stuff — that is, Man-made and Natural. The latter presupposes that it came into being free from human intervention.
Present day equipment can make a stuff similar to a stonehenge. Really, when I first came to see this stonehenge photos and marketing hype calling it a natural wonder, I thought that those people to elevated the category to a world-class “wonder” did not understand what it meant. Have you been to the EL NIDO of Palawan, Philippines? That, IS a Natural Wonder!
I think personally that the intellectual snob might consider it hype. I personally consider that its a real testament to what men can do with no tools… since it is made of natural materials, I’d simplify it a bit and call it a natural wonder.
Notify me of followup comments via e-mail
Let It's Nature be your one-stop resource for exciting and interesting information regarding nature and her creatures. Now, you don't have to remain ignorant of the Earth's greatest species. ©2007-2008 It's Nature.