A new theory has emerged explaining how the massive Stonehenge stones, some weighing around 25 tons, were transported to their current location. They may have been moved using an innovative engineering solution similar to a technique employed in Indonesia.
Dr. Susan Greene, a lecturer in archaeology at the University of Exeter, in collaboration with a team from English Heritage, presented a new theory about how the massive stones came to be at the Stonehenge construction site.
It was long believed that these rocks were transported using wooden sleds and pulleys, but researchers now suggest that "wooden tracks" similar to railways were used in the transport process.
The famous stone circle at Stonehenge is made of sarsen stones, some weighing around 25 tons, which were brought from Marlborough Downs, about 24 kilometers away. Scientists believe these giant stones were transported via tracks made of wooden beams stacked over marshland that was part of the transport route.
The researchers base their hypothesis on a study of black and white photographs taken in Indonesia about a century ago, showing people transporting huge blocks of rock using wooden rails arranged in a way that resembles a railway.
Using laser scanning data and the results of archaeological excavations, researchers reconstructed the stages of Stonehenge's construction, including the processes of transporting, lifting, and installing the stones, as well as the social gatherings that accompanied the project.
Scientists believe that Neolithic people possessed advanced expertise in working with wood, enabling them to construct these pathways, which could be up to three miles (4.8 kilometers) long. The study also suggests that the stones were likely lifted and positioned using piles of rock and wooden supports.
According to researchers, moving a single stone required the participation of approximately 150 people, though they believe the actual number was much higher. Evidence of communal feasts at the nearby Durrington Walls site suggests that the Stonehenge builders may have gathered there during the monument's construction.
Dr. Greene believes that those involved in building Stonehenge were not forced to work, but were motivated by their belief that the construction of this monument held great religious and spiritual significance.
