Stonehenge

File:I. Am. Talking! - The Pandorica Speech - Doctor Who - The Pandorica Opens - BBC

The Eleventh Doctor gives his speech from atop Stonehenge. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)

Stonehenge was an assemblage of giant stones erected in Wiltshire during the 2nd Millennium BC. John Brent had a theory that Stonehenge was in reality an ancient spaceport. (PROSE: Time and Relative) In fact, he wasn't too far off from the truth — Stonehenge served as the burial site and hiding place of the Pandorica, an ancient box used by the Alliance to trap the Eleventh Doctor. They used the shape itself of the rocks as a huge transmitter to send over the members of the Alliance should the Doctor come to call. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)

History

Creation

Approximately 3000 BC, a strange colored standing "stone" appeared in an empty field, lined up with the rising sun, in the plains near modern-day Salisbury for a few moments before disappearing. This began happening again and again, annually every year, and the natives began to see it as a sign from the heavens. In tribute of the stone, they began to bring massive stones to the field and assemble them into a circular configuration around the spot where the stone appeared over the next two thousand years. (PROSE: The Secret of the Stones) During this time, the Eighth Doctor and Samantha Jones visited Stonehenge and witnessed the construction (PROSE: The People's Temple), and The Monk allegedly used an anti-gravity lift to assist in the completion of the complex. (TV: "Checkmate")

The final stone was put in place in what was meant to be in time with the stone's annual appearance, but the stone failed to appear. This was due to the "stone", in actuality the Doctor's TARDIS, ending its course of annual landings to create a "snapshot" history of Stonehenge's construction so the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones could determine how and why it was built. Ironically, the Doctor had avoided materializing normally during construction in an attempt to not interfere with its construction. (PROSE: The Secret of the Stones)

At some point during or after its completion, the Alliance placed the Pandorica beneath Stonehenge for the Eleventh Doctor to find. The pillars beneath Stonehenge began to act as a transmitter for the members of the Alliance to converge on it in 102. The transmission was sent to everyone and to all time zones, resulting in Vincent van Gogh (presumably amongst others) having visions of the opening of the Pandorica.

The Pandorica Opens

The Eleventh Doctor makes a speech warning away the members of the Alliance from Stonehenge. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)

During the times of the druids, Cybermen were believed to have been guarding the Pandorica underneath Stonehenge. Parts of Cybermen such as arms and heads lay on the ground around the henge. The Doctor believed they had been "dusted up by the locals". (TV: The Pandorica Opens)

The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond arrived in the area near Stonehenge in 102 after finding coordinates for the time and place from River Song on Planet One. Reuniting with River, they traveled to Stonehenge by horse and examined it, discovering a secret passage under one of the stones leading to the Pandorica's underground chamber, shortly before the Alliance arrived in orbit around the Earth, headed for Stonehenge. To prepare, River summoned Rory and the "Romans" to Stonehenge back them up for battle against them, while Doctor managed to delay the Alliance's landing briefly, standing in the middle of Stonehenge with the Alliance ships' spotlights drawn on him while addressing them with a communicator, by threatening them with his reputation, which sent the ships retreating. After sending River off to retrieve the TARDIS, Doctor pieced together the Romans' status as Autons shortly before a signal from the Pandorica directed them to capture him. The Alliance returned and landed, forcing and locking him inside the Pandorica in their attempt to stop the universe's destruction. Moments afterwards, the TARDIS's destruction destroyed the entire universe aside from Earth. (TV: The Pandorica Opens), turning the Alliance members to stone in the process (TV: The Big Bang)

Immediately following the destruction, Rory was able to free the Doctor with help from the latter's future self and put Amy (who Rory had unwillingly shot with his Auton wrist-gun) into the Pandorica to recover. Wanting to make sure she was safe for the 1900 years necessary, Rory remained at Stonehenge as the Doctor used River's vortex manipulator to skip to the future, and moved move the Pandorica out of Stonehendge at an unknown point in time. A stone Dalek was also retrieved from Stonehenge and eventually placed in the National Museum with the Pandorica, where its reopening by the younger Ameila Pond would reactivate it.

Following the Doctor's resetting of the universe, the Alliance's actions were undone, leaving Stonehenge as it was when it was originally built. (TV: The Big Bang)

20th century

The Third Doctor and the Brigadier at Stonehenge in the 1970s. (COMIC: Smash Hit)

In either November or December 1967, one of the stones of the monument had "a circular symbol with an 'R' in it" — the symbol of the Revolution Man — carved into it over night. (PROSE: Revolution Man)

During the 1970s, the Ragman was defeated at Stonehenge. (PROSE: Rags)

In 1976, UNIT fought Vardans at Stonehenge, where the Seventh Doctor was captured by the Monk. (PROSE: No Future)

21st century

During the first seconds of 1 January 2000, Stonehenge, along with the rest of the world, was nearly destroyed by the Eye of Harmony. (TV: Doctor Who)

Stonehenge was among the Earth cultural items the Threshold had stolen and taken to the town of Wormwood on the Moon. (COMIC: Wormwood)

Other information

Stonehenge was near the location of an opening to the Yssgaroth's universe. (PROSE: The Pit)

Behind the scenes

• For The Pandorica Opens, the Doctor Who team went to Stonehenge to get the scenes in and around the landmark. (CON: Alien Abduction)