Stonehenge age-old mystery solved as prehistoric sailors 'responsible' for structure
Researchers have suggested that ancient sailors travelled to Britain and inspired the ancient megalith that still stands on Salisbury Plain.
Stonehenge: Archaeologists discover 'prehistoric village'
The origin story of Stonehenge remains one of the biggest mysteries in British history.
Scientists have concluded through rigorous testing that much of the structure's bluestone came from the Preseli Hills in South Wales.
Yet more recent analysis has suggested that not all of the stones came from Wales but perhaps northern England and even Scotland, too.
More perplexing still is just how ancient people managed to transport the stones to their current site.
And, perhaps topping the bill is the question surrounding the identity of these ancient people, though if one scientific paper is anything to go by, their roots are found in the people who mastered the prehistoric seas.
A group of international researchers working at various institutes around the world previously proposed that Stonehenge was the work of prehistoric sailors.
They theorise that along with other stone structures around Europe, of which there are thousands, Stonehenge was inspired by these sailors who travelled across the channel from the continent.
Using analyses of 2,410 radiocarbon dates and "highly precise chronologies for megalithic sites and related contexts" across Europe, the team believe megalithic building knowledge was passed down and across into England.
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Writing in 2019, the researchers said: "We argue for the transfer of the megalithic concept over sea routes emanating from northwest France, and for advanced maritime technology and seafaring in the megalithic Age."
The stone megalith structure's roots are long believed to have been in northern Europe, more specifically Brittany in France.
But Professor Bettina Schulz Paulsson from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, one of the study's authors, thinks the structures originated elsewhere, in Portugal to be precise.
Because the structures have ordinarily been found near the coast in Europe, she believes that sailors were likely responsible for them.
The prehistoric archaeologist even turned attention towards the fact that some of the structures have engraved markings of sea animals, like sperm whales, etched into their surfaces in northwestern France.
Other archaeologists, like Gail Higginbottom, from the University of Adelaide in Australia, have backed Prof Schulz's theory, describing it as "quite plausible".
Prof Schulz and the team's work was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
