Stonehenge may have been built as unity symbol of ancient British populations, new study contends

A new study published in the journal Archaeology International asserts that Stonehenge was built as a symbol of unity between ancient British populations.

Earlier this year, researchers discovered that the altar stone at Stonehenge was not locally sourced but was instead taken to its current site all the way from what is now Scotland in about 2,500 B.C. And 43 other stones were brought to the current site of Stonehenge from what is now Wales.

The structure was erected about 5,000 years ago.

“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, lead author and a professor with University College London Institute of Archaeology, said in a press release.

Archaeology International is the official journal of the UCL Institute of Archaeology.

Stonehenge is known for the way the sun aligns with its layout during seasonal change events, including Saturday’s winter solstice. On the winter solstice, the sun dips below the middle of the altar stone as it sets in between two other large stones, one upright and one no longer upright.

The authors theorize that Stonehenge represented cooperation and unity between far-flung groups on the island because of the sheer amount of labor needed to move the stones. While the wheel was invented before Stonehenge’s various phases of construction, it had not yet reached Britain by the time the stone circle was built.

In addition, the authors noted that the Stonehenge altar stone, 6.6 tons in weight and horizontal, bears a closer resemblance to the style of stone circles found in what is now Scotland than it does to stone circles closer by.