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A rare example of a ritual Bronze Age monument has been discovered on Oileán Acla in Co Mayo.The stone alignment had been hidden by ancient trees which were flattened by Storm Éowyn earlier this year.The discovery was made during an archaeological field trip with US students from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.It is part of their semester at the University of Galway and Kylemore Abbey."The site in question is a stunning Bronze Age stone alignment in Cloghmore townland, overlooking Achill Sound opposite the mountains of the Corraun Peninsula. The site consists of two upright standing stones with a...

Past theories held that a long-debated stone, known as the "Newall boulder," had been moved by glacial ice long before humans ever arrived to construct the iconic monument.However, new evidence strengthens the case that Neolithic people transported the site's mysterious bluestones, rather than the massive glaciers that covered parts of Earth during the last Ice Age.Originally discovered during excavations in 1924 by Lt-Col William Hawley, the famous stone was later removed by his assistant, R.S. Newall. The new findings, published in a study in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, relied on petrographic, geochemical, and imaging analyses to identify the...

Ever wondered why this Church (knowlton) was plonked into a Henge? Whilst you might think the answer is obvious, what was found 2 miles away could reveal all! Knowlton Church... Explained by a discovery 2 miles away! | 9:45 Paul Whitewick | 197K subscribers | 132,486 views | July 20, 2025

There are still many mysteries that surround Stonehenge, but one element that archaeologists generally agree upon is the origin of some of its monolithic stones. A study conducted in the 2010s indicated that the standing bluestones were quarried around 140 miles from the legendary monument, at two locations in Wales. According to a statement released by the British Geological Survey (BGS), new research has further strengthened the ties between Stonehenge and that region, and revealed how the megaliths were transported. During excavations at Stonehenge in 1924, archaeologists discovered a cow's jawbone near the south entrance, and dated it to the...

Archaeologists in western Poland have uncovered two massive prehistoric structures dubbed the "Poland pyramids," offering a remarkable glimpse into one of Europe's earliest agricultural societies.These megalithic tombs, estimated to be over 5,500 years old, were unearthed in the General Dezydery Chłapowski Landscape Park in the village of Wyskoć, located in the Wielkopolska region...Often referred to as "Polish pyramids" or "giants' graves," these megalithic tombs are large, elongated earth mounds built in a distinctive trapezoidal shape. Some measure up to 200 meters in length and rise to a height of four meters. The front of each mound is significantly wider and...

The southern coast of the French region of Brittany is home to one of Europe's highest concentrations of mysterious megalithic standing stones. More than 10,000 are strewn around a six-mile stretch in the Carnac region, from La Trinité-sur-Mer to Erdeven. Unlike other megalithic monuments, such as Stonehenge, these do not typically form a circle, but are linear or curvilinear in nature. In the past, it has been difficult for archaeologists to accurately ascertain their age. According to a statement released by the University of Gothenburg, new research suggests that that not only are they even older than expected, but they...

Welcome to this weeks mystery. I have long been fascinated with the notion of Crossroad graves as a marker to help us understand the landscape. And so when this particular one cropped up on a map it seemed really odd to me that all the usual signs were missing. What happened at Elkhams!? This is On EVERY Map. But It Doesn't Exist. | 13:34 Paul Whitewick | 178K subscribers | 2,420 views | June 15, 2025 00:00 - Intro 01:08 - Sawyer 02:32 - Oram 04:43 - Kitts 07:26 - Woots 09:54 - Elkham 12:37 - Jenna

Thousands of workers spent years clearing the hillside and carving the stone from the mountain. According to a legend, workers who failed to produce the daily quota of crushed rock of at least 33 sheng were executed on the spot. In memory of all those who died at the construction site, including those who died from overwork and disease, a nearby village became known as Fentou, or "Grave Mound".After huge expense and unimaginable labor, the three parts were chiseled almost entirely free from the mountain. Then the engineers realized their emperor’s folly -- there was no way they could move...

Welcome to the story of the Causewayed Enclosure [Windmill Hill, Avebury]. These are quite the monuments. But do we know what they were originally constructed for? Defensive, demarcation, meeting place... lets see if we can find out, as once again I find myself in a ditch. Britain's OLDEST Ancient Monument that Still Confuses us! | 13:17 Paul Whitewick | 177K subscribers | 10,178 views | June 1, 2025

Stonehenge is a big seller. Which is crazy, because there is sooo much more out there for us to see, explore and learn about. This is just one of many examples. Oh and it has the plus point of being the oldest that we know of! The Original Stonehenge - You've Not Heard Of | 8:21 Paul Whitewick | 172K subscribers | 27,971 views | March 30, 2025

...Flagstones was unearthed in the 1980s during the construction of the Dorchester bypass, where excavations revealed a circular ditch with a diameter of 100 meters, formed by intersecting pits and likely accompanied by an earthwork bank. Currently, half of the site is situated beneath the bypass, while the other half lies under Max Gate, the former residence of Thomas Hardy, which is now managed by the National Trust. Flagstones is recognized as a scheduled monument, with artifacts and excavation records housed at the Dorset Museum.Excavations uncovered at least four burials within the enclosure pits, including a cremated adult and three...

