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Aliens, giants or the wizard Merlin? 
There are many different theories about how Stonehenge was built, but how did it really get there?
How was Stonehenge built
A THREAD
There are many different theories about how Stonehenge was built, but how did it really get there? How was Stonehenge built
A THREAD
The truth is that Stonehenge is a masterpiece of human ingenuity, the first Stonehenge was a simple circular ditch, built with antler tools, around 5,000 years ago. 
By around 2,500 BC larger stones had been bought to the site, including giant Sarsen stones from North Wiltshire, which could weigh as much as 30 tonnes. 
Smaller bluestone were also bought to the site from the Preseli Hills in Wales, a journey of over 250 kilometres. 
Ramps and counterweights were probably used to tip the upright stones into place and a platform and levers likely raised the lintels. To fit the upright stones with the horizonal lintels, mortise holds and protruding tenons were created. 
The stones were then worked into shape using hammer stones and erected using precisely interlocking joints, unseen at any other prehistoric monument. The lintels were slotted together using tongue and groove joints, usually only found in woodworking - a bit like lego! 
Erecting these stones took as long as 50 years, and the entire development of the monument took even longer, up to 800 years in total. 
Our ingenious ancestors bought engineering to a monumental scale and in the process created the most iconic prehistoric structure in the world. 
