Thousands of people gathered at Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice

Stonehenge (United Kingdom) - 30,000 people gathered in the rain at dawn around the mysterious stone pillars in English Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice. Above the colorful crowd of druids, hippies, and ordinary onlookers, the first hint of dawn broke through the rain clouds precisely at 4:58 local time (3:48 GMT; 5:48 CEST), marking the longest day of the year, reports AFP.
    Twenty-six-year-old Peter Rawcliffe rode his bike more than eighty kilometers to reach Stonehenge from his home in Oxford. "I've been doing this for the last three years. I think I'm something like a seasonal druid. Most of the year, I focus on my work designing toys, but the summer solstice awakens the hippie spirit in me. It's truly a magical experience," he says.
    According to English Heritage, which is responsible for managing British heritage sites including the 5,000-year-old Stonehenge, this year’s approximately 30,000 attendees is a record for the last five years.
    Stonehenge was built around 3000 to 1600 BC and is one of the oldest prehistoric cult sites in the world. Approximately 850,000 tourists visit it each year.
    In 1986, this stone circle in Wiltshire was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Despite years of research, scientists have not yet been able to determine the purpose of the construction made of stone monoliths that are three to six meters tall.
    Seventeen erected stone blocks, the heaviest weighing up to 45 tons, connected by six lintels, face towards the sunrise on the day of the summer solstice. Therefore, among the most popular theories are those that classify Stonehenge either as a prehistoric observatory or as a temple dedicated to the sun. Archaeologists have also suggested the possibility that people of that time attributed healing powers to the erected stones.