British archaeological landmark Stonehenge started its life as a fancy cemetery for a community, according to a new explanation by archaeologists.
Experts studied cremated bones of 63 people, and the studies suggest that about 500 years before Stonehenge was built, a larger stone circle was erected at the same site as a community graveyard, the Independent reported.
"These were men, women, children, so presumably family groups. We'd thought that maybe it was a place where a dynasty of kings was buried, but this seemed to be much more of a community, a different kind of power structure," said Mike Parker Pearson, a professor from University College London.
Archaeologists studied cremated bones of 63 individuals, and believed that they were buried around 3,000 BC. The earlier circular enclosure, which measured around 300 feet across, could have been the burial ground for about 200 more people, Pearson said.
The team, which included academics from more than a dozen British universities, also offered some theories about the purpose of the second Stonehenge, which still stands today in Wiltshire.
Theories about Stonehenge say it was a place for Druid worship, an observatory for astronomical studies or a place of healing built by early inhabitants of Britain who roamed around with their herds.
Pearson said the latest study suggests that Stonehenge should be seen less a temple of worship than a kind of building project that served to unite people from across Britain.
The daily said that analysis of the remains of a Neolithic settlement near the monument showed that thousands of people travelled from far, bringing their livestock and families for huge feasts and celebrations.
The team said that the builders did not live there all the time but converged seasonally to build Stonehenge, but not for very long, possibly for decade or so.