Today marks #SummerSolstice2022, the longest day of the year.

At Stonehenge, this special sunrise would have been framed by a pair of stones (although now only one survives).

📷: The surviving stone illuminated by the solstice; by Andrew Dunn / CC BY-SA 2.0 Image
This computer model of the site shows how the Heel Stone and its missing partner would have framed the solstice sunrise, marked by the solid red arrow.

📷: By Jlert Joseph Lertola / CC0 Image
This event likely had spiritual significance, but it could have also had a practical purpose.

Stonehenge may have served as a calendar, helping people count the days, weeks, and months of the year. The solstice shining through on the correct day confirms you counted right. Image
The proposed calendar works in a very straightforward way. Each of the stones in the sarsen circle is a day in a 30-day month, itself divided into three weeks of 10 days (decans). Distinctive stones mark the start of each week.

📷: The sarsens, with calendar bits labelled. Image
If you want to find out more, the original research is #OpenAccess:

'Keeping time at Stonehenge' - Timothy Darvill
doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2… Image

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More from @AntiquityJ

Jun 23
1,000-year-old garden unearthed in the medieval town of Soba, Sudan.
buff.ly/3FyfKD7 Excavated surface revealing...
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📷: location of Soba by SimonP / CC BY-SA 2.0 Image
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📷: The accessory pit, now on display Image
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Jun 20
Congratulations to Mike Parker Pearson et al., winners of the 2022 Ben Cullen prize🎉

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📷: One of the quarries for Stonehenge's bluestones. Image
This raised the question: did the stones have a life before Stonehenge?

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📷: Medieval depiction of Stonehenge showing giants importing it. Image
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Jun 16
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A ruin inside a ruin!

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📷: Vilca seed
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📷: Jar for the Wari beverage
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