1960s Theory That Stonehenge Was a Prehistoric Computer

One of the earliest near-accurate depictions of Stonehenge by Lucas de Heere, image via Wikipedia Commons

 

Though now debunked, in 1966 Gerald Hawkins put forth the theory that Stonehenge was actually an ancient computer and the ring of circles could have been used to follow the Moon, and predict eclipses. Even though future research would prove Hawkins ideas false, the investigation is still interesting. Fun bit of history from BBC:

The meaning for those who built Stonehenge was, he believed, significant. “Eclipses are spectacular events that surely aroused the deepest emotions of our primitive ancestors,” said Hawkins. “The light of the Moon, which is, of course, borrowed from the Sun, is cut off. It passes into the Earth’s shadow. The Moon turns from silvery white to red. The ancients regarded it as blood red and attributed ominous meanings to it.”

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