Stonehenge Facts

Each Stonehenge theory carries with it a Stonehenge mystery. Since numerous theories are associated with Stonehenge, each theory has its own version of mystery. For instance, if you adopt the Atlantis Theory to explain the existence of Stonehenge, your are actually entering a more complicated field, for you are attempting to explain a mystery with another mystery. And the same is true if you go for UFO theories to clarify Stonehenge mystery.

Based on archaeological research, numerous skeletons were found throughout the site. There is no question about it. It is now widely recognized in the scientific community. However, the remaining question is about the exact identities of those skeletons. Three related Stonehenge theories could justify the existence of those skeletons. These are Healing Site Theory, Human Sacrifice Theory, and Ancient Cemetery Theory.

Naturally, each of these three theories could arrive with a different conclusion as to the correct identities of those skeletons. Were they of common men coming to the site seeking for healing? Or were they sacrificial victims offered as part of a religious ritual? Or were they of noble birth making the site a burial place for royal people? Whatever theory you accept as the reasonable explanation of Stonehenge mystery, in addition to the identities of, the excavated skeletons, you still have to answer other questions related to the transportation and construction of those giant stones, exact builders and their purpose, and date of construction. This is exactly our aim in this article.

The consensus is that the two types of stones used in Stonehenge came from different locations. Marlborough Downs 30 kilometers north was the recognized source for the sarsen stones. The bluestones were taken from the Preseli Mountains in Wales. What is considered Stonehenge mystery is the method used for the transportation and erection of these stones. Modern attempts were reenacted to move the stones to determine how ancient people transferred and built them despite their primitive technology. After failed earlier attempts, the final project succeeded, and the initiators were able to demonstrate that transporting and erecting those giant stones were possible using ancient technology like roller, sledge, raft, levers, and wooden frames. And add to this the possibility that those builders utilized beasts’ power.

Another Stonehenge mystery revolves around the issues of original builders and the purpose for construction. Several suggestions were already advanced. As to the list of builders, they include Druids, Egyptians, Romans, Atlanteans, Greeks, sun worshippers, prehistoric chiefs, and many more. As to Stonehenge function, space observatory, healing center, place for sacrifice, and burial site were among the most popular.

Even taking the Ancient Cemetery Theory has to deal with mysteries related to date of burial and the identities of those who were buried in the site. An excavation in the 1950s headed by Mike Parker Pearson refuted the traditional view that the site was used as a burial site between 2700 BC and 2600 BC. He claimed that their findings demonstrate an earlier period for a similar purpose. The site was used as a cemetery 500 years earlier from the point of Stonehenge construction. They arrived with a different date just after 300 BC prior to the appearance of sarsen stones at about 2500 BC. However, this does not invalidate later dates, but adds new evidence to it. So Pearson’s team came up with three dates where the site was used as a burial place: between 3030 BC and 2880 BC, between 2930 BC and 2870 BC, and between 2570 BC and 2340 BC.

The foregoing new dating evidence shows that few ancient elites must have been buried in the site for centuries. Pearson claims that the new dates for the burial sites are consistent with other available evidence during a similar period. Moreover, the three dates don’t prove Stonehenge was used continually as a cemetery, but allows other site functions.

The final Stonehenge mystery related to Ancient Cemetery Theory is the precise identities of the excavated skeletons. Consistent with the recent dates, it was claimed that the people buried in the site were a single elite family and its descendants. According to Pearson, the burial site was considered a special place in its time. So the skeletons of 150 to 240 men, women, and children excavated from the site were identified as members of ancient royalty. However, still other archaeologists would honestly claim that since the excavation team was dealing with ancient materials, they couldn’t be 100 percent accurate as to the exact identities of those skeletons.

Concluding this article, we hope that those who find time to dig deeper into other Stonehenge theories could somehow arrive with more believable data clarifying the mysteries surrounding this iconic monument. Fixing all the missing pieces of Stonehenge mystery remains a great challenge despite the fact that the site has been repeatedly excavated and the artifacts were carefully analyzed.

You could find more information about Stonehenge mystery here:

Stonehenge mystery in Yahoo Answers

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