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Essay / A Research Paper on the Mystery of Stonehenge
Table of ContentsSummaryIntroductionFindings and DiscussionsThe Merlin TheoryRoman TempleA Place of Druid WorshipA Place of HealingA Burial SiteA Site of Celestial or Astronomical AlignmentsThe New Age PerspectiveConclusionReferencesSummaryThis article contains the mystery of Stonehenge. Stonehenge was built on Salisbury Plain between 5,000 and 4,300 years ago. It is one of the most famous and mysterious archaeological sites in the world (O'Driscoll, 2009, p.15). The main objective of this article is that the author wants to analyze several theories about the constructions and functions of Stonehenge which are still mysterious and also make a comparison between Stonehenge and Gunung Padang. The author obtained the data from an e-book and website about Stonehenge and Gunung Padang information. From this article, we were able to discover that there are several theories about the constructions and functions of Stonehenge: the theory of Merlin, a Roman temple, a place of worship of the Druid, a place of healing, a burial place , a site of celestial or astronomical alignments, and the new age viewpoint. The results of the comparison between Stonehenge and Gunung Padang are that Stonehenge and Gunung Padang were built with stones, Stonehenge and Gunung Padang are mysterious archaeological and megalithic sites in the world, the author did not find when Stonehenge was built first discovered and Gunung Padang has been popular with experts since 1800. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayIntroductionStonehenge was built on Salisbury Plain between 5,000 and 4,300 years ago. It is one of the most famous and mysterious archaeological sites in the world (O'Driscoll, 2009, p.15). Stonehenge was built with thirty stones. The largest stones are called Sarsens. The Sarsens measure 9 meters and weigh 25 tonnes. Small stones called blue stones. It is called blue stones because they have a bluish tint when wet or freshly broken. Blue stones weigh 4 tons. We don't know who built Stonehenge. Many theories about the constructions of Stonehenge and its functions. People believe that Stonehenge was built by aliens because it is impossible for ancient humans to move the large stones and build complex monuments such as Stonehenge. People believe that the functions of Stonehenge are a ritual place, burials and a place for astronomical observation. Indonesia also has a stone monument called Gunung Padang. The construction of Gunung Padang is also still mysterious. The author therefore chooses this subject as the focus of this article. The author hopes that this article will give more information about the mystery of Stonehenge and other stone monuments such as Gunung Padang. Based on the above explanation, the objectives of this article are to analyze several theories about the constructions and functions of Stonehenge which are still mysterious and also to make a comparison between Stonehenge and Gunung Padang. The data in this article was obtained from an e-book and some websites about Stonehenge and Gunung Padang information. Results and Discussions Based on the analysis carried out, the author found several theories about the constructions of Stonehenge and its functions. The following data and information are based on the author:Merlin's TheoryIn the 12th century, the English historian Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote a book entitled "Historia Regum Britanniae" (History of the Kings of England). In this book he recounted the famous legendof King Arthur and explained how Stonehenge was created. According to Geoffrey, blue stones came from Africa. The giants carried the stones to the mysterious mountain named Killaraus in Ireland where they arranged them in a large circle. So that's where the stones were for a long time. When King Aurelius Ambrosius wanted to make a memorial to his dead soldiers, a witch named Merlin suggested he use the stones. The king accepted his suggestion, Merlin used his magical power, removed the stones and took them to Salisbury by the sea. This theory combined aspects of English legend with the supernatural power of Merlin the witch. Although it was interesting, experts had never taken this theory as a serious theory.Roman TempleIn 1620, King James I asked an eccentric British architect named Inigo Jones to study the structure and history of Stonehenge. In 1655, three years after Jones' death, his son-in-law John Webb published a book entitled "Remarkable Antiquity of Great Britain, Vulgarly Called Stone-Heng, Restored". The book comes from the legacy papers of Inigo Jones. The book relates that Stonehenge was actually a Tuscan-style temple founded by the Roman period in England from the 1st to the 5th century. He said the temple was in honor of Coelus, one of the Roman gods. However, many other authors rejected this theory because the age of the monument was far from the Roman period in England. A place of worship by the Druid Dr. William Stukley (1740) explained that in 460 BC England was visited by a number of pilgrims from the Middle East, perhaps the Finis who had lived in the country of Canaan conquered by the Israelites. These pilgrims were founded by the Druid religion who later built Stonehenge as a place of worship. They used Stonehenge for their ceremonies and took place on the ring of stones during the summer. Today, the Druid religion uses Stonehenge as a religious monument. Professor Tim Darvill of Bournemouth University and Professor Geoffrey Wainwright of the Society of Antiquaries of London (2008) have claimed that Stonehenge could have served as a "place of healing" (as cited in Enigma, 2010). This was due to the discovery of skulls near the sites. In the remains of the skull discovered by them, there were several signs such as a skull that had been accidentally opened. This sign indicated the operation procedure in the head. Stonehenge could have been used as a place of healing for serious illnesses or injuries, a sort of ancient Lourdes. A burial site Professor Mike Parker Pearson of the University of Sheffield (1998) explained that the area around Stonehenge had a large number of burials, suggesting that it was a burial site. a domain of the dead, while a neighboring Neolithic settlement was the corresponding place of the living. More recently, Professor Parker claimed that Stonehenge was built to unify the different peoples of the British Isles. He said Stonehenge itself was a massive undertaking, requiring the labor of thousands of stones from as far away as west Wales, shaping them and erecting them becoming an act of unification. A site for celestial or astronomical alignments. This theory by Sir John Lockyer (1901). It was a famous British astronomer who discovered the element helium. In 1901, he wrote an article that speculated that parts of Stonehenge, called the Heel Stone, originally corresponded to the summer solstice (the longest day of the year). Therefore, Lockyer speculated that Stonehenge could have been used by ancient astronomers to observe celestial objects. In 1965, this theory was reinforced by an American astronomer named Gerald9