The HORRIFYING Truth About Stonehenge... [12:54]

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:15 · It s funny to think how out-of-touch us modern humans are. We have meat we simply grab from
0:23 · clinical fridges in well stocked supermarkets. We have cutting edge medicines we unthinkingly
0:30 · guzzle or jab in our well-fed arms. We have mini computers in our pockets that allow us to read,
0:36 · listen, or watch anything, anywhere. Back in the day, the best meat we may have had were scraps of
0:45 · giblets off wild hunted game, the only medicine we could muster was a literal hole in the head,
0:52 · and without smartphones prehistoric people had to watch things like the
0:55 · BBC yikes! Nowadays, we live in blessed times. Yes, I don t think this modern bias we have held
1:05 · since at least the Victorian period is recognised in archaeology nearly often enough. Many places
1:24 · we often think of as magical, groundbreaking, or awe-inspiring, were - at least in part - built
1:31 · by people who we d happily turn our noses up at today. People we would consider so smelly,
1:36 · diseased, violent, and ignorant, that we d consider them well prehistoric in character.
1:43 · But they are ancestors of yours and mine, the people who built the world around us,
1:47 · sacrificing their bodies for the lap of luxury we live in today. As shall
1:55 · be explored in this video, many of them probably suffered greatly.
1:59 · As someone who s passions are in prehistoric monuments specifically those of Great Britain
2:05 · the romanticism around prehistoric sites has always been astonishing to me. Nowhere is this
2:10 · more true, than the greatest titan of them all Stonehenge. A site that s lauded as the cultural,
2:17 · spiritual, and esoteric bullseye of British archaeology. A place fronted by a big sleek,
2:24 · clean visitor s centre, and acclaimed for the genius and complexity of its builders. THE
2:30 · high water mark of Neolithic European culture But, what if I was to tell you that a lot of them
2:33 · suffered with an itchy arse while building it. Imagine how annoying that was that s right this
2:34 · video was inspired by the article I happened upon, which confirms that the builders of Stonehenge
2:34 · were riddled with parasites. Hardly the hippie free-for-all you imagine when you think about
2:34 · stone circles. And it s not just this. The world of Stonehenge was evidently as wrought
2:48 · with human problems, as genius and ingenuity. This video is not a lazy attempt to suggest
2:49 · prehistory was just awful. A Hollywood grey and brown filter for the period to present it
2:49 · as wholly horrible. But instead, a little break from the romanticism we ve come to
2:49 · expect ISSUE 1: Parasites
2:52 · Analysis of coprolites (that s fossilized shite to you and me) from Durrington Walls, a superhenge
3:00 · and one-time settlement believed to house the builders of Stonehenge,
3:03 · revealed the presence of fish tapeworm eggs. This suggests that these Neolithic people were at risk
3:10 · of infection from eating raw or undercooked freshwater fish. The presence of capillariid
3:16 · nematode eggs also indicates that they consumed the uncooked internal organs of animals, exposing
3:24 · them to these diseases. talk about a *raw* deal It is interesting how this banquet of raw fish
3:31 · and pig guts, must have been somewhat common in Neolithic Britain for it to show-up in the
3:37 · archaeological record. Would we, for instance, expect future archaeologists to uncover just
3:42 · how devious the French cuisine is with its snail jizz soup and tortured goose on toast? Probably
3:46 · not yet here we are finding evidence of 4500 year old meals.
4:52 · ISSUE 2: Violence, and hard labour Archaeological evidence paints a picture
4:58 · of Neolithic life punctuated by violence and hard labour. Skeletal remains offer stark
5:05 · testimony of this. At Crickly Hill, skulls buried within the defensive earthworks of a
5:11 · Neolithic village (occupied from around 3700 to 3000 BC), revealed brutal injuries that point to
5:19 · inter-community conflict. The settlement seems to have been burned and destroyed during a battle,
5:26 · making it the first known battlefield in the country, in which over 400 flint arrows were shot.
