Stonehenge - origin and purpose. Stonehenge. Mystery of Britain's Stonehenge interesting facts for children

The description of Stonehenge will help you prepare for the class and write a report or essay.

Stonehenge short description

stonehenge is symbol of England, he immortalized himself in thousands of pictures, in dozens of films. This is a rather mystical place, which is located in the county of Wiltshire, in England. Why it was built is a mystery.

Stonehenge is made of massive stone blocks up to four meters high and is surrounded by an earthen moat. Along the edges of the moat there is an inner shaft and an outer one, which is the boundary of the entire complex.

Between the outer and inner ramparts there is a ditch, in which a small crossing was left. Further along the inner side of the shaft are 56 small round pits, which are called Aubrey's holes. The diameter of the “Aubrey ring” is 88 meters. Embalmed human bodies were found in more than half of the holes. Then there are two rings with a diameter of 53m and 40m. Next is the stone building itself. A circle with a diameter of 33 meters is built from 30 stones. Inside it are triliths, and in the very center is the Altar Stone. The so-called “alley” or “avenue” stretches from the northeast.

Stonehenge was built several thousand years before our era. According to estimates, the construction took 300 years of continuous work of thousands of people. Today, Stonehenge is a popular tourist destination.

How was Stonehenge built?

Stones weighing from 25 to 45 tons, used in the construction of Stonehenge, were delivered over 380 km from East Wales. The megalithic complex was built between 3500 and 1100 BC. BC. in three stages. Initially, Stonehenge I was a ring-shaped rampart surrounded by a moat. Along the inner side of the shaft, 56 depressions were dug, later called "Aubrey Holes" in honor of their first explorer.

Outside of the entrance to the earthwork was a 35-ton Heel Stone. During the construction of Stonehenge II, two rings of massive blue-gray blocks were erected. A 6-ton stone, the so-called "Altar", was erected in the center of the circle, and an earthen path was laid between the "Heel Stone" and the entrance. At the final stage of construction, the blue blocks were replaced with 30 sandstone-sarsen monoliths, and a horseshoe of five separate triliths was installed within the Sarsen ring.

Just 130 km from the capital of Great Britain, the oldest building is located, the reason for the construction of which cannot be named until now. Stonehenge is still shrouded in secrets and mystical mysteries, attracting not only curious tourists, but also paleontologists, historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and many other scientists.

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Giant stone giants have been guarding Stonehenge for more than 5 millennia, strictly guarding in secret the true reason for the creation of this peculiar monument of antiquity. Located in the middle of the Salisbury chalk plateau, the structure of huge stone blocks covers an area of ​​​​107 square meters. km and is located in the middle of a swampy area near the Devonshire hills. The unsolved mysteries of ancient Stonehenge give reason to call it the eighth wonder of the world. No wonder Stonehenge is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Origin of the word Stonehenge

Like the building itself, the word "Stonehenge" has an ancient origin. It is believed that it comes from the phrase of the Old English words "stan" and "hencg", which translates as a stone rod. In fact, the upper stones are fixed on huge boulders in the form of rods. There is an assumption that the word "Stonehenge" has in its structure the Old English "hencen", which means "gallows" in translation, since stone structures made of two vertical blocks and a horizontal slab lying on them resemble medieval gallows.

These sculptures, reminiscent of medieval execution tools, were called triliths, which in Greek means three stones. There are five such triliths weighing 50 tons. In addition to huge triliths, 30 stone blocks weighing 25 tons each and 82 five-ton megaliths were used in the creation of Stonehenge - large fragments of rocks that were used in ancient times for the construction of structures with religious purposes.

grand building

The stone monoliths of Stonehenge are laid out around the perimeter of a large circle. On top of these blocks are huge stone slabs. Inside the circle are boulders larger and covered with larger slabs, which are arranged in the form of a horseshoe. In the inner part of this peculiar horseshoe, there are blue stones that form a smaller horseshoe.

Averubi and Silbury Hill

During the study of Stonehenge, even more ancient structures were discovered nearby - a huge circle laid out with the help of stone vertical slabs - Averubi and Silbury Hill - a cone-shaped man-made mound reaching a height of 45 m. When studying these structures, they came to an interesting conclusion that they are all connected between themselves, forming a whole. Scientists made such a conclusion on the basis of the fact that between Stonehenge, Averubi and Silbury Hill the distance is 20 km, and they themselves are located so that they are located at the corners of an equilateral triangle.

