Stonehenge May Have Been A 'Mecca On Stilts'

Britain's prehistoric monument, Stonehenge, has always been thought to be a Druid temple, or a huge calendar or healing center. However, in new research, Stonehenge is seen to be an ancient "raised altar" for large crowds of worshippers, according to rt.

The massive stone structures may have been support systems for an expansive wooden platform, upon which there could be sacred ceremonies. In an interview with The Guardian, Julian Spalding, who was earlier the director of a few of Britain's museums, agreed that the megaliths laid the foundations of "a great altar" above ground level.

They could support hundreds of pre-Christian worshippers, he said. Ancient worshippers may have ascended spiral wooden ramps or steps leading upto the top. Earlier interpretations are probably untrue, he suggested.

 "We've been looking at Stonehenge the wrong way: from the Earth, which is very much a 20th-century viewpoint," he said, according to news.

It was Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Welsh cleric who had an inclination for histiography and the tales of King Arthur, who wrote in the 12th century that the wizard Merlin had brought the stones from Ireland. From his era, Stonehenge is linked with a range of theories.

Today, it is looked at as "Lourdes" to which people take friends who are ill for treatment, as well as those who are beloved. Some say that it is a haunted haven for the deceased or maybe a "Mecca for seasonal feasting."

Having been constructed between 3,000 and 2,000 BC, and situated in Wiltshire, England, Stonehenge attracts over a million visitors every year. Many of the missing stones, which became visible during a drought in 2014, show that it had once been a "perfect circle."

His theory is supported by "multiple archaic civilizations across the globe." From remote areas such as Peru, China and Turkey, there were sacred structures that were elevated in manmade as well natural sites. Most of them were circular patterns with links to heavenly or divine ceremonies, according to experts.

"In early times, no spiritual ceremonies would have been performed on the ground. The Pharaoh of Egypt and the Emperor of China were always carried - as the Pope used to be," Spalding told The Guardian.

"The feet of holy people were not allowed to touch the ground. We've been looking at Stonehenge from a modern, Earth-bound perspective."

Moreover, history tells us that Stonehenge "would never have performed celestial ceremonies on the lowly earth. That would have been unimaginably insulting to the immortal beings, for it would have brought them down from heaven to bite the dust and tread in the dung," he added.

However, many critics dismiss his theory. Prof Vincent Gaffney, a leading investigator on Britain's Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project at Bradford University, told the Guardian that he did not support such a theory, while archaeologist Aubrey Burl, an expert on prehistoric stone structures, said it might be plausible.

"There could be something in it," he said. "There is a possibility, of course. Anything new and worthwhile about Stonehenge is well worth looking into, but with care and consideration."