Anthropology

Judi Lynn

(163,079 posts) Fri Jan 3, 2025, 02:06 AM Jan 3

A New Discovery Suggests Stonehenge Had a Secret, Second Purpose All Along [View all]

What if the mysterious monument wasn’t just meant for astronomy?

By Darren Orf
Published: Jan 02, 2025 12:45 PM EST

Scott E Barbour//Getty Images

Stonehenge may have had a second purpose beyond its well-documented astronomical uses.

A new study claims that the monument may have been built in part to unify neighboring people groups in and near the area of its construction.

This idea comes primarily from the fact that many of the stones used in the construction of Stonehenge hail from various locales around the United Kingdom.

Monuments are built for many reasons—both good and bad. Sometimes, they mark a triumph. Others mark heroic defeats. A few mark horrific acts of violence. But nearly all monuments strive to do one thing: unite a people in some kind of solidarity (no matter how misguided that solidarity may be).

Now, a new study from experts at University College London (UCL) and Aberystwyth University suggests that Stonehenge might’ve served a similar unifying purpose beyond its well-documented astronomical uses. This breakthrough comes from the discovery reported earlier this year that the six-tonne Alter Stone—the recumbent central megalith at Stonehenge—actually originated from Scotland and not Wales, as previously believed.

With many of the other stones, including the “bluestones” and the “sarsen stones,” also hailing from non-local sources—all transported without the use of wheels (which had yet to arrive to the British islands around 2500 B.C.)—this discovery supports a growing theory that Stonehenge may have been a monument built (or at least remodeled ) to unify neolithic Britons. This research was published in the journal Archaeology International on December 20 (fittingly, one day before the Winter Solstice).

“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,” Mike Parker Pearson from UCL said in a press statement.

More:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a63252376/stonehenge-politcal-meaning/

8 replies

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Highlight:

A New Discovery Suggests Stonehenge Had a Secret, Second Purpose All Along [View all] Judi Lynn Jan 3 OP

Interesting Alice Kramden Jan 3 #1

Thank you, as always, for a fascinating find. niyad Jan 3 #2

To this day, defense contractors spread their work to as many states as possible... eggplant Jan 3 #3

Thanks! I've been to Stonehenge, wish I knew this then! Rhiannon12866 Jan 3 #4

Secret? Iggo Jan 3 #5

Yeah, I don't think that's quite the right word -- maybe "unappreciated" William Seger Jan 3 #6

A lot of discoveries have been made there. duncang Jan 3 #7

Really nice photo. Love the rainbow! calimary Jan 3 #8