Stonehenge has existed in various forms for more than 5,000 years. Was it the center of a sun-worshipping culture, an astronomical calendar, a healing site drawing pilgrims from across Europe like a prehistoric version of Lourdes? (english-heritage.org.uk)LONDON (AP) — A wealthy young teenager buried near Britain's mysterious Stonehenge monument came from the Mediterranean hundreds of miles away, scientists said Wednesday, proof of the site's international importance as a travel destination in prehistoric times.
Stonehenge Boy, proof of international importance even in prehistoric times (Wessex Archaeology)
The teen — dubbed "The Boy with the Amber Necklace" because he was unearthed with a cluster of amber beads around his neck — is one of several sets of foreign remains found around the ancient ring of imposing stones, whose exact purpose remains unknown.
The British Geological Survey's Jane Evans said that the find, radiocarbon dated to 1,550 B.C., "highlights the diversity of people who came to Stonehenge from across Europe," a statement backed by Bournemouth University's Timothy Darvill, a Stonehenge scholar uninvolved with the discovery.
"The find adds considerable weight to the idea that people traveled long distances to visit Stonehenge, which must therefore have had a big reputation as a cult center," Darvill said in an e-mail Wednesday. "Long distance travel was certainly more common at this time than we generally think."
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Buddha Boy Batters InstigatorsAugust, 2010
Nepal's famous Buddha Boy, Ram Bahadur Bomjon (Ven. Palden Dorje) the teenager who fasted while meditating like a modern version of Siddhartha, is now being investigated along with his attendants for allegedly assaulting 17 local villagers. Why? Disturbing his meditation, provoking him, and moreover offering animal sacrifices at the unbelievably cruel Hindu
Gadhimai festival.
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