Darab, in Fars province, is known for its ancient history and is full of ancient monuments. Everywhere we look, we find a sign of the times that has left its mark with an effect and a legacy, From the ancient times of Iran and before that to recent centuries. Darab is an old complex of historical structures, structures like: “Stonehenge.”
Ancient Darabgard, one of the five parts of ancient Pars, is the oldest circular city. Its architecture is unique and full of wonders whose secrets are not yet known. One of its unknowns is a circular mound called Stonehenge, which has similarities with England’s Stonehenge (the most famous stone circle in the world). In Stonehenge, we will encounter a phenomenon whose meaning, and application are yet not known.
Stonehenge is a word derived from the English language. Henge is a circular or oval land area. This term was first used in the 1930s for a building in Salisbury, England, known as one of the mysterious wonders of the world. Stonehenge was created to encircle a secret place. But another new point of view is that Stonehenge is a Persian word. In this view, “stone” is considered the same as “Sotoon,” and “heng” refers to an Arabic word that gives an Iranian meaning.
The Darabgard Stonehenge is older than its example in Salisbury, England. Their use is probably related to measuring the amount of sunshine in different hours of the day, or maybe they served healing purposes. It has also been suggested that the stones of the Stonehenge were brought from elsewhere.
Historiography of Stonehenge Darabgard
Is Stonehenge an ancient temple? Maybe so. But for the dating of Stonehenge Darabgard, we should think of sometime other than the city’s construction date (which was in the Achaemenid period). The Darabgard plain contains remnants from five thousand years ago found in archaeological excavations. Therefore, Stonehenge is much older than the construction of Darabgard city. Even archaeologists consider it the oldest stone structure in the world and say it was built between two and three thousand years BC. However, western archeologists claim the circular structure of Salisbury England to be the oldest example of such stone structures!
The first person who examined Stonehenge and tried to date it was an English researcher named William Ouseley (who died in 1842). He had traveled to Iran with his brother-in-law, Sir Gore Ouseley. William Ousley assumed the Darabaard Stonehenge the same as Salisbury structure and their use to be the same.
Darabgard Stonehenge is a series of uneven stones placed vertically on the ground. These stones are seen on a hill. Undoubtedly, the rocks are not put together by chance, and there is a thought behind their arrangement. Perhaps, as we mentioned, it was a temple, or prehistoric people thought the stones had healing properties.
Many studies and research have been done about structures like Stonehenge, located in Salisbury, England, and various views have been expressed. Majority assume it to have been a solar calendar and the ancient people of that land designed the Stonehenge so accurately so as to show the sun’s movements and change of seasons. Did the Darabgard Stonehenge also have such a function?
However, this ancient structure, which some have considered a Mehri temple and the seat of ancient Mehr worshipers, is one of the unique structures in Iran and the world, which requires extensive research to decipher its history and use.
