Stonehenge Discovery: Stones In Place BEFORE Humans
One of world’s most baffling mysteries became even more mysterious after new archaeological findings announced earlier this month appeared to cast a strange new light on the question of who built the ancient stone circle monument known as Stonehenge.
At the same time, the new findings may answer at least one long-puzzling question about Stonehenge, while raising many more. The circle of massive stone monoliths stands in an open field on Salisbury Plain, a rural area in the south of England.
The stone circle is believed to have been built in stages over about a 1,500-year period starting in 3,000 B.C. For comparison, the date when Stonehenge is believed to have been completed is about 300 years before the events of the Trojan War depicted in the epic Greek poem, The Iliad. The date when construction began would have been about 1,000 years before the birth of the Biblical character Abraham.
But now archaeologists say that at least two of the most important stones in the enigmatic structure date from even earlier than 5,000 years ago — millions of years earlier. Archaeologists have long assumed that the massive stones that make up the monument were transported by the prehistoric builders from the Marborough Downs region about 20 miles from the site where Stonehenge stands.
But archaeologist Mike Pitts now says that the largest stone at the site, known as the heel stone and weighing about 120,000 pounds, was not moved at all and, in fact, has existed at the site for millions of years. If true, this discovery is especially remarkable because the heel stone aligns with the sunrise during summer.
Researchers have long theorized that Stonehenge was constructed as a temple for a prehistoric sun-worshipping cult, which designed the layout of the rocks to align with the sunrise. But if the heel stone was in place before Stonehenge was built, its presence on the plain was likely the reason that the inhabitants of prehistoric England decided to build the monument there, archaeologists now believe.
The fact that the heel stone and its companion, known as Stone 16, appear not to have been carved or sculpted by human hands — unlike the other stones in the monument — also suggests that the stones existed on the Salisbury plain long before the human builders of Stonehenge migrated to the site.
The new discovery by Pitts appears to answer the question of why Stonehenge was built on the Salisbury Plain — but only deepens the mystery of why the stone circle was built, and by whom. Recent discoveries using 3D laser imaging and ground-piercing radar have revealed that at least 15 other, similar monuments were also built around the Stonehenge site, and dozens of ancient gravesites have also been discovered there, suggesting that the entire plain may have been some sort of sacred religious site to the inhabitants of England 5,000 years ago — inhabitants who may have been part of a society led by powerful women. Many of the most prominent graves surrounding Stonehenge belong to women.
Pitts discovered a massive, 20-foot-deep hole near Stonehenge. He now believes that the heel stone was excavated from that pit, perhaps centuries before the remainder of the monument was built — a possibility that only deepens the mystery of who lived at Stonehenge and who built the structure. Discoveries of the other monuments on the plain indicate that humans may have lived there as long as 10,000 years ago — making the place now known as Stonehenge the place in England where human beings have continually lived for the longest time.
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Shawn Marshall
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Lots of unknown unknowns one might say.
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Joseph A Olson
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I have visited Stonehenge, Giza and Chichen Itza….powerful monuments to superstition, or science….regardless our ancestors have left a legacy we have yet to decipher….
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jerry krause
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Hi Jonathan,
Have you heard of erratic rocks moved by glaciers? Have you read that it generally accepted that the last glacier which covered the British Isles melted about 10 years ago?
Have you read about the 56 Aubrey holes regularly spaced (about an English rod apart) in a quite precise circle? My answer to all three questions is: I have. And I have read there is physical evidence than the holes were dug before most all standing stones now found inside the circle of holes were. Can you explain how to regularly (geometrically) divide a circle into 56ths? I can.
Have a good day, Jerry
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M.J.(Moe) Lavigne
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This raises the possibility that the stones were skidded into place on ice. A quick scan of maps showing maximum ice extent reveals that one map has stonehenge exactly on the edge.
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jerry krause
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Hi Moe,
R. J. C. Atkinson, the principal archeologist responsible for the 20th Century study of Stonehenge wrote extensively about his proposed methods of moving the heavy stones (Stonehenge, 1956). And near the beginning of this review, he wrote: “During the second millennium B.C., at any rate, there were no wheeled vehicles or even pack-animals. The only beast of burden was man himself.” Elsewhere, I remember not where, Atkinson dismissed the cattle (oxen) known to be raised at that time as possible beasts of burden because they were too slow moving and clumsy. This statement, after the North American pioneers in the mid-19th Century, had used oxen to pull their covered wagon from Independence MO thousands of miles over the Rocky Mountains along the Oregon Trail to the Willamette Valley of Oregon, should cause one to take anyone’s conclusions about Stonehenge unless they offer physical evidences for their speculations.
The prehistoric people who began by digging the 56 holes knew more about natural science then it seems many to today’s professors of these natural sciences actually know. And I can support this claim with physical evidence which it seems have been overlooked just as Atkinson overlooked that which the pioneers who traveled the Oregon Trail actually did. But this is not the time to review with a comment what I have learned by reading about Stonehenge and its natural environment.
Have a good day, Jerry
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fifi king
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Pfffft! Everyone knows it was giants.
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