Published 16:19 IST, February 15th 2021
Stonehenge was constructed in Wales, moved to England later: Study
A recent study claims that the iconic monument was first constructed in Wales and then moved 200 kilometres to the English city of Salisbury.
Stonehenge is a world-famed monument that has, over the course of years, remained a topic of discussion for the archeologists. Adding to the enigma is a recent study which claims that the iconic monument was first constructed in Wales and then moved 200 kilometers to the English city. The research was led by University College London archaeologist Michael Parker Pearson and has now been published in British journal Antiquity.
The researchers, over the past decade, searched for ritual structures in Wales’s Preseli region that might have provided the stones and the blueprint-for Stonehenge. It was then that they excavated parts of an ancient monument called Waun Mawn, where a handful of toppled bluestones similar to those at Stonehenge form a partial circle. Upon further investigation, they discovered socket shaped ditches where the prehistoric Stonehenge might have stood earlier.
Using the socket pits and toppled stones found at Waun Mawn, the researchers constructed a 110 meters circle. The dimensions of this circle overlapped perfectly with the outer dimensions of the Stonehenge’s original layout. And, like at Stonehenge, the circle’s entrance was oriented toward sunrise on the midsummer solstice.
After discovering the original Stonehenge, the team then measured the last time sediments inside the socket holes at Waun Mawn had been exposed to light using optically stimulated luminescence. In addendum, they also radiocarbon dated charcoal found inside the pits. Following their probe, they have come to the conclusion the missing stones were erected between 3400 and 3200 B.C.E. and then removed 300 or 400 years later.
“We’re quite confident the reason they come down is they’ve gone to Stonehenge’, team leader Pearson speaking to Science Mag said.
Built some 5,000 years ago
Earlier last year, archaeologists discovered wide circles of deep shafts surrounding an ancient settlement near Stonehenge. The ancient shafts, 10 meters (33 feet) wide, and 5 meters deep the site demonstrated that the Neolithic communities resided in the area that had a stringent belief system which the researchers discovered using remote sensing technology and sampling. Stonehenge was built some 5,000 years ago by the Neolithic community of England. The purpose and motive behind the construction of the monument remain unclear to date.
Updated 16:17 IST, February 15th 2021