Grandiose deception or unsuccessful reconstruction: how Stonehenge was built in the XX century

To begin with, we will show some photos that demonstrate construction work on the territory of Stonehenge in the 50s of the last century.

As you can see, if the photo is not building from scratch, as some researchers believe, then a rather large-scale reconstruction: cranes, trucks, dozens of workers are present, and even temporary housing for builders is visible.

Particularly on the basis of these photographs, it was suggested that Stonehenge was not the work of ancient builders, but architects of the 20th century. Museum workers in Great Britain added fuel to the fire. A staff member at Cambridge University admitted that during this reconstruction, almost all the stones that make up Stonehenge were moved, and their position was fixed with concrete.

If you try to find information about how Stonehenge looked before this reconstruction, then the following becomes clear. The first written evidence dates back to the 12th century. The English explorer Henry Huntington mentions a place called Stanange, where unusually large stones are installed, and expresses his surprise at how such huge blocks could raise to a great height. Then the descriptions of Stonehenge were repeatedly met in the writings of medieval historians who put forward their versions about the purpose of the megalithic structure. Mention of Stonehenge is also found in works of English literature. Therefore, its existence is most likely a reality. The only question is in what form he was before his transformation in the last century and how close to reality the reconstruction of the monument currently existing is.

The diagram on the right shows the location of the stone blocks before reconstruction

There are also schemes of a grandiose monument made before a large-scale reconstruction, which was carried out from the beginning of the 20th century and ended in the 50s.

Photograph of the late XIX - early XX century

Photo dated 1911, in which it is clearly visible that the large block in the foreground is brought upright

They clearly show that the location of the stones is slightly different, and it becomes clear that one pair of stone blocks was added with overlapping in the center and one pair along the perimeter of the structure.

In photographs dating from the late XIX - early XX century, it can also be seen that the arrangement of the stones is different from the modern ones: there are inclined blocks and fewer arch stones.

A similar picture as a whole coincides with that described by an employee of the University of Cambridge: most of the blocks were moved. A number of researchers express the version that the construction of Stonehenge was carried out on level ground and is completely a remake. Others suggest that the real remains of the stones that once made up Stonehenge were removed from the complex and replaced with copies.

Be that as it may, there are many questions in this story. Why did you need to carry out such a large-scale reconstruction? After all, this is not just the restoration of cracks or the construction of some auxiliary elements to give stability to the structure. Entire blocks were moved, the position was changed from horizontal to vertical, and even new elements were built, such as megalith arches with ceilings. It is unlikely that Stonehenge would greatly benefit from all this in terms of improving the appearance or imparting historical significance. Against this background, it is understandable that the desire of British specialists to give the monument an “original” look caused bewilderment and public outrage and even led to a journalistic investigation.