Scientists solved the mystery of Stonehenge
One of the greatest archaeological mysteries of Britain has finally received an answer. After more than 5,000 years of the mysterious object's existence, scientists from Aberystwyth University have convincingly proven: the famous stones of Stonehenge were transported not by glaciers, but by people, the Daily Mail writes.
This is a group of smaller boulders that surround the central ring of Stonehenge. The new study focused on the so-called Newall Stone - a fragment the size of a football ball, found 100 years ago. Scientists compared it with rocks from the Craig Ros-y-Felin mountains in Pembrokeshire (Wales) and found out: the stone is a geochemical copy of these formations.
"There is no indication that Newall was brought by a glacier. This is not a fragment left by nature. It was brought here by people," Professor Richard Bevins said.
The analysis showed that both the Newall Stone and another Stonehenge stone, Stone 32d, have the same levels of thorium and zirconium as rocks in Wales. In addition, they share a common mineralogy - a foliated rhyolite structure. This excludes the accidental appearance of the boulders on the Salisbury Plain.
The researchers believe that not only these two stones, but also 80 other "blue boulders" could have been specially transported by Neolithic builders over 200 km - from Wales to Wiltshire. This confirms the version of the unique organization and engineering abilities of the ancient Britons.
Previously, the hypothesis was popular that the boulders could have floated here on icebergs during the last ice age. However, the new study definitively refutes this theory.
"People at that time also moved larger stones - selenites weighing 40 tons. So transporting 2-3 ton "blue" stones was a real task for them," the researchers note.
A separate find last year showed that even the largest of the blue stones - the so-called Altar Stone - probably arrived from Scotland, from a distance of up to 1,000 km.
The mystery of the very purpose of Stonehenge - religious, astronomical or political - remains open. But now there is almost no doubt that this megalithic structure was the result of incredible efforts and coordination of ancient British tribes.
As previously reported, last year, environmental activists doused Stonehenge with orange paint.