New hypothesis about Stonehenge

Stonehenge may have been a stone pillar supporting a circular wooden platform above, where ancient people performed sacrifices.

Stonehenge. Photo: NBC News

British expert Julian Spalding calls this place "a holy place on the pillars" and believes that scientists have long made fundamental mistakes about the mysterious stone circle. According to him, for a long time we have only understood the purpose of Stonehenge from a modern perspective, looking around without looking up to the sky, as ancient people saw it.

"Structures such as the ancient temple with the T-shaped stone column Göbekli Tepe in Türkiye, the mysterious Nazca lines in Peru that are located on a much higher ground than the surrounding villages, or other ancient places of worship in China show that the builders of Stonehenge would never have performed sacred rituals on low ground. That would offend the supreme beings," the expert argued. In ancient times, the concept of the Earth as a flat surface was the reason why religious rituals were associated with circular movements.

Spalding believes that the massive stones once supported a large circular wooden platform. The ancients ascended the platform by large inclined planks or steps. The upper platform may have included an outer ring, around which pilgrims were allowed to move, and an inner ring reserved for shamans and rulers. The ritual involved worshippers facing the constellation worshiped during the ceremony.

Some evidence presented by archaeologists last year suggested that Stonehenge was originally a closed circle. About 900 meters from Stonehenge, experts discovered ancient wooden circles that are believed to be replicas of Stonehenge. Spalding said that the pillars could have been used to build floors, stairs or ramps leading to the platform he mentioned.

Although he admits that it is bold to suggest this without concrete evidence, Spalding emphasizes that his explanation does not contradict the archaeological evidence to date. However, the hypothesis has met with much skepticism from researchers.

"Many theories about the superstructure of Stonehenge have been put forward over the past decade. However, they all share two key concerns. First, there is no clear evidence that the stones supported any kind of wooden floor or roof. Second, exactly what the ancients did on top remains a mystery. The stones we see today clearly served as skywatchers at the winter and summer solstices and provided a space for rituals and ceremonies around the use of the bluestones," Timothy Darvill, professor of archaeology at Bournemouth University in the UK, expressed skepticism in an email to The Huffington Post.

Stonehenge is located north of Salisbury, England. According to scientists, it was built 4,000-5,000 years ago and became a World Heritage Site in 1986. The site has attracted the attention of scientists with many hypotheses surrounding its purpose and who built it.

Many believe that Stonehenge was built by priests to perform rituals during the winter and summer solstices. Another theory argues that the giant stone arches marked the points where the Sun and Moon rose on the horizon, thereby determining solar and lunar eclipses. According to some other opinions, giants or aliens are related to the ancient stone circle.

According to VnExpress