LONDON — Because the solar rose Saturday on the longest day of the yr within the Northern Hemisphere, a crowd erupted in cheers at Stonehenge the place the traditional monument in southern England has clocked the summer season solstice over 1000’s of years.
The orange ball crested the northeast horizon behind the Heel Stone, the doorway to the stone circle, and shone its beam of sunshine into the middle of one of many world’s most well-known prehistoric monuments. The solstice is among the few events annually when guests are allowed to stroll among the many stones, that are in any other case fenced off.
The group gathered earlier than daybreak on the World Heritage Website to mark the beginning of summer season within the Northern Hemisphere, beating the warmth throughout the U.Okay.’s first amber heat-health alert issued since September 2023. Temperatures later topped 33 levels Celsius (91.4 levels Fahrenheit) in Surrey, 80 miles (128 kilometers) east of Stonehenge, the most popular temperature recorded within the U.Okay. thus far this yr.
About 25,000 solar devotees and different revelers, together with druids, pagans, hippies, locals and vacationers, confirmed up, in keeping with English Heritage which operates the location. Greater than 400,000 others all over the world watched a livestream.
“This morning was a joyous and peaceable event with essentially the most lovely dawn,” mentioned Richard Dewdney, head of operations at Stonehenge. “It’s unbelievable to see Stonehenge persevering with to enchant and join individuals.”
Stonehenge was inbuilt phases 5,000 years in the past on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain roughly 75 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of London. The distinctive stone circle was erected within the late Neolithic interval about 2,500 B.C.
A few of the so-called bluestones are identified to have come from the Preseli Hills in southwest Wales, practically 150 miles (240 kilometers) away, and the altar stone was just lately found to have come from northern Scotland, some 460 miles (740 kilometers) away.
The location’s which means has been vigorously debated. Theories vary from it being a coronation place for Danish kings, a druid temple, a cult middle for therapeutic, or an astronomical laptop for predicting eclipses and photo voltaic occasions.
Probably the most typically accepted interpretation is that it was a temple aligned with actions of the solar — lining up completely with the summer season and winter solstices.