Mysteries of Stonehenge

None of the scientists can definitely say for what purpose and how exactly this stone structure was erected. It remains a mystery how, several centuries before the victory over Troy, multi-ton blocks were delivered to the site of the construction of Stonehenge, if the distance to the nearest rocks is 350 km. Even using modern construction equipment, it is not at all easy to deliver a stone block weighing 25 tons to such a distance, but it is impossible to understand how this was achieved in the 2nd millennium BC.

Trying to somehow explain the reason for the appearance of stone monoliths on a swampy plain, people composed legends and tales. According to one of them, the powerful sorcerer Merlin brought legendary giants here by air to heal their wounds here. The British call Stonehenge "the dance of the giants". Indeed, the stones arranged in a circle are associated with a round dance of giants holding hands.

Another mystery of Stonehenge concerns the construction of a megalith over the crossing points of underground rivers. Under Stonehenge there are huge reserves of groundwater. Their presence can be explained by the location of the stone structure in a swampy area, but how to explain how the ancient people managed to accurately position the megalith remains a mystery.

The construction of Stonehenge lasted about 2000 years. Recently, archaeologists have found on the territory of this stone structure evidence of ancient wooden monumental buildings that were erected here 8000 years ago.

cult place

Later, on the territory of Stonehenge, two earthen ramparts were formed in the form of a circle with a diameter of about 115 meters, separated by a deep moat dug deer antlers. During excavations in some areas of the moat, bones of large animals were found, and in some places the remains of burnt corpses. Based on the conducted research, we came to the conclusion that this place was a cult and sacrifices were made here. Many hundreds of years after the final construction of Stonehenge, it began to be used as a cemetery for cremated remains.

Stonehenge stones

Inside the moat are blue stones, which were laid much later, around 1800 BC. e. Experts have established that these huge blocks were brought here from deposits located in different places, and moved from one place to another repeatedly. How it was possible without modern technology is hard to imagine. Outside the circle is a huge monolith called the heel of the fleeing monk. On the opposite side of the shafts, opposite the "Heel" stone, there is a "Stone block" inside.

Despite its name, the stone has nothing to do with sacrifices. Being exposed to external natural factors, weathering products appeared on the stone - iron oxides, which have a blood-red color. These "bloody" spots gave the stone its name.

In the center of Stonehenge, a block of green sandstone weighing about 6 tons was installed, which served as an altar.

The largest reconstruction of Stonehenge took place at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Huge stone blocks were delivered to the construction area from the southern hills located at a distance of 40 km from the construction site. Even such an insignificant distance by today's standards is difficult to overcome in modern conditions in order to transport 30 huge stone blocks. What can we say about the delivery of stone blocks at the end of the III millennium BC? The results of that ancient reconstruction have survived to this day in almost unchanged form.

purpose

Scientists all over the world are lost in conjectures about the purpose of Stonehenge. There are a number of assumptions and versions on this account. Some consider the gigantic building an ancient observatory, others argue that the Druids performed their religious rites here. It is believed that Stonehenge was built as a landing site for alien ships, and adherents of the existence of parallel dimensions are sure that a portal to other worlds opens here.

Some 5,000-year-old rock carvings discovered 14 km from Addis Ababa allegedly contain images similar to stone blocks of Stonehenge. In one of these ancient drawings above the center of a stone statue, the image resembles a spaceship taking off.

Paranormal activity

Paranormal researchers claim that amazing things happen near the complex. Once, during a tour of Stonehenge, the boy accidentally touched one of the stones with a piece of curved wire and fell unconscious. After this incident, the child could not recover for a long time and lost the ability to move his arms and legs for a whole six months.

While photographing Stonehenge in 1958, the photographer observed rising pillars of light above huge boulders. And in 1968, one of the eyewitnesses said that he saw a fiery ring emanating from the stones of Stonehenge, in which there was a bright luminous object. In 1977, eyewitnesses managed to film a UFO squadron over a megalith on a video camera, and this video was shown on all British television channels. It is interesting that during the observation of unidentified objects, the eyewitnesses' compass broke and the portable TV failed.