5:34 · The mass slaughter at other defensive settlements like Runnymede Bridge further underscores the
5:40 · reality of violence in these communities. A point that pretty much decimates the weirdly
5:46 · common theories of a utopian peaceful Neolithic. Near Stonehenge, arrowheads lodged in vertebrae
5:53 · and neck injuries on human remains hint at ritualistic sacrifices. Earlier long barrows,
6:00 · from the Early Neolithic (c. 3800 3200 BC) have also yielded skeletons showing signs of death
6:04 · by arrow and club. Even weirder, the unusual positioning of bodies and associated artifacts
6:10 · at various European sites indicates that live burial may have been a common practice,
6:16 · Christ! I actually have a good video on this, if you re curious. Better watch that
6:21 · than have me explain it all over again Beyond warfare and sacrifice, the sheer
6:28 · physical demands of Neolithic religious life could be brutal. The construction of
6:35 · megalithic monuments, such as Avebury, required immense labour. Estimates suggest that building
6:43 · large henges in southern England consumed approximately 500,000 worker hours. This
6:48 · level of exertion likely resulted in injuries, exhaustion, and chronic pain for the builders.
7:21 · ISSUE 3: Inbreeding Analysis of ancient skeletons, particularly those
7:28 · from Neolithic sites like Newgrange in Ireland, reveals evidence of inbreeding among elites,
7:35 · likely practiced to maintain a perceived divine lineage. The 5,000-year-old skeleton designated n
7:43 · G 10 from Newgrange, discovered in the tomb's most elaborate recess, is believed to be the offspring
7:49 · of a parent-child or sibling relationship. This individual belonged to a distinct genetic cluster
7:59 · of related elites found in other, older passage tomb complexes like Carrowmore and Carrowkeel,
8:06 · separate from the common population, suggesting a hierarchical society where a divinely recognized
8:13 · caste, powerful enough to command the construction of monumental structures, practiced inbreeding.
8:21 · This practice, while shocking to modern sensibilities, may have served to preserve
8:26 · specific physical traits, like dark skin or eye colours, associated with the elite class.
8:33 · Notably, the "god-king" from Newgrange showed no signs of labour-related arthritis,
8:40 · unlike other men of his time, further supporting his elite status. Inbreeding is often observed
8:43 · among semi-divine figures whose lineage was deemed essential to maintain, even if
8:43 · it required violating incest taboos, echoing myths of "god-kings" and their involvement in
8:44 · rituals related to celestial events. However, this practice carries significant risks, dramatically
8:50 · increasing the likelihood of offspring inheriting recessive genes for genetic disorders, leading to
9:01 · a range of potential health problems and reduced overall fitness, as exemplified by the severely
9:02 · disabled King Tut. In essence, they were probably both ill, and ugly as sin. As well as having
9:10 · an itchy arse. ISSUE 4: Trepanning
9:15 · Trepanation, the ancient practice of surgically removing a piece of skull bone, leaving a hole,
9:21 · was surprisingly widespread in prehistory. The idea trepanation served as emergency surgery to
9:29 · relieve pressure on the brain from head trauma, or, simply put having your head smacked in with
9:33 · a club - is a strong possibility. However, some researchers also suggest trepanation
10:32 · may have been used to treat mental ailments like epilepsy, migraines, and psychological disorders,
10:42 · possibly linked to beliefs about spirits or demons. Ritualistic or symbolic purposes,
10:48 · such as creating amulets from the removed bone, are also considered. I mean, personally, I would
10:58 · like to wear a piece of Enrique Iglesias s skull. Is that weird? Sorry, that s weird isn t it.
10:59 · Despite the pain and risk of infection, evidence of bone regrowth around the
11:04 · opening indicates many people survived. This practice was common across the globe,
11:10 · with an estimated 5 to 10% of Neolithic skulls showing signs of trepanation.
