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Article: Researchers Say Stonehenge Was a Family Burial Ground; Conclusion Runs Counter to Long-Held Theories
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 30, 2008
- Author:
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The secret of Stonehenge has apparently been solved: The
mysterious circle of large stones in southern England was primarily
a burial ground for almost five centuries, and the site probably
holds the remains of a family that long ruled the area, new research
concludes.
Based on radiocarbon dating of cremated bones up to 5,000 years
old, researchers with the Stonehenge Riverside Project said they are
convinced the area was built and then grew as a "domain of the
ancestors."
"It's now clear that burials were a major component of Stonehenge
in all its main stages," said Mike Parker Pearson, an archaeology
professor at the University of Sheffield in England and head of the
project. "Stonehenge ...