What is the Purpose of Megaliths like Stonehenge

Centuries ago Middle Eastern people erected huge stones as monuments to specific events, or to honor their gods. Anyone passing through their territory would see the standing stones and understand their significance. If not, a local person would explain their significance. Over time these monuments became known by the more descriptive term, "standing stones."

Wikipedia defines standing stones (more commonly called megaliths because of their large and cumbersome size) as "solitary stones set vertically in the ground" adding that the stones "come in many different varieties."

These stone monuments are extremely heavy and sometimes stand as high as twenty feet, so they can be seen for miles around. Where they appear in groups they are sometimes called megalithic monuments. These sites, generally thought by archeologists to be the locations of ancient religious ceremonies, are found all around the world.

Prehistoric monuments in Scotland and Britain, dating to the Neolithic or the Bronze Age, have orientations to the sun, moon or stars. Most notable of these is probably the grouping of standing stones at Stonehenge. These are presumed to be some type of cosmic observatory, erected to study the skies, but could just as easily have religious applications instead.

North American standing stones range in height from a foot or two to over 20 feet. Large stone slabs are also found, sometimes fixed in the ground and other times balanced on the top of ledge outcrops. Historians think these were probably guideposts or markers to show significant events or pow wow areas, but specifics are no longer available.

Today, archeologists are still locating these huge standing stones as they study a variety of ancient cultures. When new stones are discovered, there are generally no documents or living people from the era during which they were erected to tell us about how and why they were set up. As magnificent as standing stones may be, when their stories have been lost they really are meaningless.

Standing Stones in the Bible
Like their contemporaries in ancient times, the Jewish people erected a variety of monuments. However, we still know the meaning of many of these standing stones because of stories recorded in the Bible.

The Hebrew word translated "standing stones" is massebah which means "to set up." The Israelites often set up standing stones as memorials of God's intervention on their behalf. When the memorial was erected, the story of the stone was told. This story then passed from generation to generation as the story was told and re-told, kept alive in both oral and written traditions.

It would appear that the Tower of Babel was an attempt by the people of that day to erect such a monument. The Bible tells us the builders planned to make it so tall that wanderers would always be able to find the city.

In Genesis we read the story of two notorious deceivers, Jacob and his father-in-law Laban, who made an agreement not to interfere with each others' lives or to harm one another. Jacob and his family gathered stones and heaped them up to create a lasting symbol of this covenant.

After the Israelites walked across the Jordan River carrying the Ark of the Covenant, God instructed them to take 12 stones from the dry riverbed and pile them up to create a monument on the site. Their leader, Joshua, complied, telling the Israelites: "When your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.'" (Josh. 4:21-22, NIV)

Because the stories of these standing stones remain, we can understand their purpose of reminding people of what God did for them. The Bible acts as the witness which keeps the stories of such standing stones alive, and the purpose of the stones fresh in our minds millennia after the actual construction.

In 1 Peter 2:5 (Good News Translation) Christians are called living stones. "Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ." Christians are to create a living, continual monument to the grace of God. Unlike the silent and mysterious megaliths of Stonehenge, living stones testify about the amazing things God has done in their lives.

Megaliths continue to fascinate us though their meaning may have been lost over the centuries. Whatever their original purpose, they have become a part of our past which historians continue to investigate and study.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_stone

http://www.nativestones.com/ss.htm

http://www.followtherabbi.com/Brix?pageID=1824

http://www.answers.com/topic/standing-stone

The Holy Bible in Good News Translation and New International Version