Stonehenge, England's most mysterious site

Stonehenge was built over a long, long period of time: it is estimated that the development of the site, which began as a mound surrounded by a moat, started around 3000 BC, that's 5,000 years earlier than the day of your visit! A longevity that makes you dizzy...

Just like these alignments of megaliths arranged in concentric circles, an arrangement that certainly owes nothing to chance. Some of the oldest blocks seem to have come from the Preseli mountains, which are located... in Wales! The pieces of granite had to be transported almost 400km, using a system of ropes and tree trunks.

The megaliths still standing are, admittedly, hard to shake. Some are still lying on the ground, but the blocks still standing give an excellent idea of the site's past magnificence.

The most massive of these, including several triliths (two vertical blocks topped by a lintel), form the outer circles and are the most recent additions to the site. Carved from sarsen, a type of sandstone, they weigh up to 50 tonnes each and come from Marlborough, some thirty kilometres from the site.

For the unscientific, there's no need to go into the details of Stonehenge's make-up. The site, with its magical aura, is more than enough in itself.

A perfect example takes place every year on the summer solstice: at the end of the Avenue, the path used to enter the megalithic circle, stands the emblematic Heel Stone, erected in the exact axis of the sun's path! A mystical moment for some, and a magnificent one for all.

Because of their age, megalithic sites are obviously rare, and few are as spectacular and telling as Stonehenge. Particularly photogenic, the star of prehistory can be found in the middle of the lush green countryside of south-west England, not far from the city of Salisbury, famous for its magnificent cathedral.

Whether in paintings (William Turner), comic strips (Corto Maltese) or fantasy literature (Merlin the Enchanter), Stonehenge occupies a special place in the artistic imagination, and we all have an idea in our heads of what the site looks like. That's probably why arriving at the site has an even greater impact.

A kind of totem pole for mystics the world over, Stonehenge was still used by Druid cults in the 1980s, and still attracts a motley crew of people in search of astral energies. Solstices and equinoxes are a sell-out! Today, Stonehenge is listed by UNESCO and is strictly supervised... less fun, but much more useful for its conservation.

While the site itself, with its circles of megaliths, is a real eye-catcher, take time to visit the Visitor Centre at the entrance to Stonehenge. This archaeological gallery presents the state of knowledge about the site and some of the theories put forward about its past function. One of the highlights of the visit is a 360° virtual projection showing the evolution of the megalithic monument over the millennia and through the seasons.