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05-16-2018

New theory suggests Stonehenge was created by glaciers

A new study may have solved one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Stonehenge, arguably one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments.

Stonehenge was built around 5,000 years and the construction process was such an undertaking that the monument was erected in stages spanning centuries.

Researchers are still not sure what purpose Stonehenge served or why it was built in the first place, which only adds to its enigma.

One of the biggest mysteries behind Stonehenge is how the massive bluestone rocks, believed to be from a quarry in Wales, were transported 140 miles west to the South of England where Stonehenge was built.

Brian John, a Welsh scientist, has come up with a new theory suggesting that a glacier moved the stones from Wales 5000,000 years.

John’s new book, The Stonehenge Bluestones, describes his glacier theory and how the stones were already in the area when the Neolithic Britons first decided to erect the stone circles.

This theory essentially demystifies Stonehenge, which is something that John says has hindered practical scientific research.

“Over the past 50 years there has been a drift, in Stonehenge studies, from science toward mythology,” John told the Daily Mail. “This has been driven partly by constant media demands for new and spectacular stories about the monument.”

Previously, it had been thought that the stones were either carried or dragged from Wales, but researchers have been unable to come up with a logical explanation for how Stone Age people moved the stones this way.

Instead, John’s theory puts the stones in the area at the time the monument was first built, meaning that there might not have been any special significance attached to the stones, only that they were available to use.

It’s well known that glaciers can drastically change the landscape, carving out different formations and picking up rocks and debris, which are then deposited miles away from where they were first snagged up by the glacier.

By Kay Vandette, Earth.com Staff Writer

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