A new study suggests that Stonehenge once served as a solar calendar.

29 03 2022

It had long been thought that the famous site of Stonehenge served as an ancient calendar, given its alignment with the solstices. Now, research has identified how it may have worked.

Researchers argues that the design of Stonehenge was one big solar calendar
The entire site was the physical representation of one month, lasting 30 days
One theory is Stonehenge served as an ancient calendar, although others exist

Research showed the stones were added about 2500BC and remained in the same formation, indicating they worked as a single unit such as a calendar.

New analysis suggests the design of Stonehenge may have represented a calendar, which enabled people to track a solar year of 365.25 days based on the alignment of the sun on the solstices. The large sarsens at the site appear to reflect a calendar with 12 months of 30 days – Source – Daily Mail

Professor Timothy Darvill said the Wiltshire stone circle’s layout served as a physical representation of the year.

He said the research indicated “the site was a calendar based on a tropical solar year of 365.25 days”.

Although the origins of the site remain a mystery, in a paper published in the journal Antiquity, Prof Darvill deduced that the stones are displayed to represent a solar year of 365.25 days and were once used to help people keep track of time.

His analysis also includes new finds about the site’s history, along with analysis of other ancient calendar systems.

The prehistorian, who works at Bournemouth University, said that “the clear solstitial alignment of Stonehenge has prompted people to suggest that the site included some kind of calendar since the antiquarian William Stukeley.

“Now, discoveries brought the issue into sharper focus and indicate the site was a calendar based on a tropical solar year of 365.25 days.”

The significance of the layout is highlighted during the Winter and Summer solstices, when the sun is framed by the same stones every time.

The solstitial alignment helps to calibrate the calendar and any errors would be easily detectable as the sun would be in the wrong place during the biannual event.

Professor Darvill said: “The proposed calendar works in a very straightforward way. Each of the 30 stones in the sarsen circle represents a day within a month, itself divided into three weeks each of 10 days.”

The solar calendar was developed in eastern Mediterranean countries after 3000BC and adopted in Egypt as the Civil Calendar around 2700BC. It was widely used around 2600BC, at the start of the Old Kingdom.

This information raises the possibility that the calendar that Stonehenge tracks may be influenced by other cultures. SOURCE: BBC NEWS

Putting Darvill’s Stonehenge Solar Calendar Theory To the Test! – ANCIENT ORIGINS
Stonehenge served as an ancient solar calendar, new study suggests – BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY
Stonehenge may have served as an ancient solar CALENDAR, helping people track the 365 days of the year, study claims – DAILY MAIL
Mystery of Stonehenge ‘solved’ as ancient Egyptians used it for solar calendar – THE INDEPENDENT

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