A New Discovery Suggests Stonehenge Had a Secret, Second Purpose All Along

[Judi Lynn]

What if the mysterious monument wasn’t just meant for astronomy?

By Darren Orf
Published: Jan 02, 2025 12:45 PM EST



Scott E Barbour//Getty Images

Stonehenge may have had a second purpose beyond its well-documented astronomical uses.

A new study claims that the monument may have been built in part to unify neighboring people groups in and near the area of its construction.

This idea comes primarily from the fact that many of the stones used in the construction of Stonehenge hail from various locales around the United Kingdom.


Monuments are built for many reasons—both good and bad. Sometimes, they mark a triumph. Others mark heroic defeats. A few mark horrific acts of violence. But nearly all monuments strive to do one thing: unite a people in some kind of solidarity (no matter how misguided that solidarity may be).

Now, a new study from experts at University College London (UCL) and Aberystwyth University suggests that Stonehenge might’ve served a similar unifying purpose beyond its well-documented astronomical uses. This breakthrough comes from the discovery reported earlier this year that the six-tonne Alter Stone—the recumbent central megalith at Stonehenge—actually originated from Scotland and not Wales, as previously believed.

With many of the other stones, including the “bluestones” and the “sarsen stones,” also hailing from non-local sources—all transported without the use of wheels (which had yet to arrive to the British islands around 2500 B.C.)—this discovery supports a growing theory that Stonehenge may have been a monument built (or at least remodeled ) to unify neolithic Britons. This research was published in the journal Archaeology International on December 20 (fittingly, one day before the Winter Solstice).

“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,” Mike Parker Pearson from UCL said in a press statement.

More:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a63252376/stonehenge-politcal-meaning/

[Alice Kramden]

1. Interesting

Judi Lynn, your posts are always fascinating and informative - many thanks

[niyad]

2. Thank you, as always, for a fascinating find.

Note to editors of pop.mechanics, the word is "Altar" stone, not "alter".

[eggplant]

3. To this day, defense contractors spread their work to as many states as possible...

...Maybe the builders of Stonehenge were just neolithic lobbyists for the big-rock-industrial complex.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. Thanks! I've been to Stonehenge, wish I knew this then!

[Iggo]

5. Secret?

[William Seger]

6. Yeah, I don't think that's quite the right word -- maybe "unappreciated"

I've always thought of monumental building as inherently political, regardless of the motive, because it would take a robust political structure just to organize and manage that much labor. I guess what the authors are suggesting is that this was perhaps the first version of a United Kingdom.

[duncang]

7. A lot of discoveries have been made there.

They have found carvings using specialized cameras to see daggers and axes carved into the stones that have never been noticed because they were so worn. They also think it may have been a medical pilgrimage site. With people selling small pieces of stone to bring back home. A lot of things and ideas could have happened over the decades.

[calimary]

8. Really nice photo. Love the rainbow!