New visual shows Stonehenge’s construction as never seen before

By Dean Murray

A new visual reconstruction has revealed how Stonehenge was made in unprecedented detail.

The illustration, created for the English Heritage book "Stonehenge: The Story of an Icon," shows huge stones being transported to the Salisbury Plain site.

English Heritage produced the image based on laser scan data and archaeological research; the visual is the most accurate and detailed reconstruction ever made.

It is thought the monument took around 1,500 years to build, from about 3100 B.C. to 1600 B.C., with the illustration focusing on the main phase of construction, which took place around 2500 B.C.

Historians and archaeologists believe the stones were dragged on sleds, possibly over wooden tracks or logs, with ropes and large teams of people.

Once they reached the site, the uprights were probably set into pre-dug pits, tilted into position with levers and ropes, then packed in place with stones and earth.

English Heritage said: "More than 4,500 years ago Neolithic people chose a windswept plain in southern Britain as the site for a spectacular monument.

"Here, they brought huge stones from as far afield as southwest Wales and northeast Scotland to create a remarkable stone structure unlike anything that had been built before."

Stonehenge is probably the most famous prehistoric monument in the world, with more than 1 million people visiting every year.