Human Interest

Crowds mark summer solstice at Stonehenge gathering

Stonehenge, England, Jun 21 (EFE-EPA).- Thousands of revelers gathered early Tuesday to watch the sunrise over Stonehenge and celebrate the arrival of summer as the annual ceremony was revived for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Revelers converged on Salisbury Plain in southern England to watch the sunrise over the ancient stone circle for solstice rituals that mark the longest day of the year.

Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments and a jewel in the crown of Britain’s 900 stone circles.

Among the earliest structures known in the Stonehenge area are some pits, which may have held large posts erected in the Mesolithic period, (8,500-7,000 BC) although probably unrelated to Stonehenge, they show humans have lived beside the Avon for a very long time.

Stonehenge’s ritual use is restricted although the more alternative members of society keep flocking to its Summer Solstice dressed up as druids, shamans, witches, post-hippies and new agers.

Tourists also join the all-night celebration that includes dance, music, rituals around the stones and watching the Sun’s first rays hitting the stones.

Stonehenge was built so that it perfectly aligned with the midwinter and midsummer sunsets and also aligned with the moon.EFE

epa-ch/jt

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