An international team of scientists has identified the possible killers of the builders of Stonehenge. According to the authors, they could be people who inhabited the territory of the modern Netherlands in ancient times. The corresponding study was published in the bioRxiv electronic preprint library, briefly reported by The Guardian.
Scientists came to such conclusions after analyzing more than a million DNA fragments of ancient people who lived in Europe between 4.7 and 1.2 thousand years BC, when the bell-beaker culture began to spread on the continent and nearby islands. The appearance of artifacts of this culture on the mainland and the British Isles took place in different ways.
In mainland Europe, the study showed that the spread of the bell-beaker culture was not associated with mass population migration. The appearance of cultural artifacts in the British Isles, in particular, in the modern county of Wiltshire (Great Britain), where Stonehenge is located today, took place in conditions of the replacement of the indigenous population by newcomers.
A genetic analysis of DNA samples from people who migrated to the territory of modern Wiltshire, carried out by scientists, showed that they came from the territory of the modern Netherlands. The DNA of the builders of Stonehenge, the researchers note, after that practically disappeared from the county, which suggests that the indigenous people were driven out by outsiders and probably exterminated by them.
The authors note that further research is needed to be more confident in these conclusions and should be conducted using a large sample.
The heaviest stones of Stonehenge weigh 30-40 tons. In ancient times, as shown by research by archaeologists, the main structures of the monument were transferred to Wiltshire from Wales. The final purpose of the monument is still not known, it is hypothesized that the monument was used for cult and astronomical purposes.
