Stonehenge Becomes (a Little) Less Mysterious

Elizabeth Preston
Muse

Sep 30, 2008 20:00 EDT

Stonehenge, that famous giant rock circle in England, has been the subject of a lot of guesswork. Is it an enormous sundial? A religious site? Abstract art by aliens? Now, archaeologists say that Stonehenge was first used as a cemetery.

Scientists used radiocarbon dating to determine the age of cremated human remains buried at Stonehenge. They learned that the oldest remains were buried around 3000 bc, and the most recent were buried around 2500 bc - just when Stonehenge was being built.

Up to 240 people were buried at Stonehenge. Researchers think they might have all belonged to one elite family. As Dr. Parker Pearson says, "One has to assume that anyone buried there had some good credentials."

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Source: Muse