Unveiling the secrets of Stonehenge

Until now, many mysteries about the ancient stone site Stonehenge in England have not been solved.

The 25 skeletons suggest that up to 10 of them did not live near the site. Instead, they came from western England, and perhaps half of them came from Wales, more than 200 km southwest of the site, where the first monolith of Stonehenge was found.

The remaining 15 may have been local Wiltshire residents or other descendants of migrants from the west. It is also possible that this group included both men and women and were of high social status at the time.

However, it is unclear whether these remains are those of the recently deceased who were moved to Stonehenge immediately after cremation, or whether they are the remains of their ancestors.

Although the team of scientists, led by researchers from the University of Oxford, cannot be sure that these bodies are those of the people who erected the ancient stone circle, it is certain that the earliest cremation dates occurred close to the date the first bluestones were moved to build the first stone circle.

While previous studies have focused on figuring out how and where the stones that built Stonehenge were built by ancient people, the key breakthrough in this study is that the high temperatures during cremation may have crystallized the skull, which stores chemical data about its origin.

New research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, suggests that around 5,000 years ago, people and building materials were being moved from one area to another. When these ancient people died, their cremated remains were buried under the ancient stone, which is now Wiltshire.

"Such a long timescale raises the possibility that, over many centuries, many people may have been brought to Stonehenge for burial," said John Pouncett, lead author of the study.