Stonehenge is one of the most famous prehistoric structures in the world. Built between 3,000 BC and 2,000 BC, it lies in the middle of Salisbury Plain, in the southwest of England. Despite being a symbol of ancient Britain and an incredibly popular tourist destination, very little is known about Stonehenge and the people who built it. 

To find out more about this mysterious monument and its architects, join us as we dive in for an immersive tour of one of the world’s oldest attractions. 

Even though it’s been there for around 5,000 years, we still don’t really know why Stonehenge was built. What we do know is that the whole monument is aligned towards the sunrise on the summer solstice and the sunset on the winter solstice. This has led many to believe that Stonehenge was a ceremonial site where people gathered to worship, socialize or make sacrifices on these important occasions. 

In the 1960s, astronomer Gerald Hawkins theorized that the stones may have acted as some sort of ancient calendar. Having the main structure aligned with the solstices would have anchored the calendar while the large and small stones would have told those using the site when important dates or festivals should be celebrated.

Again, no one really knows how Stonehenge was built. The largest stones at the site are 30 ft (9 meters) tall and weigh an incredible 25 tons. Experts believe that, to erect the stones, the engineers in charge of the site would have dug a large hole with a sloping side. The back of the hole would have been lined with wooden stakes and then the stone slowly rolled into place.

It’s recently been discovered that the largest of the stones, known as sarsens, came from an area called Marlborough, around 15 miles north of the monument. The smaller ‘blue stones’ however come from much further afield, with most thought to have been mined in the Preseli Hills of southwest Wales, an incredible 140 miles from Stonehenge.

It’s thought that the ancestors of the people who built Stonehenge came from the Eastern Mediterranean via the Iberian Peninsula. These migrants  had a strong tradition of farming and may well have been the ones who introduced the tradition of  building large, megalithic monuments to the UK.

However, numerous later groups also left their mark on Stonehenge, notably the Bell Beaker people who migrated to the UK from mainland Europe around 2,500 BC. People in the local area seem to have had established trade links with Europe. It’s thought that the wealth derived from this trade allowed them to fund the later construction phases at Stonehenge. 

The Great Wall of China snakes along the nation's ancient northern border, and protected the southern states from invasion, right up until the Manchu Conquest of the 17th Century. There are many myths about the Great Wall (you can't see it from space) but what are the facts?

The Great Wall isn't really one wall; it's a series of walls of different ages and different styles. This section is the most famous and also the most recent. It was built only around 450 years ago. The oldest parts are just earthen mounds and date back 2000 years.

The city of Petra in modern-day Jordan is a true wonder to behold. Many of the buildings of this 2300 year old Nabatean city were carved directly into solid rock. Their striking appearance has led to this abandoned city becoming a major tourist destination.

Structures like 'The Treasury' and 'The Palace of Pharaoh's Daughter' decorate tourists' postcards, but did you know that nearly four fifths of the ancient city remains underground and unexplored? There may be many more unbelievable buildings waiting to be discovered.

The Taj Mahal, found in Agra, India, was the work of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who built this perfectly white, perfectly symmetrical marble tomb as a monument to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. In total, it took 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants 16 years to build.

But did you know that the sarcophagi inside are actually empty? The Islamic prohibition of wealthy, ornate tombs meant that Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal were buried in a smaller, simple tomb one level below ground…

… This room is rarely opened, because breath of visitors would damage the white marble walls.

Christ the Redeemer stands on the peak of the Corcovado mountain, towering above the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Completed in 1933, the statue is an emblem of Christian faith and national pride. At 30m tall and with arms stretching 28m wide, it's hard to miss.

But did you know that while the statue stands in Brazil, Christ's face was actually made in France? It was carved from solid soapstone by the Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida, then living in Paris. In total, it took Leonida five years to complete the piece!

Machu Picchu clings to the ridgeline of the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru. This stone citadel was constructed as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti around 1450 and abandoned around the time of the Spanish conquest. It was only discovered by Europeans in 1911!

