There is a common misconception regarding Stonehenge that I would like to clear up. This is shown again in the latter portion of the writeup by Webster 1913 ("generally supposed to be the remains of an ancient Druidical temple"). I myself, like many others, once thought that Stonehenge was constructed by the Celtic druids. This is not the case.
I learned this recently while researching for a major thesis project for school. In his book, The Druids: Celtic Priests of Nature, author Jean Markale writes, "...But the problem lies in the fact that Stonehenge isn't Celtic. It was constructed in the Megalithic era, around 2000 B.C., and then reworked twice - on separate occasions - during the Bronze Age. It often appears in Celtic tradition, however, if only through the legend that presents this monument as the magic work of Merlin, or in the Arthurian tales that place Arthur's last battle in this immediate vacinity. This incontestably raises the question of Celts and therefore the druids, incorporating into their culture a tradition that preceded their arrival. Moreover, the solar cult's period of triumph must be sought not within the Celtic Iron Age, but within the Nordic Bronze Age."(page 49)
Markale's main arguments are that Stonehenge was constructed long before the formation of the Celtic society in which the druids resided; and furthermore, that the structure was obviously used for solar worship, which peaked in the Nordic Bronze Age.
Having long assumed that the druids built Stonehenge, I was crestfallen to learn otherwise. I was further disappointed to learn that Jean Markale was unable to credit an individual group of people with the construction of Stonehenge, which further adds to its mystique as well as my confusion.