In the Stonehenge area, scientists have repeatedly heard clicking sounds and a strange buzz of unknown origin. Many scientists claim that the reason for such phenomena lies in the strong magnetic field that spreads around Stonehenge. Surprisingly, the compass needle, which should point to the south, always turns towards the center of the megalith, no matter which side of the structure you stop on. It is difficult to explain another strange phenomenon. If you knock on one of the stones in a certain way, then the sound will spread to all the stones, although they are not connected to each other.

Versions of scientists

The English architect of the 17th century Inigo Jones, studying the structure, came to the conclusion that the structure of Stonehenge resembles the architecture of ancient times and suggested that these were the ruins of an ancient Roman temple. Another version indicates that the pagan queen Boadicea, who fought with the Romans, was buried on the territory of Stonehenge. In this regard, there is an opinion that the leaders of the ancient tribes were also buried in Stonehenge.

Later, scientists suggested that Stonehenge was erected in order to accurately predict the time of lunar and solar eclipses, as well as the dates for the start of field work. The proof is the fact that on the day summer solstice during sunrise, its beam passes exactly in the middle of this stone structure. However, this version was rejected by skeptics, who argue that it was hardly justified to invest so much effort and money to make sure that the ordinary calendar and the change of seasons existed.

According to many scholars, Stonehenge was a place of pilgrimage and healing. An analysis of human bones found in burial places on the territory of stone structures showed that the people buried here suffered from serious illnesses. Warriors wounded in battles, crippled and hopelessly ill, rushed to the blue stones of Stonehenge, hoping to get healed here. Many, without waiting for recovery, died and were buried here.

Stonehenge is a huge stone mystery in the heart of Europe. Where is Stonehenge located? Any person can answer this question, because almost all people know about it.

The existing information about the megalith (about its origin and purpose) still does not answer the question of how people could design and build such a structure four thousand years ago. An ancient observatory, a landing pad for alien creatures, a portal to another world or a pagan tomb - all this is Stonehenge (England). For many centuries, the best minds of mankind have been struggling to solve it. And much remains unknown...

Stonehenge is also called cromlech - this is the oldest structure of vertical stones lined up in a circle. They can form one or more circles.

Where is Stonehenge

This building is in a field located 13 kilometers from the small village of Salisbury. "Stone fence" - this is how the name Stonehenge is translated. London is located 130 kilometers to the southwest. The territory belongs to the administrative district of Wiltshire. It consists of a circle around which there are 56 small burial "holes" of Aubrey (named after a 17th century explorer). The most famous version is that lunar eclipses could be calculated from them. Later they began to bury the cremated remains of people. In Europe, wood has always been associated with life, and stone with death.

The structure of Stonehenge

In the center is the so-called altar (a six-ton ​​green sandstone monolith). In the northeast - a seven-meter Heel Stone. There is also the Block Stone, so named for the color of the iron oxides protruding on it. The next two rings are made up of large hard blocks of blue color (siliceous sandstone). The construction is completed by an annular colonnade with horizontal slabs lying on top.

In general, the building consists of:

82 megaliths weighing 5 tons;

30 blocks, each 25 tons;

5 triliths of 50 tons each.

All of them form arches with the most precise indication of the cardinal points. It was not for nothing that the ancient Britons called this place the "Round Dance of the Giants".

The boulders that were used in the megalith have different origin. Stone structures (triliths or megaliths) and individual stones of rough processing (menhirs) consist of gray calcareous sandstone and limestone. There are volcanic lava, tuff and dolerite. Part of the blocks could come from a site located 210 kilometers away. They could be delivered both by land (on skating rinks) and by water. In our time, an experiment was conducted that showed that a group of 24 people could move a stone weighing one ton at a speed of one kilometer per day. The weight of the largest blocks reaches 50 tons. Ancient builders could transport such a block for several years.

Stones were processed in several stages. By mechanical means and by the method of exposure to fire and water, the necessary blocks were prepared for transportation. And already on the spot more fine grinding and processing was carried out.

Stonehenge - history and legends of antiquity

According to legend, the megalith appeared thanks to the legendary mentor of King Arthur. He brought some stone blocks from South Wales, where there has long been an accumulation of sacred springs. In fact, the road to the place where Stonehenge is located was very difficult. The nearest quarries with rock are at a great distance, and one can imagine how titanic the efforts for the most difficult transportation were. The closest thing was to deliver them by sea, and from there 80 kilometers by land by dragging.