In the time of the Inca, this 'lost city' was regarded as the centre of the world. The Intihuatana was a ritual stone platform at Machu Picchu that may have been used as a sundial or altar. Here, essential rituals would have been carried out to ensure the cycle of the sun.

The Mayan city of Chichén Itzá in modern-day Mexico was perhaps the largest urban area in the pre-Colombian Americas. Occupied between 600-1100CE, the city supported a complex and diverse society, and became a major economic and political centre of the region.

You may know about the numerous stepped pyramid temples and the famous Great Ball Court (seen here), but did you know that the city also contained a bath house with a steam sauna, paved causeways known as sacbeob, and a tzompantli, or 'skull rack'.

In ancient Rome, there were few better ways to spend an afternoon than taking in a game at the Colosseum, then known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. Built in 72CE, this building hosted gladiatorial matches, musical events, executions, and even a small-scale sea battle.

Stonehenge is found on the flat green expanse of Salisbury Plain, England. This standing stone circle has mystified generations who have speculated that it was built by ancient Greeks, Egyptians, druids, or even wizards.

What we see today is actually the work of generations of neolithic and bronze age farmers. The ring ditch, the small 'blue stones', and large 'sarson stones' were all added by successive generations, each with their own design and perhaps their own unique beliefs.

Stonehenge isn't the only prehistoric monument in this landscape. Within just a few miles you'll find Woodhenge, the Durrington Walls, iron age barrows, and the Dorset Cursus. Evidently something important was drawing people here…

Ancient cities aren't unusual, but Çatalhöyük stands out as the oldest city on Earth. What makes it mysterious though, is that it was built between 7100-5700 BCE, long before humans had even invented farming, writing, wheels, or metals - so what were they doing there?

The people of Çatalhöyük were probably nomadic hunter-gatherers, and maybe only lived indoors during the winter. The remains of the city show that there was very little social division, it seems like they were living a very equitable, communal lifestyle.

This reconstruction shows a typical house. They were small and packed tightly. With no streets between the buildings, the main entrance was a ladder in the roof. They were scrupulously clean, but, perhaps unsettlingly, they buried their dead under the floors of their own homes.

Boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away here in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. But look closer (or, rather, look from a distance) and you'll discover the ancient Nazca Lines.

It's no surprise that these gargantuan rock carvings remained almost unknown until the invention of the aeroplane. The lines, made by digging a shallow trench in the gritty earth, were made using a simple system of ropes and stakes.

But why? Archaeologists have suggested they look like enlarged textile designs, or that they might mark water sources or ritual pathways. But perhaps the most popular theory is that they are representations of the constellations.

The Hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni was discovered in 1902 by workmen digging cisterns for new houses in Paola, Malta, and is an exquisitely preserved example of prehistoric Maltese architecture. It is thought to be a neolithic temple and necropolis dating to the 3300–3000BCE.

The underground structure may have originally been a natural cave, expanded over time with pick axes made of antler, flint, and obsidian. The chambers were carefully designed to let in sunlight from the surface, and one appears to be aligned with the winter solstice.

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of over 7000 individuals buried in these subterranean chambers. Some of the skulls show signs of artificial elongation, similar to those of ancient Egyptian priests, which has prompted speculation about who built these tombs.

Pumapunku is part of the Tiwanaku temple complex dating to 536CE. It lies near Illimani mountain, a sacred peak that the Tiwanaku believed to be home to the spirits of their dead. While it may lie in ruins, it was once a wondrous construction, faced with polished metal.

The mystery here is how the builders of Pumapunku calculated and cut such precise stonework, working only with stone tools. Their stonework is so regular that some historians have suggested they may have mass-produced temple parts like building blocks.

They were evidently experts in descriptive geometry, and must have had some practical system for communicating their designs, yet without written language these fascinating cultural details are entirely lost to us.