• MAIN PAGE
  • LATEST NEWS
    • Lost Cities
    • Archaeology's Greatest Finds
    • Underwater Discoveries
    • Greatest Inventions
    • Studies
    • Blog
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • HISTORY
  • RELIGIONS
    • Africa
    • Anatolia
    • Arabian Peninsula
    • Balkan Region
    • China - East Asia
    • Europe
    • Eurasian Steppe
    • Levant
    • Mesopotamia
    • Oceania - SE Asia
    • Pre-Columbian Civilizations of America
    • Iranian Plateau - Central Asia
    • Indus Valley - South Asia
    • Japan
    • The Archaeologist Editor Group
    • Scientific Studies
    • Aegean Prehistory
    • Historical Period
    • Byzantine Middle Ages
    • Predynastic Period
    • Dynastic Period
    • Greco-Roman Egypt
  • Rome
  • PALEONTOLOGY
  • About us
Menu

The Archaeologist

  • MAIN PAGE
  • LATEST NEWS
  • DISCOVERIES
    • Lost Cities
    • Archaeology's Greatest Finds
    • Underwater Discoveries
    • Greatest Inventions
    • Studies
    • Blog
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • HISTORY
  • RELIGIONS
  • World Civilizations
    • Africa
    • Anatolia
    • Arabian Peninsula
    • Balkan Region
    • China - East Asia
    • Europe
    • Eurasian Steppe
    • Levant
    • Mesopotamia
    • Oceania - SE Asia
    • Pre-Columbian Civilizations of America
    • Iranian Plateau - Central Asia
    • Indus Valley - South Asia
    • Japan
    • The Archaeologist Editor Group
    • Scientific Studies
  • GREECE
    • Aegean Prehistory
    • Historical Period
    • Byzantine Middle Ages
  • Egypt
    • Predynastic Period
    • Dynastic Period
    • Greco-Roman Egypt
  • Rome
  • PALEONTOLOGY
  • About us

When An Expert Studied Stonehenge’s Skeletons, She Found Clues About The Monument’s Secret Purpose

January 4, 2024

A team of archaeologists discovered an artifact inside the mouth of a dead man buried under the ancient Monument of Stonehenge, which could change everything we know about the historic site. Jackie McKinley, a bone specialist with Wessex Archaeology, found clues about the monument's secret purpose by studying Stonehenge's skeletons.

The origins of Stonehenge remain shrouded in mystery, and it is still not known for certain who built it or why. Initially, experts believed that it was constructed by the Druids, but later scholars determined that construction began as far back as 3000 BC. Stonehenge consists of a series of sandstone slabs known as sarson Stones, and some of the smaller rocks scattered amongst them are called blue stones. The heaviest of these slabs, known as the heel stone, weighs more than 30 tons.

The stones were placed on sledges and rolled along Fel trees onto waiting rafts and from there floated up the river to their new home in Salisbury. The monument was intended to serve an astronomical purpose, perhaps predicting occurrences such as eclipses. Alternatively, it may have marked the point where two different territories intersected, serving as a gathering place, or it may have been a place where ailing people came to heal.

← Marcus Aurelius' Advice For Better DaysThe Origins of the Seven Day Week →
Featured
1000008257.jpg
Oct 23, 2025
Archaeologists Discover 'Perfectly Preserved' 70-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Egg in Argentina
Oct 23, 2025
Read More →
Oct 23, 2025
hq720.jpg
Oct 20, 2025
Louvre museum robbery: how the thieves broke in, what they stole and what happens next
Oct 20, 2025
Read More →
Oct 20, 2025
imgi_254_maxresdefault (1).jpg
Oct 18, 2025
“Who’s Afraid of the Ancient Greeks?” – A Defense of Greek Civilization from MMC Brussels
Oct 18, 2025
Read More →
Oct 18, 2025
The Clay Hives of Al-Kharfi: Bees, Survival, and Innovation in the Desert
Oct 12, 2025
The Clay Hives of Al-Kharfi: Bees, Survival, and Innovation in the Desert
Oct 12, 2025
Read More →
Oct 12, 2025
558461169_1330929682022932_5965818260055086871_nd.jpg
Oct 12, 2025
Ancient Wheels Without Wheels: Travois Tracks at White Sands Rewriting Transport History
Oct 12, 2025
Read More →
Oct 12, 2025
imgi_44_jacek-ukowski-and-katarzyna-herdzik-768x576 (1).jpg
Oct 10, 2025
Ancient Ritual Knife Unearthed on Poland’s Baltic Coast After a Storm?
Oct 10, 2025
Read More →
Oct 10, 2025
read more

Powered by The archaeologist