The huge Heel Stone gave birth to another story - about a monk hiding from the devil in the boulders. So that he did not have time to hide, the devil threw a stone at him and crushed his heel.

All these legends of the ancient Stonehenge, most likely, have little to do with reality. Today, more detailed studies prove that the construction was carried out in three stages from 2300 to 1900 BC. It functioned for about 2.5 thousand years and was abandoned around 1100 BC. And the characters of British history lived much later.

Who built Stonehenge

There are many nations claiming to build this megalith, from the ancient Romans to the Swiss or Germans. Until now, it was believed that it was built in the second millennium BC as an ancient observatory. The famous astronomer Hoyle found out that the ancient creators already knew the exact orbital period of the Moon and the length of the solar year.

In 1998, astronomers came to the rescue. With his help, they came to the conclusion that this is not only a lunar and solar calendar, but also in a cross section. Moreover, there should be not 9 planets, as is currently known, but 12. Perhaps in the future we will have more discoveries related to the composition of the solar system.

The English historian Brooks, who has been exploring Stonehenge for many years, proved that it is part of a giant navigation system.

In addition to its astronomical function, Stonehenge was also used as a ritual structure. This is evidenced by a large number of cemeteries and other ritual sites in the vicinity. And some researchers put forward a theory about the tomb of the pagan queen Boudica. This fearless woman did not want to surrender to the Romans and chose to take poison. Although there have never been human burials at Stonehenge. For all the time, only one remains of an archer was found in a moat, dated to the 7th century BC.

This land has always been considered sacred, because at all times tourists and natives tried to break off and take a part with them as an amulet. A hundred years ago, local residents even had a kind of business - to rent hammers to beat off a piece for themselves as a keepsake or to stamp their name on a boulder. Now a tourist cannot even touch the megalith with his hand, asphalt paths are specially laid at some distance from the boulders.

Druid Sanctuary

There is a hypothesis that this is the place of power of the druids (at the intersection of energy lines), allowing them to conduct the most serious rituals to unite with the forces of nature. The orientation of the monument to the solstice is another argument in this favor. Since this isolated tribe did not leave behind any written evidence, the purpose of Stonehenge has remained a great mystery.

New Druids consider it a place of their pilgrimage, and representatives of other pagan movements like to visit this area. In the days of winter and huge crowds of druid worshipers meet their main deity. The rays of the sun, which has reached the zenith, fall exactly between the vertical stones of the largest trilith, and together with the sun's rays, people are enlightened. And it often happens that the weather is cloudy around, but the sun is shining inside.

The grandeur of Stonehenge

Another feature of Stonehenge is its high seismic resistance. During construction, special plates were used to dampen and soften shocks. At the same time, there is almost no subsidence of the soil, which is inevitable in modern construction.

One thing is for sure: whoever the mysterious builders were, they possessed colossal knowledge in mathematics, geology, astronomy and architecture. And given that such structures were erected then all over the world (the pyramids of Egypt, and then we can safely say that modern people simply do not know a lot about their past. According to calculations, if today Stonehenge is rebuilt with the tools of that time, it will take 2 million people -hours.And it would take 20 million to manually carve the stones.So the reason why people worked on it for so long must really be very significant.

How to get there? Stonehenge on the map

By private car, tourists get on the A303 and M3 road, which leads to Amesbury. Comfortable trains run from the station to Waterloo to Salisbury and Andover, and from there you can get there by bus.

In London, you can purchase a one-day group tour, which already includes an entrance ticket. The same bus runs from Salisbury, picking up tourists from the railway station. The ticket can be used throughout the day, and buses leave every hour.

How to get to the center of Stonehenge, bypassing the bans?

According to the rules, it is forbidden to come close and walk inside Stonehenge (tourists cannot come closer than 15 meters), but some tour operators make indulgence and allow a walk, but only early in the morning or late in the evening. Such groups usually have a limited number of participants, so it is advisable to book places in advance. However, the weather must be good. The historical monument is carefully guarded to avoid damage to the ground, so you will not be able to get inside Stonehenge in case of rain.

