There are tons of stories behind Stonehenge, involving everything from Merlin to aliens. Stonehenge is a megalithic monument on the Salisbury Plain in England, about 85 miles southwest of London. It (47)______ of a ditch and bank surrounding huge stones — (48)______ in circle and horseshoe patterns, along with a lane connecting it to the nearby River Avon. It is said that the (49)______ began around 3,000 B.C. and continued until about 1,100 B .C.
Unfortunately, the people who built Stonehenge didn’’t leave much evidence of why they built this (50)______ structure. So writers and researchers through the ages have pondered the stones and (51)______ their own stories about this prehistoric creation.
The most common theories suggest Stonehenge is an astronomical calendar, a religious site, or a (52)______ of the two. From John Aubrey in the 17th century to William Stukeley in the 18th century to Sir J. Norman Lockyer and Gerald Hawkins in the 20th century, scholars have found that the position of Stonehenge’’s earthworks and stones coincides with solstices and cycles of the moon. But these (53)______ have interpreted this information differently.
Early theorists believed the Celtic priesthood called the Druids built Stonehenge as a temple, but there are no records of Druids existing in the same time period that Stonehenge was created. However, other (54)______ peoples could have built Stonehenge as a temple that (55)______ the solstices as holy days.
The great attraction of Stonehenge is still a (56)______ . We may never know why 25 generations of people labored to create this massive and awe-inspiring structure.
Word Bank
A) combination I) scholars
B) construction J) shed
C) ancient K) come up with
D) contract L) marked
E) massive M) mystery
F) commanding N) insist on
G) consists O) arranged
H) orderly