https://www.scmp.com/rss/19034/feed Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument and UNESCO World Heritage site located in Wiltshire, southern England. Archaeologists believe it was built in three stages anywhere between 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The monument is constructed of Bluestone, Sarsen, Welsh Sandstone which stand in a ring. It is not known why or how Stonehenge was constructed - some believe it was a place of healing while others claim it is a burial place. It attracts millions of visitors each year. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press Thousands of people cheered and danced around Stonehenge as the sun rose over the prehistoric stone circle on Sunday, the winter solstice. The crowds, many dressed as druids and pagans, had gathered before dawn, waiting patiently in the dark, cold field in Wiltshire, southwest England. Some sang and beat drums while others took time to reflect among the huge stone pillars. Many make the pilgrimage to the stone circle every summer and winter and consider it a spiritual experience. The ancient... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337253/thousands-cheer-sun-rises-winter-solstice-britains-stonehenge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337253/thousands-cheer-sun-rises-winter-solstice-britains-stonehenge?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 20:39:34 +0000 British environmental activist group Just Stop Oil said on Thursday it would halt its high-profile climate protest stunts after a final demonstration in London in April. “It is the end of soup on van Goghs, cornstarch on Stonehenge and slow marching in the streets,” the group said in a statement, claiming that it had succeeded in its initial aim to stop Britain approving new oil and gas projects. Founded in 2022, Just Stop Oil rose to prominence after activists adopting the group’s signature... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3304182/just-stop-oil-activists-stop-climate-protest-stunts-end-soup-van-goghs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3304182/just-stop-oil-activists-stop-climate-protest-stunts-end-soup-van-goghs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Mar 2025 19:48:37 +0000 Events involving art displays have never been easy to handle. They sometimes even develop into full-blown public controversies when there are differences involving conceptualisation, curation and perception. This is reflected in a city row over inflatable replicas of global landmarks, inspired by artificial intelligence (AI)-generated artworks. Whether the waterfront carnival featuring miniatures of Stonehenge, the pyramids and other sites appeals is a matter of judgment. The magnificent... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3270320/events-can-ill-afford-leave-hong-kong-deflated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3270320/events-can-ill-afford-leave-hong-kong-deflated?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jul 2024 22:30:08 +0000 The team behind a Hong Kong art installation of inflatables that was mocked online for one of the exhibit’s resemblance to gravestones has defended its decisions on how to display the works. The “Inflatable Wonders” exhibition, part of “SummerFest@Central”, was conceived to showcase five large-scale inflatable replicas of world-famous landmarks originally created using artificial intelligence by Armenian artist Joann, who goes by the handle @joooo.an on social media. But some internet users have... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3269197/inflatable-replicas-world-landmarks-defended-hong-kong-art-show-team-after-online-mockery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3269197/inflatable-replicas-world-landmarks-defended-hong-kong-art-show-team-after-online-mockery?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2024 11:32:25 +0000 Two climate protesters who sprayed orange paint on the ancient Stonehenge monument in southern England were arrested Wednesday after two bystanders appeared to intervene and stop them. The latest act by Just Stop Oil was quickly condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a “disgraceful act of vandalism”. Labour leader Keir Starmer, his main opponent in the election next month, called the group “pathetic” and said the damage was “outrageous”. The incident came just a day before thousands are... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3267297/climate-protesters-arrested-over-spraying-orange-paint-stonehenge-monument?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3267297/climate-protesters-arrested-over-spraying-orange-paint-stonehenge-monument?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jun 2024 18:06:05 +0000 Dutch archaeologists on Wednesday revealed an around 4,000-year-old religious site – dubbed the “Stonehenge of the Netherlands” in the country’s media – which included a burial mound serving as a solar calendar. The burial mound, which contained the remains of some 60 men, women and children had several passages through which the sun directly shone on the longest and shortest days of the year. “What a spectacular archaeological discovery! Archaeologists have found a 4,000-year-old religious... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3224939/4000-year-old-dutch-stonehenge-site-unveiled-netherlands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3224939/4000-year-old-dutch-stonehenge-site-unveiled-netherlands?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jun 2023 23:48:48 +0000 Thousands of druids, pagans and New Age revellers greeted the summer solstice at Stonehenge on Tuesday, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. About 6,000 people gathered at the ancient stone circle in southern England to watch the sunrise at 4.49am on a clear, crisp morning, local police said. It was the first time revellers have been permitted to gather at the Neolithic monument to celebrate the solstice since 2019. The sunrise was streamed online in 2020 and 2021 because of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3182562/thousands-flock-stonehenge-summer-solstice-longest-day-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3182562/thousands-flock-stonehenge-summer-solstice-longest-day-year?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jun 2022 19:57:01 +0000 For a monument that has been drawing crowds for thousands of years, Stonehenge still holds many secrets. The stone circle, whose giant pillars each took 1,000 people to move, was erected between 5,000 and 3,500 years ago on a windswept plain in southwest England. Its purpose is still debated: was it a solar calculator, a cemetery, a shrine? A new exhibition at the British Museum in London unravels some of the mystery – Stonehenge was, at times, all those things. But the exhibition’s bigger goal... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3167236/what-stonehenge-history-ancient-english-monument-brought?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3167236/what-stonehenge-history-ancient-english-monument-brought?