Free Republic

A mutli-isotope analysis of pigs remains found around henge complexes near Stonehenge has revealed the large extent and scale of movements of human communities in Britain during the Late Neolithic. The findings... provide insight into more than a century of debate surrounding the origins of people and animals in the Stonehenge landscape. Neolithic henge complexes, located in southern Britain, have long been studied for their role as ceremonial centers. Feasts that were unprecedented at the time were held at these locations. Experts have theorized that these events brought in many people beyond the surrounding area of the henge sites, but...

Geologists have long known that 42 of Stonehenge's smaller stones, known as 'bluestones', came from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. Now a new study published in Antiquity pinpoints the exact locations of two of these quarries and reveals when and how the stones were quarried... Professor Mike Parker Pearson (UCL Archaeology) and leader of the team, said: "What's really exciting about these discoveries is that they take us a step closer to unlocking Stonehenge's greatest mystery - why its stones came from so far away. Every other Neolithic monument in Europe was built of megaliths brought from no...

From simple rock arches to Stonehenge, tens of thousands of imposing stone structures dot Europe’s landscapes. The origins of these megaliths have long been controversial. A new study suggests that large rock constructions first appeared in France and spread across Europe in three waves. The earliest megaliths were built in what’s now northwestern France as early as around 6,800 years ago, says archaeologist Bettina Schulz Paulsson of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Knowledge of these stone constructions then spread by sea to societies along Europe’s Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, she contends in a study posted online the week of...

A 'House of the Dead' has been discovered in Wiltshire dating back 5,000 years by University of Reading archaeologists and students, and could contain the ancestors of those who lived around Stonehenge and Avebury. As part of the University's final Archaeology Field School in the Pewsey Vale, students and staff, with the support of volunteers from the area, have investigated the site of a Neolithic long barrow burial mound in a place known as Cat's Brain -- the first to be fully investigated in Wiltshire in half a century. The monument, which predates nearby Marden Henge by over 1,000 years,...

Archaeologists have recently begun revealing the features of an ancient prehistoric stone structure on the Mediterranean island of Menorca in the Balearic Islands, an archipelago near the eastern coast of Spain. Beginning in 2015, under the direction of archaeologists Montserrat Anglada, Irene Riudavets, and Cristina Bravo, an archaeological team began excavating a newly opened structure at the site, known as Sa Cudia Cremada, a site that is composed of distinctive Iron Age (part of Spain's prehistoric period) stone structures such as talayots -- truncated tower-shaped constructions. The builders were members of the mysterious Talayotic culture, a people who left no...

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...

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,...

Stonehenge builders used Pythagoras' theorem 2,000 years before Greek philosopher was born, say experts The builders of Britain’s ancient stone circles like Stonehenge were using Pythagoras' theorem 2,000 years before the Greek philosopher was born, experts have claimed. A new book, Megalith, has re-examined the ancient geometry of Neolithic monuments and concluded they were constructed by sophisticated astronomers who understood lengthy lunar, solar and eclipse cycles and built huge stone calendars using complex geometry One contributor, megalithic expert Robin Heath has even proposed that there exists a great Pythagorean triangle in the British landscape linking Stonehenge, the site from which...

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 ...

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...

Sadly, the truth is that the monument we see today was rebuilt as far back as 1901 when restoration process caused great outrage but was rarely referred to in official guidebooks. William Gowland oversaw the first major restoration of the monument which involved the straightening and concrete setting of sarsen stone number 56 which was in danger of falling. In straightening the stone he moved it about half a meter from its original position. During the 1920 restoration William Hawley, who had excavated nearby Old Sarum, excavated the base of six stones and the outer ditch. Richard Atkinson, Stuart Piggott...

Video: A man in Michigan decided he wanted to uncover some of the ancient secrets techniques used to lift heavy stone blocks. After a lot of trial and error, he finally came up with a system he could use to lift any size rock and move it practically anywhere.

A gene study has shown that incomers could have ousted Stone Age Britons During the building of Stonehenge, around 2500BC, gene records show Stone Age Britons were replaced by Bronze Age Beaker folk. The men and women who built Stonehenge left an indelible mark on the British landscape. However, researchers have discovered that their impact on other aspects of the nation may have been less impressive. In particular, their input into Britain’s gene pool appears to have fizzled out, having been terminated by light-skinned Bronze Age invaders who arrived just as Ancient Britons were midway through their great Stone Age...

A vast, mysterious complex dating back more than 5,600 years has been unearthed just 1.5 miles from Stonehenge, British archaeologists have announced. The finding in Wiltshire reinforces the theory that Stonehenge was a sacred monument and suggests the entire region was ritually active hundreds of years before the enigmatic stone circle was erected. Found during excavations ahead of the construction of a new Army Service family accommodation, the 650-foot-diameter complex is known as a "causewayed enclosure." It consists of more than 3,100 feet of segmented ditches arranged in two concentric circles. According to archaeologists at Wessex Archaeology, the remains date...

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...

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...

<p>A Bronze Age cremation burial has been discovered near Stonehenge after being accidentally dug up by a badger.</p>

Sarah Ewbank spent the last year researching the ancient monument and applying her architectural background to the site to determine what its purpose and form once might have been. She has concluded, based on the layout of the stones, that they were used as support structures for a massive wooden frame that featured a second story for the site as well as an enormous round roof. Ewbank argues that a roof at the monument would allow for it to have been used throughout the year which, she believes, makes more sense that it simply being a religious site used on...

Great Riddles in ArchaeologyWednesday Evenings, October 2011 through June 2012 From the knights of King Arthur’s roundtable to the deepest depths of Atlantis, some of the world’s greatest archaeological riddles have eluded us for centuries. Discover and explore these mind-boggling riddles in the next season of the Penn Museum’s popular monthly lecture series presented by current archaeologists and scholars. Mark your calendars for Great Riddles in Archaeology, offered the first Wednesday of every month, October 2011 through June 2012. General Admission is $5 per event in advance or $10 at the door. Subscriptions to all nine events are available for...