Why Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site

The huge shaped stones and the perfect geometry of Stonehenge makes it the most sophisticated prehistoric stone circle in the world. The Stonehenge and Avebury landscapes, in Wiltshire, were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986 for their outstanding prehistoric monuments.

Stonehenge became a World Heritage Site for two key reasons:

• Stonehenge itself (3000-1500 BC), the famous prehistoric stone circle, visited by over 850,000 people a year. Its shaped stones, lintels, unique jointing and perfect geometry make it the most sophisticated stone circle in the world.
• The ceremonial landscape that surrounds it, with its dense concentration of archaeological remains, including a processional avenue leading to the stones, hundreds of Bronze Age burial mounds, and many other important monuments such as the Cursus, Woodhenge and Durrington Walls.

The Winterbourne Stoke Barrow Cemetery includes a Neolithic long barrow and several Bronze Age round barrows  of various shapes. Together, Stonehenge and its landscape represent an incomparable testimony to prehistoric times.

To protect such a wealth of archaeological features, the Stonehenge World Heritage Site covers 2,600 hectares (6,500 acres) of chalk downland and mixed arable fields. The ownership is shared between English Heritage, the National Trust, the Ministry of Defence, farmers and householders.

Did you know?

The Stonehenge World Heritage Site comprises over 400 scheduled ancient monuments.