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The first people arrived on Easter Island (or, in the local language, Rapa Nui) about 900 years ago. "The founding population, according to oral tradition, was two canoes led by the island's first chief, Hotu Matu'a," says Simpson, who is currently on the faculty of the College of DuPage... These statues, or moai, often referred to as "Easter Island heads," are actually full-body figures that became partially buried over time. The moai, which represent important Rapa Nui ancestors, number nearly a thousand, and the largest one is over seventy feet tall... Recent excavations of four statues in the inner region...

Researchers have shown that cremated humans at Stonehenge were from the same region of Wales as the stones used in construction. The key innovation was finding that high temperatures of cremation can crystallise a skull, locking in the chemical signal of its origin. The first long-term residents of Stonehenge, along with the first stones, arrived about 5,000 years ago. While it is already known that the "bluestones" that were first used to build Stonehenge were transported from 150 miles (240 km) away in modern-day Pembrokeshire, almost nothing is known about the people involved. The scientists' work shows that both people...

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A grouping of granite blocks along a grassy Amazon hilltop may be the vestiges of a centuries-old astronomical observatory — a find that archaeologists say shows early rainforest inhabitants were more sophisticated than previously believed. snip...

Boomtime for ancient Ireland traced to Sligo 16 July 2004 Archaeologists are finally in agreement that the Megalithic period in Ireland 'boomed' between the years 4200BC and 3500BC. The date controversy over the Irish Megalithic period - most significantly characterised by the Carrowmore site in Sligo - was put to rest at an archaeology conference in Sligo. The findings of the conference have just been released even though it took place two years ago. The Carrowmore site has one of the largest concentrations of Megalithic tombs in Western Europe. It pre-dates the Newgrange and Boyne complex and is older than...

Maeshowe winter solstice as viewed by Neolithic man CAROLINE WICKHAM-JONESMaeshowe winter solstice as viewed by Neolithic manMaeshowe is managed by Historic Scotland. Picture: Charles Tait Photographic THE GREAT mound of Maeshowe has dominated the skyline of Orkney for almost 5,000 years. It is a spectacular sight and a visit to the chambered tomb provides one of the highlights for visitors to the Orkney islands. Today, as we stoop to enter and walk down the low 11 metre passage to the chamber with its massive stonework, we are reminded of the ingenuity of those original builders. Its apparent uniformity masks a...

Right now, about 4 hours until winter solstice! The days get longer from here on out - even if they initially get colder! Happy winter solstice 2014!

Drought in Ireland Leads to Discovery of Neolithic Henge Drone footage captured amid a heatwave close to the 5000-year-old Newgrange neolithic passage tomb in County Meath, Ireland, on July 10 revealed an previously-undiscovered henge, sparking an investigation by the country’s National Monument ServiceThe footage was shot by Ken Williams in Brú na Bóinne, or the Boyne Valley, an area rich in neolithic sites and which was designated a a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.Williams said that were it not for the recent heatwave and drought in the area, the remains of the henge would not have been seen.According to...

In 1923, famed British geologist Herbert Henry Thomas published a seminal study on Stonehenge, claiming to have found the precise spots where prehistoric people had quarried the stones. There was just one problem with his analysis: It was wrong. And it has taken geologists about 80 years to get it right, a new study finds. To debunk Thomas' work, Bevins and Ixer donned their Sherlock Holmes hats and examined Thomas' maps and rock samples. Thomas (1876-1935) was a geologist for the British Geological Survey who spent just one day in December 1906 surveying Mynydd Preseli... During his Preseli Hills visit,...

AMESBURY, England -- People from all over the world flock to see the mystical monument known as Stonehenge, and most of them deliver the same verdict: nice rocks, shame about the place. Rising up from a heath in southern England, the 5,000-year-old circle of stones still has the power to inspire wonder and worship. The problem is, you need earplugs to block out the noise. In a startling example of how not to treat a national treasure, Britain long ago sandwiched Stonehenge, which remains a shrine for mystics, between two highways. Today, traffic thunders by just a few feet ...

Was Orkney the ceremonial capital of ancient Britain? STEPHEN STEWART November 03 2003 ORKNEY may have been the largest prehistoric settlement or ceremonial site in Britain, new research reveals today. Archaeologists using the latest techniques to map under the soil discovered the world heritage site covering the Ness of Brodgar in Stenness, was a massive centre of activity in Stone Age times. Orkney's landscape has largely managed to avoid the rigours of industrialised farming and may yet yield its secrets about the recently-surveyed site, which in terms of scale, puts the likes of Stonehenge, Avebury and Skara Brae in the...

