STONEHENGE remains one of Britain’s most mysterious historical sites – however, one irrefutable fact is its gruesome past. 

In a typical year more than 1.6 million people from all around the world flood to the ancient grounds, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, including today on the Summer Solstice.

But instead of large gatherings – up to 30,000 people strong – to mark the longest day of the year, a smaller service has been planned to avoid the spread of Covid-19.

During the celebration, observers watch the sunrise from behind the Heel Stone and fill the heart of Stonehenge with golden beams – but beneath the hallowed ground are a number of unsettling truths. 

Mystery still surrounds the iconic landmark, which was built between 3000 BC and  2000 BC and consists of two stone rings that are up to 13 feet tall and seven feet wide.

Experts still question why and how Stonehenge was built – some believing it was constructed by three ancient groups and others believe it was formed through sheer coincidence.

According to one translation of the tales of King Arthur, the legendary wizard Merlin instructed a giant to erect the landmark, others have claimed it was the devil and some believe UFOs were behind it.

However, what is known is that a number of concerning finds paint a murky past for the much-beloved landmark.

The 'sacrificed man’

Of the many remains found in and around the surrounding area, one of the most troubling is of a man who was believed to have been sacrificed.

The skeleton was of a man in his late twenties was discovered in 1978 by Richard Atkinson and John G Evans. 

Experts say he died around 2300 BC after being pelted by arrows from all sides – his killing was believed to be a warning for others to stay away from the area, an execution or a sacrifice.

The body was found in an outer ditch in Stonehenge and was considered “very unusual” by osteoarchaeologist Jackie McKinley.

She believed the victim was a “robust, muscley man” of around 5ft 10 and was not someone who had lived a “brutish” life.

In the 2014 documentary Stonehenge Empire, McKinley said: “He was buried very unusually in a ditch at Stonehenge, this is a very highly ritualised site so this is quite an unusual find.”

Tiny breaks in his bones revealed he had been “shot repeatedly with flint arrows” and suffered three fatal blows.

The injuries he has suggests we have a sacrificial victim

Analysis shows the man was fired at from all sides, which rules out death through battle or a hunting accident, and leaves one conclusion for McKinley.

She said: “To be buried in that ditch at Stonehenge, with the injuries he has suggest we have a sacrificial victim.”

No other fatalities with these types of wounds were found at the site and whether the man was killed there to appease the gods or as a warning is unknown. 

McKinley believes the man was an early metalworker, whose abilities would have “been seen as something quite magical” at the time in 2300BCE.

She deduced this from a pair of “very rare” gold ornaments that were “found rolled together inside his mouth” and are one of only “eight known pairs” in England.

Ancient people of this time were buried with possessions or items that hinted at their profession. 

Dozens of bodies

Three metres away, the remains of an older man were also discovered and he was buried with the same gold ornaments.

McKinley believed the individual hailed from Germany after analysing his tooth enamel. 

She found chemical signatures from water he consumed during his life that could be traced back to central Europe. 

Due to the way he was buried, with the same rare pieces of gold, McKinley believed he was also a tradesman who was considered to have “worked magic” at the time.

She said: “I think he was the person who could make changes from pieces of rock to turn them into items of beauty and items of utility.”

His craftsmanship would have been considered “like magic” in those times, she added. 

Archaeologists also found the remains of dozens of people in 56 pits not far away from Stongehenge’s outside ring – the majority of them had been cremated. 

'House of the dead'

One-and-half miles north east of Stonehenge, buried beneath “a huge amount of earth” was a large tomb known as a ‘long barrow’.

The Hidden Landscapes Project estimated around 50 men, women and children – many of whom were decapitated – were laid to rest there inside the temple-like structure.

Professor Wolfgang Neubauer, who worked at the site, believed the bodies were from around 3,800BC and explained the “very peculiar burial rituals”.

He said: “They had defleshment, they had cutting off heads – heads were actually treated completely differently than the other parts of the body. 

“There was preparation of the bones to be put into this large tomb, which was a tomb for the whole community."

Not only was all skin and flesh prized off but the bones were broken into small pieces that were then buried.

Once the tomb was full, Professor Neubauer believed they submerged it along and left other tributes to either the dead or the gods.

He continued: “In the end, the whole building was covered with a huge amount of earth dug out from big pits to build this long barrow – a house for the dead people.”

Twin 'torture site'

The Ring Shrine of Pömmelte, which is known as “the German Stonehenge” due to its similarities with the British landmark, was also discovered to have a dark past. 

Bones of women, teenagers and children were discovered in 29 shafts around the site, near Berlin. 

Analysis of the finds revealed that the dead were tortured before being buried and found many with broken skulls and rib cages. 

Experts also found other mutilated human bones and animal bones as well as drinking vessels and axes.

They believe the site, which consists of seven circular ditches aligned with the sun, was used between 2300 BC and 2050 BC for ancient rituals. 

It’s suggested that it could have been the forerunner to Stonehenge.

Dr André Spatzier, who studied the area, believed dwellers deliberately buried the site as part of an offering to the gods.

He told Live Science: “It looks like… they extracted the posts, put offerings into the postholes and probably burned all the wood and back-shovelled it into the ditch.”

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