Geoffrey of Monmouth had another story about the building of
Stonehenge. It seemed that sometime in the fifth
century, there was a massacre of 300 British nobles by the treacherous Saxon
barbarians. The High King of Britain at the time, Aurelius Ambrosius wanted to
build a fitting memorial for the slain. Merlin suggested transporting a stone
circle, then in Ireland,
to do the job. After a British expedition to Ireland
failed to make the transfer, Merlin—according to the legend—used his magic arts
to transport the stone circle to Salisbury Plain to the grave site of the slain
nobles.
What Was Stonehenge Used For?
The reason Stonehenge was built and
what it was used for remains a hotly contested question. Some archeologists
suggest that Stonehenge was a giant tool for determining
astronomical events, such as when the advent of the summer and winter solstice
would occur. Throughout its history, Stonehenge has been
used as a site for religious ceremonies. The druids, though they had no role in
its construction, certainly held it as a sacred place. Even today, modern
practitioners of druidism hold their ceremonies at the Stonehenge
site, particularly during summer and winter solstice and the phases of the Moon.