Amateurs find bronze age treasure trove Allan Hall TWO amateur treasure hunters who sold bronze age artefacts found on a mountainside to buy a stereo system have stumbled upon one of the greatest archaeological finds in history, writes Allan Hall in Berlin. Experts say they are certain the haul, which included a circular disc depicting the heavens with sun, moon and stars, is at least 3,600 years old. This shows Europeans had a rudimentary knowledge of the solar system and its influence on our lives far earlier than previously thought. Harald Meller, an archaeologist, said: "This ranks as one of ...

For more than 1,200 years, nothing had disturbed it. But in just a few hours, a stretch of Offa’s Dyke – one of the most important ancient monuments in Britain – was flattened. Police and Cadw, the heritage arm of the Welsh Government, are investigating allegations that a group of travellers destroyed part of Offa's Dyke. Above, the section that was dug away It is believed King Offa of Mercia built it between 757 and 796 to mark the division between Mercia and Wales and protect his land from invasion The 8th century monument, a linear earthwork which consists of...

Exact purpose of these ancient stone constructions is unknown. The main assumption is that they, perhaps, symbolized a border between the world we live in and the world of spirits. Labyrinths were used for rituals to help souls to cross over to the other world. Other hypothesis is that labyrinths, perhaps, served as fishing traps. However, the major flaw in this argument is that many labyrinths have been found inland throughout the world... After entering a labyrinth and circle several times around the center, you leave it through the same entrance. Just after several turns it becomes unclear how much...

A team of archaeologists believe they may have discovered a spot where some of the architects of Stonehenge gathered and camped. The team have been investigating a causewayed enclosure -- these are thought to be ancient meeting places or centres of trade -- on army land at Larkhill close to Stonehenge. They found an alignment of posts that matches the orientation of the circle at Stonehenge, leading to the theory that Larkhill could have been some sort of blueprint for the temple. Si Cleggett, of Wessex Archaeology, conceded it was possible to suggest that any evidence of prehistoric settlement could...

Explanation: Today the Sun reaches its northernmost point in planet Earth's sky. Called a solstice, the date traditionally marks a change of seasons -- from spring to summer in Earth's Northern Hemisphere and from fall to winter in Earth's Southern Hemisphere. The featured image was taken during the week of the 2008 summer solstice at Stonehenge in United Kingdom, and captures a picturesque sunrise involving fog, trees, clouds, stones placed about 4,500 years ago, and a 4.5 billion year old large glowing orb. Even given the precession of the Earth's rotational axis over the millennia, the Sun continues to rise...

Over the last 14 years we have personally visited and photographed all 529 archæological sites you will find in these pages (117 in the six national sections and 412 in our Tours section), creating the first Web guide to European megaliths and other prehistoric sites, online since February 1996

The Preseli stones from Stonehenge are approximately double the weight as the experimental block, but it is possible that one huge stone could have been brought by a group of just 20 people. The community living in the area during the Neolithic would have numbered several thousand so the absence of just a few dozen people was unlikely to cause any hardship. Doctoral student Barney Harris, who conducted the trial in Gordon Square, London, a stone's throw from UCL's Institute of Archaeology, said he was surprised that so few people had been required to move the block. "We were expecting...

Using NASA data and 3D modeling, Indiana University Bloomington professor Bernard Frischer and his research team have dispelled a long-held theory regarding the relationship between two famous monuments in ancient Rome. The Ara Pacis Augustae, or Altar of Augustan Peace, was built in 9 B.C.E. in ancient Rome's Campus Martius. The marble altar stood as a propagandistic celebration of the peace and prosperity ushered into the new empire by Rome's first emperor, Augustus. Near the Ara Pacis sat a 71-foot-high granite obelisk brought from Egypt by Augustus, which served as the gnomon, or pointer, of a meridian line. Following a...

Scientists Study Anasazi Calender Mar. 21, 2005 Ed Yeates reporting Don Smith, College of Eastern Utah, San Juan branch: "I think we're becoming more aware that those people were far more familiar with astronomy, science and possibly math than we give them credit for." In a secluded ravine near Blanding, scientists and researchers gather to watch mysterious images forming right before their eyes. Although the rite of Spring, at least on our calendar, slipped in here yesterday almost unnoticed, it's literally in your face in this strange little canyon. We arrived weeks before spring equinox because people studying this place...

No, this isn’t about the Star-Spangled Banner, neither the flag nor the anthem. It’s about dawn itself. The promise of a new beginning. Civilization began, thousands of years before recorded history, when men discovered how to cultivate crops. That meant communities and social organization. It also meant the beginnings of astronomy, studying the movement of the sun. Early evidence of this includes the “solar observatories” built by the Incas in South America, by the Anasazi in North America, and most famously, by Druids and others at Stonehenge in Britain. All these identified the solar equinoxes, especially in the spring. Coupled...