Stonehenge

13:01
Today
Telegraph

zn.ua

Photo from open sources

Science news: Under an ancient monument of the remains of people who lived in another part of the British Isles.

Scientists from the free University of Brussels analyzed the human remains that were buried under Stonehenge, and found that the remains belong to people who lived in West Wales.

The human remains were transported by their relatives to cremate and bury them near the monument.

What Stonehenge was used as a place for cremation, known to researchers for a long time. Bones at least 58 people were found in the Aubrey holes, which form the outer circle of the monument, in the years 1919-1926. The researchers re-buried the remains and then re-drew them in 2008 to conduct additional analysis.

The remains consisted of 25 fragments of the occipital bone, their radiocarbon analysis showed that they date from the 3180 BC, the monument itself dates back to 2500 BC .

Now, researchers have conducted isotopic analysis of the remains in order to identify the isotopes of strontium. Such isotopes are in the soil and absorbed by plants. When people eat such plants, isotopes replace small amounts of calcium in teeth and bones. They vary in different regions and can be used for determining the place of residence of the person.

As a result, scientists have determined that 15 of the 25 people lived close to Stonehenge. But the remaining 10 lived very far: they had to overcome 200 kilometers to reach this place. The researchers also found that the wood that was used for fire, also grew up in Wales, and the remains of the deceased were taken to the place of burial in cremated already.