The Heel Stone at Stonehenge is aligned with the midsummer solstice sunrise.
The Heel Stone stands outside the main stone circle and forms part of the monument’s important astronomical alignment. At the summer solstice, the Sun rises in the direction of the Heel Stone when viewed from the central area of Stonehenge.
Stonehenge was built in stages between roughly 3000 and 2000 BCE, and its arrangement reflects careful attention to the movements of the Sun. The solstice alignment is one reason the monument attracts large gatherings each June.
The Heel Stone is not one of the trilithons inside the circle. It is a separate sarsen stone positioned along the avenue leading toward the monument, which helps explain why it is central to discussions of the sunrise alignment.