A new study reveals that Stonehenge may not come from where it's actually found. Scientists believe that the monument came from Wales from the very beginning.
Led by University College of London, scientists from University of Manchester, Bournemouth University, University of Southampton, National Museum Wales and Dyfed Archaeological Trust confirmed where in Wales the stones came from; Carn Geodog and Craig Rhos-y-felin, BBC reports.
According to Professor Mike Pearson, this is a monumental step in understanding why the Stonehenge was built and why some of its stones were scattered so far. His team's research was published Monday in the journal Antiquity. For nine decades, the blue monument's blue stones were known to come from the Preseli Hills in Wales. With the recent research done, we now know where exactly in Wales they originally came from.
As reported in Newser, scientists believe that the "spotted dolerite" bluestones came from Carn Goedog. Meanwhile, the "rhyolite" was extracted from Craig Rhos-y-felin. Furthermore, the burnt hazelnuts and charcoal that are considered remnants of millennia-old campfires at the quarries add credibility to where the rocks really came from.
We have dates of around 3400 BC for Craig Rhos-y-felin and 3200 BC for Carn Goedog, which is intriguing because the bluestones didn't get put up at Stonehenge until around 2900 BC," says Parker Pearson as reported in Phys.org. "It could have taken those Neolithic stone-draggers nearly 500 years to get them to Stonehenge, but that's pretty improbable."
Now Pearson has a theory that the stones were erected as a local monument then later on, dismantled. The team suspects that the remains of the monument may be found between the two quarries. One scientist believes they can find something monumental next year. It could lead to the explanation why the stones were scattered so far apart. Another theory he shared with the Guardian is the Stonehenge being used as a meeting point where people gather from many parts of Britain.
