It took only 27 million pounds or $44 million to give Britain’s ancient Stonehenge a makeover and the visitors to the site are in for a modern treat.  The renovations include a new timber and glass visitor center building about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) from the stones where over 1 million a year visitors can watch an exhibition about Neolithic life.
Late last year, in December 2013, journalists and English Heritage members were given a preview of the new center, which houses a 360-degree “virtual tour” of the monument, along with an extensive exhibition about how Stonehenge is believed to have been built about 5,000 years ago. So, what should the tourists and visitors expect when they arrive this year to see the site? The idea has been to return Stonehenge which is located 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of London, to its rural landscape. Visitors should expect to be transported to the stones on a special shuttle, or they can walk, exploring an ancient processional approach route that for years has been cut in half by asphalt. Inside, the exhibition will show that the monument’s prehistoric creators were sophisticated people, who raised pigs and hunted, gathered from far and wide for feasts and built this remarkable, mysterious monument.

The renovations which were funded partly through donations and partly through a levy on profits of Britain’s national lottery, has also almost doubled the entry ticket, from 8 pounds ($13) to 14.90 pounds ($24) for an adult. However, the visitors beside watching the virtual tour, will see a modern cafeteria and a large gift shop, where visitors can buy many souvenirs including jam, chocolate, baseball caps, mouse pads and fridge magnets, as well as “Stonehenge Rocks” T-shirts as Associated Press reports. It is believed that Stonehenge was built in three phases between 3000 B.C. and 1600 B.C.

Archaeologists and experts now agree that the site was a temple and a giant burial ground for elite families. Archaeologists have found the remains of dozens of cremated bodies from about 3000 B.C. whose location was marked by bluestones.  More evidence also suggests large crowds gathered at Stonehenge for the summer and winter solstices, a tradition that continues today.  More research and exactions will be done in years to come as more than half the site remains unexcavated.