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Geologists Find Where Some Stonehenge Rocks Came From, Debunking Old Research (cnn.com)
Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from CNN: A team of 12 geologists and archaeologists from across the United Kingdom unveiled research this month that traces some of the prehistoric monument's smaller stones to two quarries in western Wales. The team also found evidence of prehistoric tools, stone wedges and digging activity in those quarries, tracing them to around 3000 BC, the era when Stonehenge's first stage was constructed. It's rock-solid evidence that humans were involved in moving these "bluestones" to where they sit today, a full 150 miles away, the researchers say. "It finally puts to rest long-standing arguments over whether the bluestones were moved by human agency or by glacial action," University of Southampton Archeology Professor Joshua Pollard said in an email. Slashdot reader schwit1 adds: "This leaves the question of how..."
No, the real mystery is why people travel thousands of miles to look at a couple of stones from a great distance, and at great expense.
I literally know someone from the US who come to the UK as part of an organised tour of the EU. They got off at Heathrow. Got on a coach. Travelled to Stonehenge. Looked at Stonehenge. Got back on the coach. Went back to Heathrow. Got on another plane to somewhere else.
And they were *pleased* about that - they kept saying how they'd seen the UK.
Stonehenge is no doubt an interesting archaeological dig. But it is far from an interesting visitor attraction, especially when you can't get within any reasonable distance of it any more. Given away by the fact that it was there for thousands of years and everyone forgot about it.
By the way, you can drive to just about any part of the UK and find stone-circles. Not as impressive, I'll grant you, but everything you can see of Stonehenge you can see from the long fast road that passes by it at 60mph (particularly pretty at sunset, I'd like to add).
And that should be the tourism tagline: "Best viewed at 60mph on the way to somewhere else".
Interesting hypothesis. Achievements on behalf of your tribe, or atonement for punishments inflicted by your Gods? Note that Stonehenge embankments are profiled to defend against the INSIDE - what did they fear would emerge from within?