Stonehenge-Style Monolith Found In Sicily Gives Glimpse Into Ancient Civilizations

An ancient "Stonehenge-style monolith" has been detected on the seafloor off Sicily, which gives some insight into ancient Mediterranean civilizations. They are puzzling stone carvings that are as old as 10,000 years, requiring the skills that are not usually thought to be found in ancient societies, Discovery News  said.

It was a stone block that was 15 tons in weight and two pieces. It got lost when the ocean flowed and flooded many islands teeming with civilization. The monolith was identified about 131 feet beneath the Mediterranean Sea on an island in the Sicilian Channel, yet it was flooded about 9,500 years ago after the ice age.

"This discovery reveals the technological innovation and development achieved by the Mesolithic inhabitants in the Sicilian Channel region," Emanuele Lodolo, from the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics, told Discovery News. "Such an effort undoubtedly reveals important technical skills and great engineering."

The discovery was recorded in a study published by Lodolo and Zvi Ben-Abraham, a professor of earth sciences at Tel Aviv University, in the Journal of Archeological Science.

What was the role of the structure? It is not known. Lodolo said it probably "served a functional purpose", for the islanders engaged in fishing and trade with nearby islands. "It could have been some sort of a lighthouse or an anchoring system, for example," he said, according to ibtimes.

Sicily, an island near Italy, was settled more than 17,000 years ago. A number of megalithic temples were found on the nearby island of Malta, yet none were as old as the monolith.

It is hoped that such discoveries under the sea could give some insight into ancient civilizations.