OverviewOverviewVideoVideoPhotosPhotosGameGameInteractive MapInteractive MapTheoriesTheoriesMerlin MythMerlin MythRoman TempleRoman TempleBuilt By DruidsBuilt By DruidsBronze AgeBronze AgeCelestial ObservatoryCelestial ObservatoryLey Line VortexLey Line VortexInspired By AliensInspired By AliensEarth MotherEarth MotherNeolithic LourdesNeolithic LourdesCity of the DeadCity of the DeadSTN_HTML_article11_city-dead

Stonehenge Theories:

City of the Dead

Depiction of a dead man on exposure platform (center) and decomposing bodies (left and right).

University of Sheffield professor Mike Parker Pearson, an expert on the archaeology of death, has been studying Stonehenge since 1998 and is one of the directors of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, which is exploring the relationship between the monument, the River Avon and other nearby prehistoric sites. Among other finds, Parker Pearson’s team has discovered an ancient settlement near Stonehenge that dates back to between 2600-2400 BC, which coincides with the construction of the Sarsen Circle at Stonehenge. Parker Pearson theorizes that Stonehenge and Durrington Walls, a prehistoric timber circle about two miles away, were part of a much larger religious complex that the ancient Britons used for funeral rituals. An avenue from Durrington Walls leads to a cliff overlooking the river, where Parker Pearson believes that bones, ashes and perhaps bodies were tossed into the water. In a 2007 Washington Post article about the settlement’s discovery, he described Stonehenge as “our biggest cemetery of that time.”

« Neolithic Lourdes

Themes

Featured Shows

Specials

Stonehenge Decoded

Stonehenge From Above

Who Built Stonehenge?

Death's Door

Virtual Stonehenge

Crystal Skulls