The winter solstice brought hordes of tourists to the Stonehenge monument in Britain.
12:53•Updated 12:56
The shortest day of the year was welcomed at Stonehenge with drumming. The longest night in the northern hemisphere was greeted by druids and other visitors in the shade of huge stone pillars.
In Britain, there is enough light for at least eight hours, while in the northernmost Finland, darkness has begun and the sun does not rise at all.
The cycle of the year, the equinoxes and the solstices bring a large number of tourists to Stonehenge every year. The longest day of the year is also celebrated around the stone rings in the summer. At other times, visitors can’t get very close to the stones.
There is no certainty about the birth of Stoneghenge and its purpose. The rock formation was reportedly built by people of the Neolithic culture who worshiped the sun. Erection of stilts began about 5,000 years ago. Stonehenge has been speculated to be a sundial, a cemetery or a temple.
The altar stone in the center of the formation has apparently been transported to Stonehenge hundreds of kilometers from Scotland. Some of the rocks are closer, a couple of hundred kilometers from Wales.
AP