Stonehenge Builders Used Pythagoras’ Theorem 2,000 Years Before He Lived

This Thursday at dawn, thousands of people gathered at England’s famous ancient monument, Stonehenge, to celebrate the beginning of the summer solstice. The purpose behind this monument, built between 3000 and 1600 B.C., remains a mystery to historians. But, as Stonehenge enthusiasts know, the pillars of the monument are in just the right location to perfectly frame the rising sun on the day of the summer solstice.

According to the website EarthSky, “[I]f you stand in just the right place inside the Stonehenge monument on the day of the northern summer solstice, facing northeast through the entrance towards a rough-hewn stone outside the circle—known as the Heel Stone—you will see the sun rise above the Heel Stone.” For a stunning image of the alignment, view this article at EarthSky.

A few articles published this week about Stonehenge’s connection to the summer solstice bring up yet another interesting tidbit about the monument. “Many assume that cavemen built the monumental megalith in Wilshire,” writes Sean Martin at Express, “but new evidence suggests that brainiacs could have been behind the building of Stonehenge.” This book, Megalith, takes a look at the geometry of the monument, postulating that the builders likely used the Pythagorean Theorem to build Stonehenge. 

The crazy part is that Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher who came up with…