Builders Of Stonehenge May Have Been From Wales, More Than 100 Miles Away

A new study reveals that the architects and builders of Stonehenge may have been Welsh, from more than 100 miles away. The journal Scientific Reports reveals some human remains excavated at the site were from the Preseli Mountains in Wales. While many studies have focused on the construction of Stonehenge, this is one of the first to explore who the people were that built it.

The earliest bones excavated date to about 3000 B.C., and the rest span a range of 500 years, according to The Guardian. John Pouncett, a co-author of the study, says, "The range of dates raises the possibility that for centuries people could have been brought to Stonehenge for burial with the stones."

Because some of the monoliths used to build Stonehenge also come from the Preseli Mountains, it is possible that those buried there transported the stones, or were taken to Stonehenge from Wales for burial.

Pouncett adds, "The cremated remains ... and updated mapping of the biosphere suggest that people from the Preseli Mountains not only supplied the bluestones used to build the stone circle but moved with the stones and were buried there too."

The research shows the type of wood fuel used in cremation of some of the bones also was not local. In addition, the bones' cremation dates are "tantalizingly close" to the time when the stones were first erected, according to The Guardian.

Christophe Snoeck, a co-author of the study, says, "We are able to analyze [the bones] directly, and for the first time actually get information on the people buried at Stonehenge. Whether they actually constructed the monument or not is another story, but they are contemporary with the monument. The dates match, and that is a pretty good indicator that they are linked to the...