Anthropology
Related: About this forumOriginal 'Stonehenge' discovered, echoing a legend of the wizard Merlin
By Tom Metcalfe - Live Science Contributor 13 hours ago
Excavations have shown that the ruined Neolithic monument at Wuan Mawn in southwest Wales was originally an entire circle of local stones with exactly the same diameter of the very first stone circle at Stonehenge.
(Image: © A. Stanford)
The earliest megalithic circle at Stonehenge was first built in the west of Wales more than 5,000 years ago, before its stones were dug up and dragged over 140 miles (225 kilometers) to its present site in the west of England, new research suggests.
The findings also support a wild legend that the mythical wizard Merlin ordered giants to move Stonehenge from Ireland and rebuild it in its current location.
The researchers discovered the remains of the original stone circle in the Preseli Hills in Wales, near the ancient quarries where geologists have determined that Stonehenge's famous bluestones were cut. The new study, published Thursday (Feb. 11) in the journal Antiquity, suggests that the bluestones that formed the first stage of Stonehenge may have symbolized the ancestors or lineages of the Neolithic people who lived near the quarries, which may have been why they took the stones with them when they left for a far-off region.
The research could explain the mysterious origins of Stonehenge and why its first builders made such efforts to transport the massive stones almost halfway across Britain. "I had a hunch," said Michael Parker Pearson, an archaeologist at University College London who led the team that made the discovery. "Why would anyone say, 'We're going to build a circle with stones from a quarry 140 miles away?'
More:
https://www.livescience.com/original-stonehenge-discovered-in-wales.html
Marthe48
(19,059 posts)I read the article at the link. Interesting. Thank you for posting
Judi Lynn
(162,406 posts)Clearly fogged in
(1,964 posts)He even explains the Ireland part.