Stonehenge was an 'art gallery' suggests new study

Laser scans have revealed prehistoric carvings of axe heads, which are invisible to the naked eye. The surface of the 83 remaining stones was scanned using state-of-the-art 3D scanners. These recorded using billions of points of microtopographically. The research, which included a sizable 850 gigabytes of info, reveals that the stone circle was created to be aligned with the axis of the sun during both mid-summer and mid-winter.

The stones have since been weathered of course, but if new findings are correct, these stones were positioned to reflect light in the solstice sun and doubled up as a gallery.

University professor Clive Ruggles, of achaeo-astronomy, said to the Daily Mail: “This extraordinary new evidence not only confirms the importance of the solstitial alignment at Stonehenge, but also show unequivocally that the formal approach was always intended to be from the north east, up the avenue towards the direction of midwinter sunset.

“We see how the utmost care and attention was devoted to ensuring the pristine appearance of Stonehenge for those completing their final approach to the monument at the two times of the year when sunlight shines along the alignment - when those approaching had the midsummer rising sun behind or midwinter setting sun ahead.”

The researchers discovered a staggering total of 72 Early Bronze Age carvings, evidence pointing to the fact that Stonehenge was used as a gallery in ancient times, who perused it’s grand pieces, however, is yet to be determined.

Business standard reported: "The new discoveries are of huge importance. They also demonstrate how emerging technologies can extract previously unsuspected and crucial information from a monument like Stonehenge," said Marcus Abbott, Head of Geomatics and Visualisation at ArcHeritage.

While the structure was primarily built in third millennium BC, as a solar temple, there could have been numerous uses for the structure years later.

Picture: Getty