Giant tombstones may be Stonehenge

William Atkins
Saturday, 31 May 2008 01:53

Science - Biology

One (of the three) of the human remains was found in an area called Aubrey Holes, which circle the Stonehenge site.

This oldest of the three remains was found to date around 3030 B.C. to 2,880 B.C.

The other two remains, which were analyzed by the UK team, were found to have been buried between 2930 B.C. and 2870 B.C., for the second oldest one, and 2570 B.C. and 2340 B.C., for the third oldest one.

The third one is considered to have been buried around the time the sarsen stones (the large upright stones) were first erected at the site.

Sarsen stones are stone blocks commonly found on the Salisbury Plain, the Marlborough Downs, and in Kent. They are also found in Osfordshire, Berkshire, Dorset, and Hampshire, within the United Kingdom. 

A dense, hard rock that once covered much of southern England, sarsen stones are formed from sand bound by a silica cement.

The scientific findings of the Parker-Pearson team will be presented in a documentary “Stonehenge Decoded” on the National Geographic Channel on June 1, 2008, at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

Additional information about this new study by the Parker-Pearson team is found on the National Geographic website “Stonehenge Was Cemetery First and Foremost, Study Says.”