Stonehenge has long been a mystery to archeologists attempting to divine why ancient peoples would have built such a structure. For a while experts have said they believe it is likely some form of Neolithic calendar, perhaps one that marks specific events during a 365.25 day year. But now mathematicians and astronomers from the Polytechnic University of Milan refute those claims.
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00:00Stonehenge has long been a mystery to archaeologists, attempting to divine why ancient peoples would
00:09have built such a structure.
00:10For a while, experts have said they believe it's likely some form of Neolithic calendar,
00:15perhaps one that marks specific events during a 365.25 day year.
00:19But now mathematicians and astronomers from the Polytechnic University of Milan refute
00:24those claims.
00:25According to those experts, the previous hypothesis was all predicated on a series of forced interpretations,
00:31numerology, and unsupported analogies with other cultures.
00:34It turns out Stonehenge is just one small part of the archaeological site.
00:38One sign till it reports includes generations of burial grounds.
00:42The calendar claims are based on the fact that there are 30 horizontal stones resting
00:45atop others in the outer circle.
00:47Multiply that by 12, or the months of the year, and you get 360.
00:51Adding the 5 stones of the inner circle gets you 365.
00:55But researchers Malyi and Belmonte say the archaeologists added the number 12 for no
00:59reason as it's something not present anywhere else in Stonehenge.
01:02Meanwhile, other numbers of significance that are present at the site are left ignored.
01:06The researchers also add that it's far more likely the builders of Stonehenge didn't
01:10look at the sun for keeping dates at all, as its Neolithic builders were more likely
01:14to keep a lunar calendar.