A team of archeologists from Sheffield University have uncovered human remains of great stature within the ruins of an ancient neolithic settlement only kilometers away from Stonehenge.
The intriguing discovery was made at Durrington Walls, an ancient neolithic settlement which is thought to have been the residence of the builders of the Stonehenge monument who lived in the area around 2500 B.C. according to recent radiocarbon dating.
A number of skeletons were discovered on the site of which three were of taller stature and what is believed to be an infant with gigantic proportions. If most skeletons found had heights averaging 5 to 6 feet, or 150 to 180 cm, the larger individuals are thought to have measured between 6 to 8 feet tall, or 180 cm to 240 cm, a find none of the team members ever suspected to stumble upon.
37 skeletons have been uncovered at the neolithic settlement, three of them being of gigantic stature as well as a young child of adult proportions
“I am still shocked by the massiveness of these robust people” explains PhD student James McLaren. “If these people’s height already seems impressive for modern standards, these individuals must’ve been perceived like giants to their historical counterparts, who were much smaller in size” he adds.
The larger individuals were found in a separate area of the dig. The skeletal remains also showed blunt weapons were used upon them, having cracked bones and even smashed the skull open of one individual. “These taller individuals seem to have been outsiders of the settlement and to have suffered very violent deaths. Even the child shows heavy damage inflicted upon the cranial area” comments research team supervisor Alan Graham.
Legends of giants being behind the construction of Stonehenge have existed for centuries in local folklore, but the finding of giants near the Stonehenge monument doesn’t seem to impress historians.
A giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge from a manuscript of the Roman de Brut by Wace in the British Library
“Humans have always found a way of explaining things they could not comprehend. As intriguing as these giant skeletons may seem, they were fairly uncommon at the time as they are today, which probably was perceived as a threat to the local inhabitants” explains Fern Walhill, historian and retired professor at Oxford University. “There is no proof to sustain the possibility of giants building the Stonehenge monument, but it would make a great story if it was indeed” laughingly comments the expert.
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