11:19 · Outro So, what have we learned
11:25 · from this horrible little video? Well, firstly, if time machines are invented, stick to visiting your
11:31 · grandparents in the 1950s. There s hopefully less worms involved, depending on your background
11:38 · But mainly, I think it s high-time we stopped over romanticising the past. Archaeology and
11:44 · history are magical. Our ancestors are amazing. But it s through their hardships that we come to
11:51 · appreciate the world they created for us. I m personally sick of seeing the arguments
11:56 · against say the use of terms like Dark Age and other movements in archaeology to
12:01 · paint the past by its possy vibes. Not to mention some prehistorians who would like
12:06 · to paint the Neolithic in Europe as utopian or Marxist. The past was full of horrible things let
12:09 · s celebrate it for what it really was. A complex and messy world we share with our ancestors.

It’s funny to think how out-of-touch us modern humans are. We have meat that we simply grab from clinical fridges in well-stocked supermarkets. We have cutting-edge medicines that we unthinkingly guzzle or inject in our well-fed arms. We have mini computers in our pockets that allow us to read, listen to, or watch anything, anywhere. Back in the day, the best meat we may have had were scraps of giblets off wild hunted game, the only medicine we could muster was a literal hole in the head, and without smartphones, prehistoric people had to watch things like the BBC. Nowadays, we live in blessed times. Yes, I don’t think this modern bias we’ve held since at least the Victorian period is recognized in archaeology nearly often enough. Many places we often think of as magical, groundbreaking, or awe-inspiring, were at least in part built by people who we’d happily turn our noses up at today. People we would consider so smelly, diseased, violent, and ignorant that we’d consider them well prehistoric in character. But they are ancestors of yours and mine, the people who built the world around us, sacrificing their bodies for the lap of luxury we live in today. As shall be explored in this video, many of them probably suffered greatly.

As someone whose passions are in prehistoric monuments, specifically those of Great Britain, the romanticism around prehistoric sites has always been astonishing to me. Nowhere is this more true than with the greatest titan of them all: Stonehenge. A site that’s lauded as the cultural, spiritual, and esoteric bullseye of British archaeology. A place fronted by a big, sleek, clean visitor’s center and acclaimed for the genius and complexity of its builders—THE high-water mark of Neolithic European culture. But, what if I was to tell you that a lot of them suffered with an itchy arse while building it? Imagine how annoying that was. That’s right, this video was inspired by the article I happened upon, which confirms that the builders of Stonehenge were riddled with parasites. Hardly the hippie free-for-all you imagine when you think about stone circles. And it’s not just this. The world of Stonehenge was evidently as wrought with human problems as it was with genius and ingenuity. This video is not a lazy attempt to suggest prehistory was just awful, a Hollywood grey and brown filter for the period to present it as wholly horrible. But instead, it’s a little break from the romanticism we’ve come to expect.

ISSUE 1: Parasites
Analysis of coprolites (fossilized excrement) from Durrington Walls, a superhenge and one-time settlement believed to house the builders of Stonehenge, revealed the presence of fish tapeworm eggs. This suggests that these Neolithic people were at risk of infection from eating raw or undercooked freshwater fish. The presence of capillariid nematode eggs also indicates that they consumed the uncooked internal organs of animals, exposing them to these diseases. Talk about a raw deal! It is interesting how this banquet of raw fish and pig guts must have been somewhat common in Neolithic Britain for it to show up in the archaeological record. Would we, for instance, expect future archaeologists to uncover just how devious French cuisine is with its snail jizz soup and tortured goose on toast? Probably not, yet here we are finding evidence of 4,500-year-old meals.

ISSUE 2: Violence and Hard Labour
Archaeological evidence paints a picture of Neolithic life punctuated by violence and hard labour. Skeletal remains offer stark testimony of this. At Crickly Hill, skulls buried within the defensive earthworks of a Neolithic village (occupied from around 3700 to 3000 BC) revealed brutal injuries that point to inter-community conflict. The settlement seems to have been burned and destroyed during a battle, making it the first known battlefield in the country, in which over 400 flint arrows were shot. The mass slaughter at other defensive settlements like Runnymede Bridge further underscores the reality of violence in these communities. This point decimates the weirdly common theories of a utopian, peaceful Neolithic. Near Stonehenge, arrowheads lodged in vertebrae and neck injuries on human remains hint at ritualistic sacrifices. Earlier long barrows from the Early Neolithic (c. 3800–3200 BC) have also yielded skeletons showing signs of death by arrow and club. Even weirder, the unusual positioning of bodies and associated artifacts at various European sites indicates that live burial may have been a common practice. Christ! I actually have a good video on this if you’re curious—better watch that than have me explain it all over again. Beyond warfare and sacrifice, the sheer physical demands of Neolithic religious life could be brutal. The construction of megalithic monuments, such as Avebury, required immense labour. Estimates suggest that building large henges in southern England consumed approximately 500,000 worker hours. This level of exertion likely resulted in injuries, exhaustion, and chronic pain for the builders.

