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The mysterious origins of Stonehenge may have finally been solved after 5,000 years.
A group of researchers examining the prehistoric megalithic structure's creation found that it may have been reconstructed in England around 2620 to 2480 BC in an effort to unify prehistoric Britons while newcomers were arriving in Europe, according to CNN, which cited a paper published in Archaeology International. The study also revealed how Neolithic people may have moved the 13,227-pound block more than 400 miles from its original location.
In August, the same researchers found new evidence that the monolith at the heart of Stonehenge was likely transported hundreds of miles from what is now northeastern Scotland to southern England nearly 5,000 years ago. One month later, the same experts later ruled out the possibility that the stone came from Orkney, located off Scotland's northeastern coast, which continued research into the structure's point of origin.
Stonehenge is reported to share similarities with stone circles in Scotland, aiding to the concept that it was likely connected to ancient societies in the two distant eras.
“These new insights have significantly expanded our understanding as to what the original purpose of Stonehenge might have been,” said lead study author Mike Parker Pearson, professor of British later prehistory at the University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, in an email obtained by CNN. “It shows that this site on Sailsbury Plain was important to the people not just living nearby, but across Britain, so much so that they brought massive monoliths across sometimes hundreds of miles to this one location.”