Posted on 05/29/2008 4:47:46 PM PDT by RDTF
WASHINGTON - England's enigmatic Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings — perhaps for ancient kings or chieftains, researchers reported Thursday.
Radiocarbon dating of cremated remains shows that burials took place as early as 3000 B.C., when the first ditches around the monument were being built, said University of Sheffield archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson. Those burials continued for at least 500 years, when the giant stones that mark the mysterious circle were being erected, he said.
Parker Pearson heads the Stonehenge Riverside Archaeological Project, which has been excavating sites around the world-famous monument for five years. He said the burial patterns support the idea that Stonehenge served as England's grandest Neolithic family cemetery.
"We're wondering if we're looking at the burial ground of an ancient royal dynasty," he told reporters.
He emphasized that Stonehenge was not exclusively a cemetery: The stone circle's orientation, which points to sunrises and sunsets on key seasonal dates, clearly shows it was a place of ceremony. And just last month, other researchers speculated that Stonehenge may have been an ancient place of healing as well.
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(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
ping
I recently saw a movie about St. Kilda called "The Edge of the World" and looked the place up. It is literally in the middle of nowhere. It has been inhabited for at least 2000 years but never had a population of more than 150. The government moved the people off the island in the 1920's because a series of crop failures made life almost impossible there.
Back then weren’t you considered royal if you didn’t have sh_t all over you?
It started out as an ancient frat prank.
Probably after a night of too much mead.
Stonehenge Mystery Solved
Posted on 05/29/2008 5:46:06 PM PDT by SouthDixie
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2023287/posts
Stonehenge Could Have Been Resting Place For Royalty
ScienceDaily | May 30, 2008 | ScienceDaily
Posted on 05/29/2008 6:43:44 PM PDT by nickcarraway
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2023312/posts
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Thanks RDTF, raybbr, and nickcarraway. |
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Bring out your dead.
nah, just bone charcoal, from the cremations the article mentioned...
;)
Speaking of which, where did you find that kit? I want one!
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