...To a number of scholars, there's more to Stonehenge's design than a symbolic reverence for the changing lengths of days. It's a timekeeper of some detail, a 'Neolithic computer' even...Last year, Bournemouth University archaeologist Tim Darvill published his claim that the monument operated as some kind of 'perpetual calendar', one based on a solar year equivalent to 365.25 days.Now, Polytechnic University of Milan mathematician Giulio Magli and astronomer Juan Antonio Belmonte from the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, Spain, have countered Darvill's claim, stating it is based on "a series of forced interpretations, numerology, and unsupported analogies with...

Well, this guy's a little cranky. :^) The HORRIFYING Truth About Stonehenge... | 12:54 Adam Morgan Ibbotson | 8.73K subscribers | 55,374 views | March 4, 2025

A new study by researchers from Tel Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University reveals that geodynamic shifts over millions of years reoriented the ancient Rujm el-Hiri site, challenging its long-held identification as an astronomical observatory. Using advanced geophysical methods and remote sensing, the team uncovered the site’s original alignment and provided new insights into its potential purpose and the surrounding archaeological landscape. Credit: Abraham Graicer, Wikimedia Commons. CC 4.0 A scientific discovery challenges the common perception of Rujm el-Hiri in the Golan Heights. A new study by Tel Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has unveiled groundbreaking insights into...

Why the mighty Stonehenge was built around 5,000 years ago has long been one of the great mysteries.But according to a new study, we may finally have an answer.Scientists say Wiltshire's famous stone circle was built as a symbol of unification between three distinct corners of Britain.We know that Stonehenge's rocky slabs were transported as far afield from southwest Wales and northeast Scotland.So the scientists, from University College London and Aberystwyth University, theorise that Scottish and Welsh people brought their own local stones down to Wiltshire as a well-meaning contribution to assembling the structure.In that sense, it represented a powerful...

An extremely rare example of megalithic rock art was recently identified in northern Israel's Yehudiya Nature Reserve inside a 4,200-year-old stone burial chamber. The unique discovery of a clearly composed, artistic rendering of a herd of animals is shifting the way archaeologists think about the little-understood peoples who created the thousands of massive stone burial chambers, or dolmens, that dot northern Israel's Golan and Galilee... "These megalithic structures were built more than 4,000 years ago. They are ancient burials and they were built by a group of people of whom the only thing we know is that they built their...

Nebra, Germany - Archaeologists offered a first glimpse on Wednesday of a lost culture's holy site atop a German peak, and confirmed it as the source of the world's oldest map of the heavens. The exact location has been kept secret for weeks, amid fears that treasure-seekers would move in and disturb Bronze Age remains. The site is atop the Mittelberg, a 252m hill in the Ziegelroda Forest, 180km south-west of Berlin. Adding a spooky touch is the discovery that, seen from the Mittelberg, the sun sets every June 22 behind the Brocken, the highest mountain in northern Germany. The...

The emergence of agriculture during the Neolithization brought about one of the most profound lifestyle changes in the history of modern humans. The shift in subsistence strategy from hunting, fishing and gathering to farming paved the way for a marked increase in population density and the establishment of larger and more permanent settlements. However, the flourishing economy of the Neolithic came to a sudden halt in many regions of Northern Europe around 5300–4900 calibrated years before present (cal. bp), in which a marked reduction in the number of human remains radiocarbon-dated to this period suggests a population decline. Coined the...

Despite the fact that it’s over 5,000 years old, Maeshowe, Orkney's answer to Stonehenge, is in amazing shape. But why did Neolithic Britons go to such great lengths to build it?This 5,000-Year-Old Tomb Is Spectacularly Preserved | 2:54Smithsonian Magazine | 35.3K subscribers | 29,963 views | October 15, 2024https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D026QAAuIwU

Nabta Playa in Egypt is an ancient stone circle that researchers suspect was used to determine the summer solstice, which signaled rain was on the way.Today, its main stones are in a museum in Aswan to protect them from vandalism. But originally, Nabta Playa consisted of dozens of upright stones, each a few feet high, in the desert about 60 miles (100 km) west of the Nile.In addition to a pile of stones above a central tomb, many of the stones seemed to have been deliberately placed in a circle to align with the rising of certain stars.The circle's six...