OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

Stonehenge is a circle of giant stones in a grassy field in southern England. People started building it about 5,000 years ago, which makes it older than the pyramids in Egypt! No one knows exactly why it was built, but many scientists think it was used to track the sun and the seasons.

The biggest stones are called sarsens. They stand about 25 feet tall and weigh about 25 tons each, which is as heavy as four elephants. Smaller stones called bluestones were brought from mountains in Wales, nearly 150 miles away. People moved them without wheels or engines.

Stonehenge is located in Wiltshire, a county in southern England. It sits on a wide, flat plain called Salisbury Plain. The nearest city is Salisbury, about 8 miles to the south.