Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Stonehenge Aotearoa
Stonehenge Aotearoa, located in New Zealand about an hour's drive from Wellington, is a modern adaptation of the Stonehenge ruins on the Salisbury Plain of England. The henge contains 24 pillars and is 30 m in diameter and about 4 m high. An 5m-tall obelisk marks the center of the henge.
The modern henge was designed to demonstrate how ancient peoples used such constructions to understand astronomy. Since Stonehenge Aoetaroa is at a different latitude and longitude than the original Stonehenge, it is not an exact replica--some measurements had to be changed to preserve certain astronomical properties.
Its design was inspired not only by the original Stonehenge, but also by navigational and astronomical techniques of Polynesia and of the New World.
The name Aotearoa is a Maori name for New Zealand.
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