ISSUE 3: Inbreeding
Analysis of ancient skeletons, particularly those from Neolithic sites like Newgrange in Ireland, reveals evidence of inbreeding among elites, likely practiced to maintain a perceived divine lineage. The 5,000-year-old skeleton designated N10 from Newgrange, discovered in the tomb’s most elaborate recess, is believed to be the offspring of a parent-child or sibling relationship. This individual belonged to a distinct genetic cluster of related elites found in other, older passage tomb complexes like Carrowmore and Carrowkeel, separate from the common population, suggesting a hierarchical society where a divinely recognized caste, powerful enough to command the construction of monumental structures, practiced inbreeding. This practice, while shocking to modern sensibilities, may have served to preserve specific physical traits, like dark skin or eye colors, associated with the elite class. Notably, the “god-king” from Newgrange showed no signs of labour-related arthritis, unlike other men of his time, further supporting his elite status. Inbreeding is often observed among semi-divine figures whose lineage was deemed essential to maintain, even if it required violating incest taboos, echoing myths of “god-kings” and their involvement in rituals related to celestial events. However, this practice carries significant risks, dramatically increasing the likelihood of offspring inheriting recessive genes for genetic disorders, leading to a range of potential health problems and reduced overall fitness, as exemplified by the severely disabled King Tut. In essence, they were probably both ill and ugly as sin. As well as having an itchy arse.

ISSUE 4: Trepanning
Trepanation, the ancient practice of surgically removing a piece of skull bone, leaving a hole, was surprisingly widespread in prehistory. The idea that trepanation served as emergency surgery to relieve pressure on the brain from head trauma (or, simply put, having your head smacked in with a club) is a strong possibility. However, some researchers also suggest trepanation may have been used to treat mental ailments like epilepsy, migraines, and psychological disorders, possibly linked to beliefs about spirits or demons. Ritualistic or symbolic purposes, such as creating amulets from the removed bone, are also considered. Despite the pain and risk of infection, evidence of bone regrowth around the opening indicates many people survived. This practice was common across the globe, with an estimated 5 to 10% of Neolithic skulls showing signs of trepanation.

Outro
So, what have we learned from this horrible little video? Well, firstly, if time machines are invented, stick to visiting your grandparents in the 1950s. There’s hopefully less worms involved, depending on your background. But mainly, I think it’s high time we stopped over-romanticizing the past. Archaeology and history are magical. Our ancestors are amazing. But it’s through their hardships that we come to appreciate the world they created for us. I’m personally sick of seeing the arguments against, say, the use of terms like Dark Age and other movements in archaeology to paint the past by its positive vibes. Not to mention some prehistorians who would like to paint the Neolithic in Europe as utopian or Marxist. The past was full of horrible things, so let’s celebrate it for what it really was: a complex and messy world we share with our ancestors.

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--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:15	·	It s funny to think how out-of-touch us modern humans are. We have meat we simply grab from
0:23	·	clinical fridges in well stocked supermarkets. We have cutting edge medicines we unthinkingly
0:30	·	guzzle or jab in our well-fed arms. We have mini computers in our pockets that allow us to read,
0:36	·	listen, or watch anything, anywhere. Back in the day, the best meat we may have had were scraps of
0:45	·	giblets off wild hunted game, the only medicine we could muster was a literal hole in the head,
0:52	·	and without smartphones prehistoric people had to watch things like the
0:55	·	BBC yikes! Nowadays, we live in blessed times. Yes, I don t think this modern bias we have held
1:05	·	since at least the Victorian period is recognised in archaeology nearly often enough. Many places
1:24	·	we often think of as magical, groundbreaking, or awe-inspiring, were - at least in part - built
1:31	·	by people who we d happily turn our noses up at today. People we would consider so smelly,
1:36	·	diseased, violent, and ignorant, that we d consider them well prehistoric in character.
