Stonehenge mystery solved after 5,000 years as scientist ‘reveals reason for construction’

A top archaeologist and Stonehenge expert has explained why the ancient formation of was constructed.

Mike Parker Pearson, a professor of British later prehistory at University College London, argues that Stonehenge may have been built to unite early farming communities across Britain during a period of social strife.

Earlier this year, the astonishing discovery was made that the altar stone may have been transported more than 430 miles from Scotland to Salisbury Plain.

Professor Pearson believes that the altar stone may have acted as a gift or marker of political alliance during the potentially trying times in which Stonehenge was erected.

The professor writes in his new paper:  “Stonehenge stands out in being a material and monumental microcosm of the entirety of the British Isles.”

“It’s not a temple – that has been a major stumbling block for hundreds of years. It’s not a calendar, and it’s not an observatory.

“I think we’ve just not been looking at Stonehenge in the right way. You really have to look at all of it to work out what they’re doing. They’re constructing a monument that is expressing the permanence of particular aspects in their world.”

Passersby often overlook the altar stone, assuming it fell at some point in history. However, Professor Pearson offers an alternative explanation.

In north-east Scotland, there are circular stone structures in which the stones are laid flat. The professor believes this may be the case with altar stone.

“Given what we now know about where it’s from, it seems all the more likely that it was deliberately set as a recumbent stone,” he said.

He added that it is “highly likely” that the altar stone had been part of an earlier Scottish construction. He said: “These stones are not just plucked out of anywhere.”