Recent developments led archaeologists to suggest that Stonehenge was built in what is now Wales, where it stood for 500 years until it was taken to Wiltshire. This claim came after the discovery of holes cut into rocky outcrops near the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire that match the stones used to form Stonehenge's inner ring, but had been cut centuries before it was built, according to the Guardian.
The holes, found on Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin, have been dated between 3,400 and 3,200 B.C., but Stonehenge was not created in Wiltshire until 2,900 B.C. Furthermore, archaeologists also found similar stones were left behind, as well as a "loading bay" from where the stones could be dragged away.
The director of the project, Professor Mike Parker Pearson of University College London, said the finds were "amazing."
"It could have taken those Neolithic stone-draggers nearly 500 years to get them to Stonehenge, but that's pretty improbable in my view," he said, according to the Independent. "It's more likely that the stones were first used in a local monument, somewhere near the quarries, that was then dismantled and dragged off to Wiltshire."
He went on to suggest that it's the "first Stonehenge," while the Stonehenge in Wales is a "second-hand monument."
"Normally, we don't get to make that many fantastic discoveries. But this is one," said Pearson.
He concluded that this discovery can eventually help researchers determine why Stonehenge was built and why the stones were brought so far.
"If we can find the original monument in Wales from which it was built, we will finally be able to solve the mystery of why Stonehenge was built and why some of its stones were brought so far," he theorized, according to the BBC.
Further excavations are planned for 2016.