1:43	·	But they are ancestors of yours and mine, the people who built the world around us,
1:47	·	sacrificing their bodies for the lap of luxury we live in today. As shall
1:55	·	be explored in this video, many of them probably suffered greatly.
1:59	·	As someone who s passions are in prehistoric monuments specifically those of Great Britain
2:05	·	the romanticism around prehistoric sites has always been astonishing to me. Nowhere is this
2:10	·	more true, than the greatest titan of them all Stonehenge. A site that s lauded as the cultural,
2:17	·	spiritual, and esoteric bullseye of British archaeology. A place fronted by a big sleek,
2:24	·	clean visitor s centre, and acclaimed for the genius and complexity of its builders. THE
2:30	·	high water mark of Neolithic European culture But, what if I was to tell you that a lot of them
2:33	·	suffered with an itchy arse while building it. Imagine how annoying that was that s right this
2:34	·	video was inspired by the article I happened upon, which confirms that the builders of Stonehenge
2:34	·	were riddled with parasites. Hardly the hippie free-for-all you imagine when you think about
2:34	·	stone circles. And it s not just this. The world of Stonehenge was evidently as wrought
2:48	·	with human problems, as genius and ingenuity. This video is not a lazy attempt to suggest
2:49	·	prehistory was just awful. A Hollywood grey and brown filter for the period to present it
2:49	·	as wholly horrible. But instead, a little break from the romanticism we ve come to
2:49	·	expect ISSUE 1: Parasites
2:52	·	Analysis of coprolites (that s fossilized shite to you and me) from Durrington Walls, a superhenge
3:00	·	and one-time settlement believed to house the builders of Stonehenge,
3:03	·	revealed the presence of fish tapeworm eggs. This suggests that these Neolithic people were at risk
3:10	·	of infection from eating raw or undercooked freshwater fish. The presence of capillariid
3:16	·	nematode eggs also indicates that they consumed the uncooked internal organs of animals, exposing
3:24	·	them to these diseases. talk about a raw deal It is interesting how this banquet of raw fish
3:31	·	and pig guts, must have been somewhat common in Neolithic Britain for it to show-up in the
3:37	·	archaeological record. Would we, for instance, expect future archaeologists to uncover just
3:42	·	how devious the French cuisine is with its snail jizz soup and tortured goose on toast? Probably
3:46	·	not yet here we are finding evidence of 4500 year old meals.
4:52	·	ISSUE 2: Violence, and hard labour Archaeological evidence paints a picture
4:58	·	of Neolithic life punctuated by violence and hard labour. Skeletal remains offer stark
5:05	·	testimony of this. At Crickly Hill, skulls buried within the defensive earthworks of a
5:11	·	Neolithic village (occupied from around 3700 to 3000 BC), revealed brutal injuries that point to
5:19	·	inter-community conflict. The settlement seems to have been burned and destroyed during a battle,
5:26	·	making it the first known battlefield in the country, in which over 400 flint arrows were shot.
5:34	·	The mass slaughter at other defensive settlements like Runnymede Bridge further underscores the
5:40	·	reality of violence in these communities. A point that pretty much decimates the weirdly
5:46	·	common theories of a utopian peaceful Neolithic. Near Stonehenge, arrowheads lodged in vertebrae
5:53	·	and neck injuries on human remains hint at ritualistic sacrifices. Earlier long barrows,
6:00	·	from the Early Neolithic (c. 3800 3200 BC) have also yielded skeletons showing signs of death
6:04	·	by arrow and club. Even weirder, the unusual positioning of bodies and associated artifacts
6:10	·	at various European sites indicates that live burial may have been a common practice,
6:16	·	Christ! I actually have a good video on this, if you re curious. Better watch that
6:21	·	than have me explain it all over again Beyond warfare and sacrifice, the sheer
6:28	·	physical demands of Neolithic religious life could be brutal. The construction of
6:35	·	megalithic monuments, such as Avebury, required immense labour. Estimates suggest that building
6:43	·	large henges in southern England consumed approximately 500,000 worker hours. This
6:48	·	level of exertion likely resulted in injuries, exhaustion, and chronic pain for the builders.
