Like so many disciplines, archaeology suffers from preconceived notions or assumptions about the cultures under study. Facts are interpreted to fit theories rather than developing theories to fit facts. Forbidden Archeology: The Hidden History of the Human Race documents thousands of pieces of archaeological evidence ignored and packed away because they do not fit with accepted theory.
The Giza pyramids are assumed to be gigantic monuments to ancient pharoahs despite containing no pharaoh’s body and no treasures. Little considerations is given to its many inexplicable architectural features or thoughts of other possible uses.
Stonehenge is also studied with the assumption its builders were crude and could only be motivated by superstition and myth. In 1961, Boston University astronomer, Gerald Hawkins, fed a plan of Stonehenge into a computer 24 unique alignments that seemed to orientation where pairs of stones seem to point to the settings and risings of the sun and moon. Archaeologists would not accept that primitive peoples could manage such a feat and today Hawkins’ theories are widely ignored.
Today, more and more information is being uncovered about Stonehenge as revealed in this series by NOVA
Watch the full episode. See more NOVA.