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Feb 2022 03:15:21 +0000 Stonehenge, a Neolithic wonder in southern England, has vexed historians and archaeologists for centuries with its many mysteries: How was it built? What purpose did it serve? Where did its towering sandstone boulders come from? That last question may finally have an answer after a study published on Wednesday found that most of the giant stones – known as sarsens – seem to share a common origin 25km (16 miles) away in West Woods, an area that teemed with prehistoric activity. The finding... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3095254/mystery-solved-scientists-trace-source-stonehenge-boulders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3095254/mystery-solved-scientists-trace-source-stonehenge-boulders?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jul 2020 20:46:38 +0000 Archaeologists said on Monday that they have discovered a major prehistoric monument under the earth near Stonehenge that could shed new light on the origins of the mystical stone circle in southwestern England. Experts from a group of British universities led by the University of Bradford say the site consists of at least 20 huge shafts, more than 10 metres in diameter and 5 metres deep, forming a circle more than 2 kilometres in diameter. The new find is at Durrington Walls, the site of a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3090138/stonehenge-underground-scientists-find-remarkable-ring-ancient?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3090138/stonehenge-underground-scientists-find-remarkable-ring-ancient?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jun 2020 13:22:01 +0000 THE GOOD Everyone loves a good puzzle and 5,000-year-old Stonehenge, in southwest England, is certainly that. Online reviewers who claim it’s just a pile of rocks are missing the point. The trick is to look beyond the Neolithic stone circle and ponder the unanswered questions. What was its purpose, how long did it take to complete and how did the builders find, transport and position the 20-ton slabs? And why was the site chosen? Archaeologists theorise that a dog tooth found recently near... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2038625/stonehenge-good-bad-and-ugly-sides?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2038625/stonehenge-good-bad-and-ugly-sides?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Oct 2016 07:00:45 +0000 What do you do on the day you turn 90? If you are Queen Elizabeth II, the entire country throws you a party. But first things first. You pose with the next generation of Windsors. The children in the photo above are: James, Viscount Severn, 8-years-old, left, and Lady Louise, 12-years-old, second left, the children of The Earl and Countess of Wessex. Mia Tindall, holding The Queen's handbag, the two year-old-daughter of Zara and Mike Tindall; Savannah 5-years-old, third right, and Isla... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/1937643/queen-elizabeth-ii-90-what-day-it-was?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/1937643/queen-elizabeth-ii-90-what-day-it-was?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Apr 2016 23:35:36 +0000 Listen to me and I will tell you the tale of how one of Britain's greatest wonders came to be. Some say the origins of this place are unknown. This is not true. I know the truth, and I will tell you. In your time, people call this place Stonehenge, but that is not its true name. It should be called The Giants' Ring, and if you listen, you will learn the truth about this mighty stone circle that watches over the plain where it stands. They say the place was built as a site of ancient worship,... https://www.scmp.com/article/991903/giants-ring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/991903/giants-ring?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The Broken Stone and the Secret of the Heavens' Henge by Jonathan Morris Handow Jonathan Morris is a British engineer who worked on the Chek Lap Kok airport and the Tseung Kwan O MTR line. He's also an award-winning technical author, but his first foray into fiction, The Broken Stone and the Secret of the Heavens' Henge, seems a stop too far, because it fails to mind the gap between a children's book and a treatise on a pet scientific theory. The Broken Stone is set in Neolithic times, and... https://www.scmp.com/article/980690/broken-stone-and-secret-heavens-henge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/980690/broken-stone-and-secret-heavens-henge?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Great Wall of China From the 7th century BC, Chinese rulers started building walls around their states to keep out their enemies. When the emperor Shih Huang Ti united China in 221BC, he gave orders that the walls dividing the provinces be knocked down. But he also ordered his troops to build a wall along the northern border to keep out wandering Xiongnu people. Between 214BC and 200BC hundreds of thousands of workers constructed the 10,000 Li Long Wall. (A li is an ancient Chinese measurement... https://www.scmp.com/article/645360/standing-test-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/645360/standing-test-time?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:00:00 +0000 How do people take the caffeine out of coffee? Regular raw (green) coffee beans are soaked in hot water or steamed for about five hours. This softens the beans and helps open their pores. The beans are then treated with solvents made of chlorine, for example. Carbon dioxide is also used in the process. The beans are then reheated, so the solvents can take the caffeine with them in the steam. Once the beans are decaffeinated, with 97 per cent of the caffeine removed, the beans are dried.... https://www.scmp.com/article/287155/ask-mr-brainall-will-be-explained?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/287155/ask-mr-brainall-will-be-explained?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jul 1999 16:00:00 +0000 A scientist whose dating technique is offering researchers a better understanding of the evolution of life on Earth, is to give a series of lectures in Hong Kong. Professor Derek York, a geophysicist from the University of Toronto, has in the past decade pioneered the development of a precision technique for dating rocks. Now he is helping researchers put together pieces of the puzzle on how the world began with the help of a laser-based technique. His accomplishments include dating... https://www.scmp.com/article/235552/hks-date-top-scientist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/235552/hks-date-top-scientist?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 1998 16:00:00 +0000 STONEHENGE, in southwestern England, means ''hanging stones''. It began as a ditch and an earthen wall that circled about the site. Experts say it probably was begun by prehistoric people around 5,000 years ago. A ring of large grey sandstones and two circles of blue stones were added over the course of hundreds of years. Even the smaller stones weighed several tons. Experts say this was done even before the major pyramids in Egypt were built. Most people believe that Stonehenge was a... https://www.scmp.com/article/19822/origin-stonehenge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/19822/origin-stonehenge?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Feb 1993 16:00:00 +0000