7:21	·	ISSUE 3: Inbreeding Analysis of ancient skeletons, particularly those
7:28	·	from Neolithic sites like Newgrange in Ireland, reveals evidence of inbreeding among elites,
7:35	·	likely practiced to maintain a perceived divine lineage. The 5,000-year-old skeleton designated n
7:43	·	G 10 from Newgrange, discovered in the tomb's most elaborate recess, is believed to be the offspring
7:49	·	of a parent-child or sibling relationship. This individual belonged to a distinct genetic cluster
7:59	·	of related elites found in other, older passage tomb complexes like Carrowmore and Carrowkeel,
8:06	·	separate from the common population, suggesting a hierarchical society where a divinely recognized
8:13	·	caste, powerful enough to command the construction of monumental structures, practiced inbreeding.
8:21	·	This practice, while shocking to modern sensibilities, may have served to preserve
8:26	·	specific physical traits, like dark skin or eye colours, associated with the elite class.
8:33	·	Notably, the "god-king" from Newgrange showed no signs of labour-related arthritis,
8:40	·	unlike other men of his time, further supporting his elite status. Inbreeding is often observed
8:43	·	among semi-divine figures whose lineage was deemed essential to maintain, even if
8:43	·	it required violating incest taboos, echoing myths of "god-kings" and their involvement in
8:44	·	rituals related to celestial events. However, this practice carries significant risks, dramatically
8:50	·	increasing the likelihood of offspring inheriting recessive genes for genetic disorders, leading to
9:01	·	a range of potential health problems and reduced overall fitness, as exemplified by the severely
9:02	·	disabled King Tut. In essence, they were probably both ill, and ugly as sin. As well as having
9:10	·	an itchy arse. ISSUE 4: Trepanning
9:15	·	Trepanation, the ancient practice of surgically removing a piece of skull bone, leaving a hole,
9:21	·	was surprisingly widespread in prehistory. The idea trepanation served as emergency surgery to
9:29	·	relieve pressure on the brain from head trauma, or, simply put having your head smacked in with
9:33	·	a club - is a strong possibility. However, some researchers also suggest trepanation
10:32	·	may have been used to treat mental ailments like epilepsy, migraines, and psychological disorders,
10:42	·	possibly linked to beliefs about spirits or demons. Ritualistic or symbolic purposes,
10:48	·	such as creating amulets from the removed bone, are also considered. I mean, personally, I would
10:58	·	like to wear a piece of Enrique Iglesias s skull. Is that weird? Sorry, that s weird isn t it.
10:59	·	Despite the pain and risk of infection, evidence of bone regrowth around the
11:04	·	opening indicates many people survived. This practice was common across the globe,
11:10	·	with an estimated 5 to 10% of Neolithic skulls showing signs of trepanation.
11:19	·	Outro So, what have we learned
11:25	·	from this horrible little video? Well, firstly, if time machines are invented, stick to visiting your
11:31	·	grandparents in the 1950s. There s hopefully less worms involved, depending on your background
11:38	·	But mainly, I think it s high-time we stopped over romanticising the past. Archaeology and
11:44	·	history are magical. Our ancestors are amazing. But it s through their hardships that we come to
11:51	·	appreciate the world they created for us. I m personally sick of seeing the arguments
11:56	·	against say the use of terms like Dark Age and other movements in archaeology to
12:01	·	paint the past by its possy vibes. Not to mention some prehistorians who would like
12:06	·	to paint the Neolithic in Europe as utopian or Marxist. The past was full of horrible things let
12:09	·	s celebrate it for what it really was. A complex and messy world we share with our ancestors.