Australians will soon not have to travel to the UK to visit the prehistoric Stonehenge, for an Aussie entrepreneur smitten by the structure has planned to construct an exact replica of it Down Under.
London, Mar 26 : Australians will soon not have to travel to the UK to visit the prehistoric Stonehenge, for an Aussie entrepreneur smitten by the structure has planned to construct an exact replica of it Down Under.
Ross Smith, the former owner of a successful microbrewery business, is confident that his version of the monument will be ready for public-viewing right in time for Australia's next summer solstice, on December 21.
"I'm doing it because I can. Nowhere in the world has a complete Stonehenge been built," Telegraph quoted Smith, as saying.
The ancient monument, considered to be one of the most mystical sites in the world, will be recreated on the land owned by Smith in the Margaret River region of Western Australia.
This 700,000 pounds project, called The Henge, will involve the construction of the replica with 2,500 tonnes of granite excavated from Esperance, on Western Australia's south coast. This will include 101 granite stones arranged in an inner and outer circle and a central altar.
However, the difference in the original and the replica will lie in the fact that the Aussie version of the historical wonder will have guests, who will be encouraged to play around the new monument, having an interpretive centre and a children's playground.
Smith said that it will be possible to hire The Henge for weddings and other events and would most probably be acting as a business venture.
Since the past 5 months, a small team of quarry workers have been drilling and blasting the stones into shape.
ANI