The mystery behind one of the world’s most mystical wonders may have been unraveled just as it prepares to host thousands of tourists for the year’s shortest day. Stonehenge researchers have found new evidence to argue the creation of the World Heritage Site was partly meant to unify the people living across Great Britain.
The prehistoric megalithic structure located about 85 miles southeast of London in Wiltshire, England, is believed to have been a unifying project between ancient civilizations. People from the Neolithic era may have reconstructed part of the stone circle between 2620 and 2480 BC to unite ancient Britons as new European settlers began to inhabit the British Isles.
According to CNN, citing a paper published in Archaeology International, the World Heritage Site features a variety of stones from different regions of Great Britain. Exact dates and timelines are unknown, but it is believed construction may have begun on the Salisbury Plain as far back as 3000 BC — spanning several phases.
The original formations were thought to have been built with sarsens and bluestone from the Preseli Hills in western Wales, before a second group of stones came from the closer West Woods, only 15 miles away.
The biggest clue for the new unification theory stems from new details about the Altar Stone — a massive bluestone placed inside the inner circle. Researchers at the University of London and Aberystwyth University believe the 13,227-pound stone was dragged nearly 500 miles from its original location in Scotland to its resting place in England.
“They would have taken significant coordination across Britain — people were literally pulling together — in a time before telephones and email to organize such an effort,” UCL’s Institute of Archaeology professor Mike Parker Pearson said.
The Altar Stone is comparable to other large stones found among stone circles in northeast Scotland. “If you look at the layouts of some of the houses at Durrington Walls near Stonehenge, there’s a similarity in architecture to those found far north,” Parker Pearson explained, adding weight to the argument for interconnectedness.
Stonehenge’s similarities to hundreds of other ancient stone circles across Britain could help historians depict more connected relationships between the civilizations of the island. “These new insights have significantly expanded our knowledge as to what the original purpose of Stonehenge might have been,” Parker Pearson stated. He added, “It shows this site on Salisbury Plain was important to the people not just living nearby, but across Britain, so much so they brought massive monoliths across sometimes hundreds of miles to this one location.”
Despite the true use of Stonehenge being uncertain, over half of the Neolithic people buried near the site did not originate from the area, signifying the formation’s importance to the people across the land. “The fact all of its stones originated from distant regions, making it unique among over 900 stone circles, suggests it may have had political as well as religious purposes — as monuments of unification for the peoples of Britain, celebrating their eternal links with their ancestors and the cosmos,” Parker Pearson explained.
While its purpose is yet to be fully understood, Stonehenge still attracts thousands of visitors each year on the winter solstice (December 21) for fascinated eyes and historians to watch the first rays of sunrise shine through the holes of the trilithons. People gather at Stonehenge to witness the sun rise on the winter solstice, as they have for generations.
New research suggests Stonehenge’s creation may have been linked to uniting the ancient farming communities as well. “Stonehenge stands out as being a material and monumental microcosm of the entirety of the British Isles,” Parker Pearson has stated. This insight, alongside the Altar Stone’s formidable history, strengthens the argument for Stonehenge serving as both political and religious monument.
The building of Stonehenge coincided with significant changes within society, as Neolithic farmers mingled with newcomers from mainland Europe. The layout of the stones, featuring alignments with the solstices, may have held dual significance for relations between the different groups.
Parker Pearson suggests the Altar Stone’s geographic origins and its subsequent transport to Stonehenge signify alliances among early farming communities: “This was the moment of contact, asserting unity, possibly integrating the newcomers.”
Despite efforts to unify communities through the monumental architecture of Stonehenge, the population eventually shifted, with incoming groups largely replacing the Neolithic inhabitants. Even so, Stonehenge stands as a reminder of this past collaboration, echoing its historical significance even as demographic changes unfolded.
Five millennia after its initial construction, the fascination with Stonehenge endures. Not only does it draw crowds during solstice celebrations, but it also invites speculation and discussion about its enigmatic origins. Researchers continue to derive new meanings from the ancient stones, and the debate surrounding their intended purpose is far from over.
