Stonehenge Mystery Continues
There's no doubt about it. Stonehenge has remained a mystery for many years. The first excavation in over four decades took place between May 31st and April 11th with the promise of opening doors to answers for this enigma and it has done just that.
Radiocarbon-dating has established that Stonehenge was used as a cemetery from around its inception about 3000BC. This isn't a new theory. Previous archaeologists believed it to be a burial site also. However, they determined people were buried there only between 2700 and 2600BC. Professor Mike Parker Pearson also adds another idea to the pot. Not only were people buried there from about 3000BC but only the civilization's finest were laid to rest at Stonehenge. It may have been a grave site for the ancient British royals and other elite society members. But this isn't the only new theory.
Professor Tim Darvell believes Stonehenge was a place of healing. The chronically ill and crippled as well as those capable of healing flocked to the Neolithic stone circle from across western Europe. A number of sick or injured people were found buried there which may or may not contradict Professor Parker Pearson's theory. Not only were they traveling to the sacred site to be healed, they were also taking pieces of bluestone home to sustain the mystical powers. Analysis of plant material shows it may have also been a religious site as far back as 7200BC. That's almost 4,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Do you think it was a domain of the dead or a healing center? Were only the elite buried there or a social variety? Do you think more answers will be discovered in the future?
Radiocarbon-dating has established that Stonehenge was used as a cemetery from around its inception about 3000BC. This isn't a new theory. Previous archaeologists believed it to be a burial site also. However, they determined people were buried there only between 2700 and 2600BC. Professor Mike Parker Pearson also adds another idea to the pot. Not only were people buried there from about 3000BC but only the civilization's finest were laid to rest at Stonehenge. It may have been a grave site for the ancient British royals and other elite society members. But this isn't the only new theory.
Professor Tim Darvell believes Stonehenge was a place of healing. The chronically ill and crippled as well as those capable of healing flocked to the Neolithic stone circle from across western Europe. A number of sick or injured people were found buried there which may or may not contradict Professor Parker Pearson's theory. Not only were they traveling to the sacred site to be healed, they were also taking pieces of bluestone home to sustain the mystical powers. Analysis of plant material shows it may have also been a religious site as far back as 7200BC. That's almost 4,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Do you think it was a domain of the dead or a healing center? Were only the elite buried there or a social variety? Do you think more answers will be discovered in the future?
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