Researchers Have Figured Out Why Part Of Stonehenge Was Rebuilt Thousands Of Years Ago
Stonehenge is one of the world’s most mysterious monuments, but recently, researchers have made a major discovery related to it. They believe they have figured out why part of Stonehenge was rebuilt thousands of years ago.
In a new study, they proposed that the Altar Stone, a monolith at the heart of the monument, likely originated nearly 5,000 years ago in what is now northeastern Scotland.
It was transported more than 400 miles away to Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, where Stonehenge now stands in southwest England.
The discovery showed that many of the stones used to build the structure actually came from miles away. So, the authors of the study have suggested that Stonehenge may have served as a symbol of unity in prehistoric Britain.
“The fact that all of its stones originated from distant regions, making it unique among over 900 stone circles in Britain, suggests that the stone circle may have had a political as well as a religious purpose—as a monument of unification for the peoples of Britain, celebrating their eternal links with their ancestors and the cosmos,” said Mike Parker Pearson, the lead author of the study.
The construction of Stonehenge was thought to have begun around 5,000 years ago. Over the next few thousand years, multiple changes and additions were made to the structure.
There are several theories that have been proposed to try to explain the purpose of Stonehenge. They range from a sacred site for ancestral worship to an astronomical observatory.
The site could also have been a religious or ceremonial center that involved funerary rituals based on evidence of Neolithic burials. Additionally, it may have acted as a trading hub or a place for social gatherings.
A site near Stonehenge called Durrington Walls suggests that large feasts occurred there during the monument’s construction, possibly at the same time as the winter solstice.
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Although extensive research has been done on Stonehenge, its exact purpose of it is still a mystery. The latest research has added a political aspect to Stonehenge.
Aside from the Altar Stone, the monument consists of sarsen stones and bluestones. The sarsens seem to have been sourced from the West Woods, located near the town of Marlborough, which is about 15 miles from the monument.
On the other hand, the bluestones appear to have originated from the Preseli Hills in west Wales, which is about 140 miles away.
The results of the study indicate that long-distance trade networks during Stonehenge’s construction and a high level of societal organization allowed for advanced transportation methods to arise.
It is likely that a sea route was used to transport the stones since the geographical features of Britain at the time would’ve made transportation challenging.
The Altar Stone and stones similar to it are not found in the rest of Britain, which has the implication that the people in northeastern Scotland and the Stonehenge region had close ties. It is possible that the Altar Stone was brought to Stonehenge as a gift from the people of northeast Scotland.
The study was published in Archaeology International.
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