This building is not in vain included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Someone considers it a poorly preserved pile of stones, while someone dreams of just touching it and strives for this all their lives. Nevertheless, the mystical secret of Stonehenge has always existed, and to this is added admiration for the power of the human mind and perseverance, which made it possible to build this miracle.

The majestic Stonehenge is the most famous cromlech in the world, located near the city of Amesbury in England. There are many secrets around the ancient structure, in particular, about who, when and for what purpose it was created.

The name of Stonehenge is another not fully disclosed mystery, over which disputes are ongoing to this day. The modern name for English language"Stonehenge" means "stone circle", but the exact translation of the Old English word "Stanhengues" is in doubt, tentatively - "hanging stones".

Stonehenge - the mystery of history

The mysterious past of Stonehenge has given rise to various hypotheses about the purpose of this ancient megalith. The opinions of scientists differ and today there are 3 main versions of the appointment:

  • burial mound - at present, it is known about the burials of 60 people of the Neolithic era;
  • an ancient primitive temple - a pagan temple where rituals, celebrations and sacrifices were held;
  • astronomical observatory - Stonehenge is oriented with small errors according to the various stages of the movement of the Sun and Moon.

And legends say that Stonehenge, as the eighth wonder of the world, was created by magic by the famous wizard Merlin.

In terms of mystery, no less mysterious can be compared with Stonehenge.

Cromlech construction

There are as many theories around the mysterious Stonehenge as there are stones in the structure itself. It is not known exactly how old these megaliths are, it is assumed that the construction took place in 3 stages and lasted 1000-1500 years (between 3500 and 2000 BC). There is also no consensus about the builders of the cromlech: it could have been built by the Celts, Greeks or Germans. Modern calculations have shown that the creation of Stonehenge at that time required about 20 million man-hours of work. Why Stonehenge was built around 20 centuries is unknown, but it is obvious that the reason was very good.

Cromlech Stonehenge consists of small stones (up to 5 tons) and 30 big stones, weighing 25 tons, which form a circle with a diameter of 33 meters. Inside this circle are 3 triliths, each weighing 50 tons. The height of these megaliths is from 4 to 6 meters. During the construction, blue stones were used, which were delivered from a distance of 250 km. By what means these stones were moved is another mystery.

There is another theory that Stonehenge is not an ancient structure, but a 1954 fake. There are quite a few photos on the Internet that show how stones were installed and concrete was poured. At the same time, there is a lot of evidence of the antiquity of Stonehenge.

  • Stonehenge is one of 900 similar stone structures discovered in the British Isles.
  • The most common finds in the ground under the stone ring are Roman coins of the 7th century BC. e.
  • Stonehenge was first mentioned in chronicles of the 12th century.
  • In 1915, lawyer Cecil Chubb bought Stonehenge for £6,600 but donated it to the state three years later.
  • At the beginning of the 20th century, visitors were not forbidden to chip off a souvenir for themselves.
  • Stonehenge has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.
  • In 2011, the BBC filmed a 4-episode documentary film The World of Stonehenge.
  • Every year on the day of the summer solstice, a festival is held near Stonehenge, in which pagans and descendants of the druids (as they call themselves) take part.
  • About a million tourists visit Stonehenge every year.

Excursions: how to get there, work schedule, tickets

Stonehenge from London can be reached both as part of an excursion group and on one's own:

  • by car - heading along the M3 and A303 highways towards Amesbury;
  • by train - from Waterloo station to Salisbury or Andover railway station, from where buses run regularly to Stonehenge.

On the territory of the nearby tourist complex there is a cafe, a souvenir shop, toilets and parking, and you can also book an excursion here.

Address: Amesbury, Salisbury SP4 7DE, UK.

GPS coordinates: 51°10"43.9"N 1°49"34.4"W.

Opening hours (daily):

  • 9:30 - 19:00 - from April 1 to May 31;
  • 9:00 - 20:00 - from June 1 to August 31;
  • 9:30 - 19:00 - from September 1 to October 15;
  • 9:30 - 17:00 - from October 16 to March 31.

Entrance ticket price:

  • Adult - £15.50;
  • Child (5-15) - £9.30;
  • Student / Pension - £13.90;
  • Family ticket* - £40.30.

