Scientific advances have transformed understanding of Stonehenge’s builders

Researchers once thought Stonehenge functioned as a precise astronomical computer

In the 1960s, scientists used early computers to analyze the stone layout at Stonehenge, arguing it could predict eclipses and other celestial events. This BBC Sky at Night Magazine piece explains how the theory arose—and why scholars now doubt it.

See how Stonehenge was built

This short animation shows how human beings managed to lug 30-ton stones over miles of prehistoric English countryside and stand them up The Stone Age engineering involved using giant wooden rollers and carving precisely interlocking tongue-and-groove joints to hold the heavy stones in place.

What Stonehenge sounded like

Researchers built the first scale model of the world's best-known prehistoric stone circle, Stonehenge, to study its acoustic properties. Built approximately 5,000 years ago, the landmark in southern England has puzzled historians for centuries, but...

Stonehenge has produced wild origin stories

Built before the wheel was invented, Stonehenge inspired increasingly fantastical explanations—from a 12th-century tale of Merlin and Nephilim giants to 1960s claims that aliens built it alongside the pyramids.

Stonehenge was part of a much larger prehistoric landscape

Long before Stonehenge was built, the Salisbury Plain was already dotted with ceremonial sites, burial mounds, and large-scale earthworks. These landscape maps reveal a densely inhabited region shaped by sophisticated prehistoric communities with ambitious public projects.

BBC Radio 4 tackles the history of Stonehenge

On this podcast, host Greg Jenner humorously unpacks Stonehenge’s biggest myths and mysteries—from what a “henge” actually is, to how alien theories emerged, and why the monument was once sold for just £6,000.

See images of modern Druids who visit Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice

At the summer solstice, crowds at Stonehenge range from white-robed modern Druids with staffs and antler crowns to revelers with ox-horn trumpets or hula hoops—scenes regularly documented by photographers.

Recreating ancient faces: where art meets archaeology

Artistic renderings and reconstructions of ancient people are one way to bring the past to life, providing viewers with insights into and empathy for those who came before. This article details how modern artists and archaeologists work together to...

What's the point of archaeology?

Archaeology as a science may seem focused on tangible goods, with its emphasis on material evidence of peoples long passed. But its findings influence how humans interact today (and possibly tomorrow). From understanding and improving on concrete to...

The messy story of humanity's genealogical past

For decades, scientists viewed the human fossil record and concluded Neanderthals, an early hominin, came before homo sapiens, or modern humans. The story became more complicated as technology advanced and ancient DNA samples were analyzed. This video breaks down the evidence, concluding the development of humanity was a lot messier than previously believed.

How old are stone tools?

The earliest evidence for stone tools currently dates back to 3.3 million years ago, long before modern humans started roaming about. These tools were made by stone flaking, a mode of tool creation that still is used today and is done by striking...

The ancient engineers inspiring modern building practices

Modern concrete structures need replacing every 50 to 100 years, so why are buildings by the Maya, ancient Rome, and ancient China still standing strong? This article details how scientists are looking into humanity's past for clues on how to craft long-lasting structures. Part of the problem is adopting old material recipes to hold up to modern demands.

Hear the story of the police crackdown on a Stonehenge festival in 1985

This documentary revisits the 1985 police crackdown on a massive free festival at Stonehenge, when the UK government under Margaret Thatcher blocked access and deployed 1,300 riot police—an event that reshaped public access to the site.

Aliens have invaded ancient history

Avid fans of archaeology can sometimes fall prey to unsubstantiated claims like "aliens built the pyramids," provocative, dubious theories which fall under the category of pseudo-archaeology. Many of these claims are premised on hidden biases toward non-Western cultural heritages. This professor explores the hidden contours of pseudo-archaeology in this 12-minute TED talk.

Human settlements may be older than previously thought

This narrative article follows an archaeological team as they sift through the remains of Nahal Ein Gev II, an ancient village near the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Abandoned about 12,000 years ago, the site has been investigated for years and...

Artificial lighting and modern practices like working late are linked with sleep shifts

An analysis of five adults participating in a German reality program that tasked them with living in a Stone-Age-like settlement for 2.5 months, provided some insights into how modern conditions may have shifted our circadian rhythms. The participants slept about 90 minutes more under these conditions, and went to bed earlier and rose earlier, raising questions about how circadian rhythms, sleep, and sleep quality are affected by modern lifestyles.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii

Excavations revealed stunning finds—a wooden bed, a horse's saddle, and vivid frescoes—while also suggesting the eruption may have occurred in October, not April. See the discoveries from the EU's $140M Great Pompeii Project.

Paleontologists apply rules about rock layering, fossilization, and radioactivity to date geological samples

Concepts such as the understanding that older rock layers will form beneath newer ones allow scientists to compare the ages of samples from various layers. Although no geological site preserves evidence across all time, samples can be combined with fossils of known age, such as those dated by analyzing the decay of their radioactive isotopes, to reconstruct Earth's timeline.

The Rosetta Stone helped scholars decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics

With the same verses written in three languages, the stone—discovered during Napoleon's campaign in Egypt—let scholars decipher hieroglyphics for the first time, unlocking the secrets of ancient Egypt. Learn why the task, originally expected to take two weeks, ended up taking 20 years with this fascinating essay.

The mystery of Sandby Borg: an Iron Age massacre

Sandby Borg, Sweden, was the site of a 5th-century slaughter where victims were left to rot where they fell. This article details how scientists are working to solve the prehistoric murder mystery and find out what happened to the Sandby Borg...

The booming fossil industry on the Jurassic Coast

Ever since the Jurassic Coast was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001, professional and amateur fossil-finders have increasingly set out for its craggly cliffs to discover ammonites, icthyosaurs, and even new discoveries. This photo essay takes a human look at the growing interest and industry in fossil discoveries along the famed 95-mile strip of England.

How winemaking has changed throughout history

Winemaking is an ancient practice, and researchers continue to find evidence that this ritual came even earlier than previously estimated. This article outlines five key turning points in wine’s history, from the fermentation of fruit by our primate ancestors to today’s increasingly popular “New World” wine. Discover the fascinating scientific and cultural factors that led to wine’s changes in flavor and increased symbolic importance.

Men and women didn't evolve to perform segregated hunter-gatherer duties

The often-cited theory that men evolved to hunt and women evolved to gather is wrong. This article explores the origins of the "Man the Hunter" theory and the mounting evidence that undermines it. Exercise science indicates that those assigned...

Science is rarely a linear progression of understanding

Particularly at the frontiers, investigations conducted based on established knowledge can provide unexpected results. This opens the door to revising existing models, inspiring new lines of research, and ultimately leading to better future comprehension. For instance, experiments on the speed of light and the expansion of the universe yielded then-confusing data that led to revolutionary insights.

Was the stone that sealed Jesus's tomb round or square?

Archaeologist Amos Kloner's survey of more than 900 Second Temple-era burial caves found only four with round, disk-shaped stones—all belonging to the very wealthy. The other 98-plus percent used square, cork-shaped stones, suggesting the popular image of a wheel rolled away from Jesus's tomb is probably a later artistic invention. The Greek verb translated as "rolled" can also mean "moved."

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect