Stonehenge mystery unravelled as scientists detail key use ‘Very straightforward’

Prof Darvill said: “The proposed calendar works in a very straightforward way.

“Each of the 30 stones in the sarsen circle represents a day within a month, itself divided into three weeks each of 10 days.”

The start of each week, he added, is marked by the presence of distinctive stones located within the sarsen circle.

To keep track with the solar year, Stonehenge’s layout also accommodates the addition of an extra, “intercalary” month of five days and a leap day every four years.

Prof Darvill added: “The intercalary month, probably dedicated to the deities of the site, is represented by the five Trilithons [two standing stones bearing a horizontal one across their tops] in the centre of the site. The four ‘Station Stones’ outside the Sarsen Circle provide markers to notch-up until a leap day.”

Put together, the expert explained, the advent of the summer and winter solstices would be framed by the same pairs of stones each year, making the passage of time easy to track.

Furthermore, the winter solstice would also have been framed by one of the trilithons, suggesting that it may have also been regarded as the beginning of the new year in the ancient calendar system.

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Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1573866/stonehenge-mystery-ancient-calendar-solstices-track-solar-year-Bournemouth-University