Stonehenge was built over at least 1,500 years. Its first phase, a circular bank and ditch about 360 feet (110 m) across, dates to about 3100 BC. The sarsen circle went up between about 2600 and 2400 BC. It is about 98 feet (30 m) across, with 30 uprights and 30 lintels, each upright about 13 feet (4 m) high and 25 tons.
The lintels are linked by tongue-and-groove joints, and mortise-and-tenon joints fix them to the uprights, which the article calls unique among contemporary monuments. Inside, five trilithons form a horseshoe, each weighing up to 50 tons. Most of the bluestones are thought to come from the Preseli Hills in Wales, about 150 miles (240 km) away. A 2020 study matched the sarsens to West Woods, about 15 miles (25 km) north.
The builders left no written records, and its purpose is debated. It aligns with the summer solstice sunrise. UNESCO listed it in 1986.
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