* - 2 adults and 3 children.

Attention! Ticket sales end one hour before closing. Prices are as of November 2017. When visiting Stonehenge during public hours, it is forbidden to approach the stone structure closer than 15-20 meters.

Where is Stonehenge located on the UK map

The majestic Stonehenge is the most famous cromlech in the world, located near the city of Amesbury in England. There are many secrets around the ancient structure, in particular, about who, when and for what purpose it was created.

The name of Stonehenge is another not fully disclosed mystery, over which disputes are ongoing to this day. The modern name in English "Stonehenge" means..." />

One of the oldest architectural monuments in the world, Stonehenge, still causes a lot of controversy among scientists. The structure of huge stone blocks was erected in a place where there is not a single large stone deposit nearby. But this is not the only mystery of this place. Stonehenge - Interesting Facts keeps much more about its purpose and construction.

Interesting facts about the construction of Stonehenge

Megalithic structures are found in different parts of the globe, for example, huge stone statues, Moai, on Easter Island . For a long time, scientists were interested in the question of how ancient people moved huge blocks of stone without modern technological means. The builders had to transport stones from several places, one of which is located 240 and the other 220 kilometers from the location of the monument. In the cromlech - several dozen megaliths. About 30 sarsen stones along the perimeter weigh up to 25 tons each and have a height of 3 to 4 meters. In the center are huge triliths (arches made of stones), up to 7 meters high, each element of which weighs up to 50 tons.

Scientists have calculated that the builders of Stonehenge may have needed decades of work. If the construction of the first, most ancient, phase would require only about 460 man-days of hard physical labor, then for the second - about 40, and for the third - about 200 man-years of work. It was supposed to take about 20 million man-hours (2300 man-years) to process the stone. Based on these data, it becomes clear that the construction of Stonehenge required a fairly developed social organization. About 10 thousand people, who for several weeks a year would devote 8 hours a day to the construction of a monument, could build it in only 12 years.

Interesting facts about the purpose of Stonehenge

It is still not known exactly what Stonehenge was intended for. Often it is positioned as the most famous ancient observatory. However, in recent years, many scientists are inclined to believe that throughout or almost all of its history, Stonehenge was used as ... a cemetery. Numerous remains of cremated and simply buried bodies are found here. Moreover, some of them were not from the UK. For example, one body (of a young man) was raised in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, another (of a mature blacksmith of the middle of the 3rd millennium BC) belonged to a native of Germany, the third came from Wales and Brittany in France.

The astronomical version, of whose modern followers Gerald Hawkins is called the main one, has no official scientific confirmation. In the sixties, Hawkins' ideas about using Stonehenge to predict the ancient celestial phenomena and possible cataclysms were quite popular, but archaeologists are still skeptical about them. However, the astronomical version even today cannot be completely "written off" by scientists due to the design features of the monument. Stonehenge is made in such a way that its arches accurately (with only a slight error) indicate the positions of the rising of the sun and moon during the year.

In the 18th century, the idea of ​​using Stonehenge appeared. as places of execution. One of the stones in the composition of the cromlech was even given the name "Plaha". However, scientists have proven that the stains on its surface are not traces of blood, as previously assumed, but the results of iron oxide processes.

Interesting facts about the reconstruction and current state of Stonehenge

The way Stonehenge looks now, it began to look like only in the 20th century. In early drawings and photographs, the complex had a completely different look. Many of the stones were knocked down, the rest stood rickety and overgrown with grass. At the beginning of the 20th century, reconstruction began, which almost immediately gained many supporters and opponents. Many newspapers called it "vandalism" and called on the authorities and the public to immediately stop interference in the architectural appearance of Stonehenge. big works reconstruction of Stonehenge was also carried out in the twenties and sixties.

In 1986, the monument was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other UK megalithic structures according to criteria I, II, III: "a masterpiece of human genius", "the mutual influence of human values ​​​​in architecture or technology" and "uniqueness for a civilization that has existed before is still or has already disappeared.

Stonehenge is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK. But it is difficult to get there on your own - the area near Stonehenge is protected, and for the tourists themselves, a special parking zone operates far from the monument. In the 2000s, the British government invested 10 million pounds in the development of tourist infrastructure at Stonehenge.

Ksenia Zharchinskaya