What Do You Know About Stonehenge?
What Are Some Recent Discoveries?
What Do You Know About Stonehenge?
Aug 10
Stonehenge captivates Ira Riklis and millions of people around the world, and has done so for generations. The mystery seems to deepen every time a new theory emerges or researchers make a new discovery at Stonehenge.
Recent discoveries seem captivating and yet bring up new questions and interest in the fascinating stone monuments. Where did Stonehenge come from? What do we know about it? What recently reported discoveries have intrigued researchers, scholars and the general public?
How much do you know about Stonehenge, a monumental mystery?
What is Stonehenge & Where Is It Located?
Stonehenge is the name given to prehistoric stone monuments constructed in a circle and located in Wiltshire, England on Salisbury Plain.
Comprised of approximately 100 massive stones standing upright, scientists and other researchers are still baffled by many details about the massive ancient stones making up Stonehenge.
Who Created Stonehenge & For What Purpose?
We know little about the ancient peoples that created Stonehenge. We do know that the ancients that built it did so over a period of generations. Stonehenge was built over a span of approximately 1500 years. This period spanned from the Neolithic period into the Bronze Age, with some stones being erected as long as 5000 years ago. The most recent stones erected date to approximately 1500 B.C.
Why did ancient Neolithic Period people in what is now Wiltshire, England erect Stonehenge? How did the ancient peoples, with no modern-day tools or modes of moving massive stones, move each piece that weighs 40 tons or more to the site and how did they erect the stones? These are questions that continue to baffle researchers.
While stories prevailed for some time that Stonehenge was built by the wizard Merlin or by ancient aliens, over recent years some answers emerged that the scientific community generally accepts.
Stonehenge was not simply a monument meant as a site for people to worship, although the people likely did worship there. Discoveries over the years reveal that Stonehenge served multiple purposes. Evidence shows some people came long distances to gather at Stonehenge. Recent discoveries reveal much more about the monuments.
What Are Some Recent Discoveries?
There is more to Stonehenge than the visible circle of stones. Human remains show it was a burial ground. Colonel William Hawley conducted an excavation at Stonehenge in the 1920s and uncovered bones of 15 to 25 people who were cremated before burial. He reburied the bones, only recently re-excavated. CNN shows some of the ancient bone fragments recovered at the site.
Found with the bodies were bluestone chips, the same mysterious bluestone used in part of the construction of Stonehenge. This led researchers to conclude that some of the people likely came from west Wales, near Preseli Hills, explains the Guardian.
Another recent discovery involves a four-year collaboration of researchers and archaeologists which included an underground survey of Stonehenge. The Smithsonian Magazine reveals “Buried evidence of at least 15 previously unknown” or little understood monuments, pits, ditches, henges, and barrows.
U.K. Express points out that the ancients using Stonehenge apparently designed the megalith using the same mathematical formula as the Pythagorean Theorem, 2000 years before the birth of Pythagoras.
Are There Other Structures Similar To Stonehenge?
A large Neolithic period structure discovered about 1.5 miles from Stonehenge was a sacred place where the Daily Mail U.K. says the people performed ceremonies, held feasts and “deliberate smashing of ceramic bowls.” It also predates Stonehenge by up to 1,000 years.
There are other monuments across the globe shrouded in mystery.
Is There More to Learn?
Recent excavations and continued research signals that Stonehenge has features long hidden from the world. There are likely many more hidden mysteries yet to be uncovered as studies continue at the site. Researchers continue to discover new information about Stonehenge, sometimes leading to even greater intrigue about the massive ancient stone monuments.
There is likely much more to learn about Stonehenge, still hidden away, with the secrets known only to the ancients who built and created the majestic wonder known as Stonehenge.
