Stonehenge

This passage describes a mysterious stone formation in England known as "Stonehenge."

Lexile Level: 650L

Categories: History People & Places Mystery

On a spot of flat, open land in England is Stonehenge. These very large stones stand upright in a circle. The stone pillars sit in holes. The holes were dug using animal bones and deer antlers. No one knew how to make a metal shovel. In fact, no one knew how to make metal at the time the building began. Historians have studied the stones. They have studied the area around the stones. They have decided that the monument was built in three phases. A very deep ditch surrounding a circle of wood pieces was the first thing to be built. That happened over 5,050 years ago. The big stones that stand in place now were brought down from an area in Wales. The stones are so large that it is hard to imagine how ancient people moved them. No one knows why they moved them either. Some say it is a sacred place and some say it is a place that is about astronomy. Others still have not decided.