Stonehenge and Newgrange

Stonehenge and Newgrange are two prehistoric monuments. Stonehenge is found in the chalk uplands of southern England. It was believed to be a religious place. But cremation burials have also been discovered from this monument. Stonehenge have been rebuilt several times but the original design was always the same, except for a few additions. For example, the great horseshoe in the center was not always there. Stonehenge is made of chalk plain of Wiltshire. Stonehenge is one of the oldest surviving structures in England. Stonehenge I is thought to be built around 2750 B.C. The first stage of building made the circle of 97.50 meters (320 feet). After several centuries, the new building campaign started, Stonehenge II. A double ring of bleustones began to set up in the middle. These bluestones weighed up to 5 tons each and were brought from the Perscelly Mountains of Wales. For the Stonehenge III, the stones were put aside. Sarsen megaliths were now brought by movable track of oak rollers, perhaps. These stones were several times larger than bluestones. Bluestones were setup in front of the horseshoe trilithons. Later, they were interposed between the horseshoe and the sarsen circle. Two rings of pits were dug, may be for holding stone which was another addition to the structure that was arranged possibly as late as 1500 B.C. Many scholars thought it to be "an open-air observatory where a wide range of astronomical phenomena could be predicted with marvelous precision". There have been many disputes over the truth of it. Others thought that, that structure could be a celebration of celestial events and not merely a method of predicting them.
Newgrange is Ireland’s one of the prehistoric monument. Since the calibrated date of the radiocarbon specimen taken from the passage roof at the Newgrange worked out at around 3100 BC, Newgrange is thought to be as much as 500 years older than the pyramids. Similar to Stonehenge, this monument was thought to be made for a home of dead. Newgrange is 36 feet high and measures about 300 feet in diameter. The mound is made with a mixture of the earth, turves and stones. They are arranged in layers and can be compared to ‘cake’. The monument is heart-shaped mound and the roof is tilted downward from the center. This shape allows to drain off water sideways and prevent it percolating down into the burial chamber. There are three burial niches. The side walls leading to niches are decorated with a triple spiral and akin. Professor O’Kelly discovered in 1968 winter solstice that the tomb has a an opening in the roof called ‘roof box’ that allows the sun rays to enter the center of the chamber. This reveals the attention paid by the builder to provide comfort to the dead and their believe in life after death. Unlike Stonehenge, Newgrange is not Ireland’s earliest passage-tomb. "But it can be regarded as the climax of series of such toms because of its size, decoration and clever attention to constructional detail", according to the article. Similar to Stonehenge, Newgrange can be compared with the pyramids of Egypt, which is also man made burial chamber. But unlike pyramids which is the resting place for the single, divine Pharaoh, Newgrange is thought to be created for the community. Like Stonehenge, there have been additions to the original design of Newgrange, according to David Sweetman. The unhewn stones that form a part of a circle that once surrounded the mound at a distance was an added thousand years later by the Beaker people. The tomb was rediscovered in 1966 and thought to be regarded as ‘Seven Wonders’ of the local world. Both of these monuments, Stonehenge and Newgrange are extraordinary. The structures were made in such a way that leaves us wondering the purposes and methods used for their construction.