The true nature of the breathtaking stone circle monument at Stonehenge has been the subject of debate and speculation for decades, if not centuries. Over the years quite a few scholars have claimed to have “cracked the code” of this world-famous Neolithic period installation, and a team of researchers from the United Kingdom has now joined the ranks of these theorists, offering an origin story rooted in political rather than religious or scientific concerns.
In a paper just published in the journal Archaeology International, a team of researchers from University College London (UCL) and Aberystwyth University in Wales make the case that the construction of Stonehenge was a collaborative effort designed to cement an alliance between the early Neolithic farming communities who lived in different parts of Britain 5,000 years ago. People from Scotland, Wales and England all contributed stones to the monument from the late fourth through the mid-third millennium BC, highlighting Stonehenge’s importance as a Neolithic cultural and spiritual center.
The work of these researchers doesn’t negate the efforts of scholars who’ve studied the relationship between Stonehenge and the movements of the Sun and other astronomical objects. But it does link the construction and maintenance of the monument to the political needs of early farming communities that were struggling to survive on their own, and could benefit by forming cooperative relationships of mutual interest with their neighbors from different parts of Britain.
What led the team of researchers in this direction was the discovery that Stonehenge’s massive six-ton Altar Stone had been transported to the Salisbury plain in Wiltshire from the farthest reaches of Scotland, 435 miles (700 kilometers) away to the north. This was revealed earlier this year, showing that the large stones used to make Stonehenge had come from three distinct locations (northeast Scotland, southwest Wales, and a site in England several miles from the Stonehenge site).
This pattern suggests different groups were involved in the construction of the monument, making it a true collaborative effort.
“The fact that all of its stones originated from distant regions, making it unique among over 900 stone circles in Britain, suggests that the stone circle may have had a political as well as a religious purpose – as a monument of unification for the peoples of Britain, celebrating their eternal links with their ancestors and the cosmos,” stated study lead author Mike Parker Pearson, a professor of prehistoric British history from University College London, in a press release issued by his employer.
If Stonehenge had been built strictly by local people motivated by their own interests, there would have been no reason to import stones from Scotland and Wales to complete its construction, the researchers involved in the new study say. The most sensible conclusion, they assert, is that the altar stone from Scotland and the so-called “bluestones” that came from Wales were brought by the people who lived in those areas and added to the structure as a sign of their desire to participate in a larger cooperative alliance.
Stonehenge: The Ancient World’s Most Astonishing Multi-Purpose Structure
Built near the site of the ancient Neolithic settlement of Durrington Walls, Stonehenge is geometrically aligned to highlight the arrival of the winter and summer solstices. It is also the site of a huge ancient burial ground, and various celebratory feasts were known to have been held nearby.
Close-up of some of the standing stones that make up the Neolithic monument at Stonehenge, on the Salisbury plain in Wiltshire, England. (Chris Mitchell/CC BY-SA 4.0).
Because of these facts, many archaeologists and historians believe Stonehenge functioned as a religious temple, an astronomical observatory, a solar calendar, and a community gathering place, all at the same time. The new theory accepts these conclusions, but recasts the monument’s ultimate purpose in a more politicized context.
“We’ve known for a while that people came from many different parts of Britain with their pigs and cattle to feast at Durrington Walls, and nearly half the people buried at Stonehenge had lived somewhere other than Salisbury Plain,” Professor Parker Pearson observed. Seen through the lens of his team’s ideas, he says, “the similarities in architecture and material culture between the Stonehenge area and northern Scotland now make more sense. It’s helped to solve the puzzle of why these distant places had more in common than we might have once thought.”
As for Wales’ contributions, the 43 bluestones at the site came from the Preseli Hills in west Wales 140 miles (225 kilometers) distant. Meanwhile, its larger sarsen stones were hauled in from about 15 miles (24 kilometers) away, presumably by locals.
Notably, the altar stone at Stonehenge has been placed in a horizontal position, linking it to stone circles in Scotland that feature the same design choice. The researchers believe the altar stone was removed from a pre-existing circle in Scotland and brought to Stonehenge to be donated as a gift, helping to forge a stronger linkage between Neolithic farming communities in England and Scotland.
Interestingly, it seems the altar stone was brought to Stonehenge about five centuries after the bluestones were transported from Wales (in 2,500 BC in the former case and in 3,000 BC in the latter). These different dates represent the initial stage of the monument’s construction, and a second stage when it was remodeled for reasons known only to the remodelers.
The Altar Stone, seen here underneath two bigger Sarsen stones. (Professor Nick Pearce/Aberystwyth University)
What was done during the second stage is what remains in place at Stonehenge today, with the monument currently featuring an outer circle of large sarsen stones surrounding an inner horseshoe of trilithons (standing stones connected by horizontal lintels).
An Eternal Monument to Britain’s Incredible Neolithic Culture
Stonehenge’s two stages of construction each would have served a similar purpose, helping to create solid political alliances between peoples who shared a similar culture despite living relatively far apart. Around 2,500 BC Beaker culture people from places like Germany and Scandinavia began migrating into Britain, which perhaps encouraged native Neolithic Britons to launch the remodeling of Stonehenge to strengthen the people’s sense of a collective identity.
Ultimately, the migrants were destined to displace the native Britons, thanks to the advantages they enjoyed because of their knowledge of metalworking and the wheel. The modern residents of the British Isles are descended from these migrants, but they live surrounded by the awe-inspiring stone circles built by Britain’s original inhabitants, which keep the memory of those industrious and inventive ancient cultures alive. None of these is more prominent than Stonehenge, a monument that is even more popular and well-known now as it was 5,000 years ago.
Top image: The Neolithic standing stone circle at Stonehenge, on the Salisbury plain in Wiltshire, England. Source: Diego Delso/CC BY-SA 3.0
By Nathan Falde
