Stonehenge is a public monument originally constructed approximately five thousand years ago. During its existence, it has been used and remodeled according to the needs of many people in many different situations.

Situated in Wessex, in south central England, Stonehenge is in the center of a region noted for an abundance of ritual structures. These include henge monuments (monuments consisting of standing uprights of wood or stone), long barrows (long mortuary mounds generally containing the disarticulated remains of many individuals), cursus monuments (narrow elongated ditched enclosures), causewayed enclosures (roughly circular enclosures generally about 200 meters in diameter surrounded by concentric rings of ditches), and round barrows (circular mortuary mounds generally containing one primary burial).

The following is an outline of the construction phases of Stonehenge. Remember that in many places the original number and position of stones is not known due to natural decay and human disturbance.