The LONGER haul: Scientists believe Neolithic Britons carried 50lb stones 280 miles to build enclosures near Avebury Henge... 100 miles FURTHER than rocks used to create Stonehenge

 The mystery of how the components of Stonehenge were moved 180 miles to where they were arranged in Wiltshire has long vexed archaeologists and historians.

But now, the epic journey that was involved in creating the Neolithic structure may pale in comparison to the one that could have been carried out by the builders of another structure nearby.Researchers have discovered that the stones used in the construction of 'palisade enclosures' near Avebury henge, around 20 miles from Stonehenge, originated around 280 miles away.

In total, archaeologists found 77 pieces of granite – known as grus – at West Kennet, which is just under a mile from the famous stone circles at Avebury.

They discovered that the stones, which collectively weighed around 48 pounds (22kg), came from Northumberland's Cunyan Crags.

If they were carried south by people, the distance would be almost double the miles covered by the Pembrokeshire bluestones that formed Stonehenge 5,000 years ago.

Avebury itself boasts the world's largest stone circle and is a Unesco World Heritage Site.   

Writing in the magazine British Archaeology, the research team – which included experts from Bournemouth and Southampton universities – said the discovery was 'beyond doubt one of the most extraordinary and puzzling occurrences of non-local material in Neolithic Britain.'

Researchers have discovered that the stones (pictured) used in the construction of 'palisade enclosures' near Avebury henge (pictured), around 20 miles from Stonehenge, originated around 280 miles away

Researchers have discovered that the stones (pictured) used in the construction of 'palisade enclosures' near Avebury henge (pictured), around 20 miles from Stonehenge, originated around 280 miles away 

In total, archaeologists found 77 pieces of granite (one pictured) – known as grus – at West Kennet, which is just under a mile from the famous stone circles at Avebury

 In total, archaeologists found 77 pieces of granite (one pictured) – known as grus – at West Kennet, which is just under a mile from the famous stone circles at Avebury

They discovered that the stones came from Northumberland's Cunyan Crags. The pieces of granite somehow travelled 280 miles, more than double the distance covered by the stones used in the construction of Stonehenge

They discovered that the stones came from Northumberland's Cunyan Crags. The pieces of granite somehow travelled 280 miles, more than double the distance covered by the stones used in the construction of Stonehenge

The West Kennet stones were found were found in deep postholes of a mysterious timber structure that was built in around 2,500BC.

The researchers said that they quickly discovered that these stones – igneous granite rather than the sedimentary rocks common to the area – were 'not local'.

Some were arranged in a ring around a grave that held the remains of people, although researchers were unsure of their purpose.

Whilst the researchers did not rule out that the grus were carried south by glacial movement rather than by people, they would still have needed to have been collected from the Norfolk or Yorkshire coast – the furthest south that they would have been deposited by glaciers.

That distance is still more than 200 miles.

To identify the origin of the West Kennet stones, the team used an advanced form of mineral analysis that they had previously used on those at Stonehenge.

They said there is 'very little, if any' evidence to support 'direct transport by glaciers'.

A piece of granite that was found at West Kennet in Wiltshire. Researchers now know it came from Northumberland

A piece of granite that was found at West Kennet in Wiltshire. Researchers now know it came from Northumberland

However, they did say that the stones could have reached West Kennet by a 'combination of people and nature' – a reference to how they could have been carried most of the way by a glacier before being taken the rest of the distance by humans.

The team said they need to do more research at West Kennet to see there is evidence of a 'wider range of rock types' from Northumberland.

If so, that would support the notion that the stones were carried part of the way by glacial movement.

However, if they are all of the same type – which the evidence so far suggests – then it means the stones were collected by humans directly from  Cunyan Crags.

The research team, which including Mark Gillings of Bournemouth University and his counterpart at Southampton University, Joshua Pollard, added: 'Was it simply pilgrimage, or more daily matters such as histories of migration, intermarriage, kinship and common self-identification?'. 

Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument comprising of three stone circles.

The monuments, thought to have been constructed around 2600BC, are the largest stone circles in Europe, and a place of great importance to pagans.

In 2013, it was named as the second best heritage site in the world, ahead of sites including the Valley of the Kings in Egypt and the Forbidden City in China. 

Research in 2019 found that Avebury henge may have been built around the site of a 'relatively modest dwelling' that stood there before it.   

Stonehenge's bluestones were quarried from rocky outcrops in Wales, known as Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin

Stonehenge's bluestones were quarried from rocky outcrops in Wales, known as Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin

A research team led by the University of Leicester found evidence of pits and gullies in the ground for its walls, plus bowls and flint tools that are all indicative of Neolithic craftsmanship.

They say Avebury henge, made up of multiple stone circles and standing stones, was probably built later to commemorate the people living in the house - who were so important they were honoured in this way.

The same year, researchers from Bournemouth University found that Stonehenge's bluestones were quarried from rocky outcrops in Wales, known as Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin.    

This was contrary to a popular theory that the enormous rocks, up to 80 of them in total, were transported by sea via the Bristol channel. 

Professor Kate Welham, of Bournemouth University, said: 'Some people think that the bluestones were taken southwards to Milford Haven and placed on rafts or slung between boats and then paddled up the Bristol Channel and along the Bristol Avon towards Salisbury Plain.

'But these quarries are on the north side of the Preseli hills so the megaliths could have simply gone overland all the way to Salisbury Plain.' 

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