Stonehenge may have been built to predict meteor storms. In 1998, astronomer Duncan Steel proposed Stonehenge's earliest phase was built to predict meteor storms, not honor the Sun The theory concerns the Taurids, a meteor shower stretching across weeks, caused by debris from Comet Encke Around 3500 BCE and 3100 BCE, Earth likely crossed dense pockets of Encke's trail
In 1998, astronomer Duncan Steel proposed Stonehenge's earliest phase tracked meteor showers, not the Sun. Around 3500–3100 BCE, Earth crossed dense pockets of debris from Comet Encke—the Taurids. This timing aligns with the Cursus and Stonehenge's first construction. The Tunguska event of 1908 (830 sq miles flattened) may have been a Taurid fragment, suggesting these storms posed real ancient danger.
Key Facts
- In 1998, astronomer Duncan Steel proposed Stonehenge's earliest phase was built to predict meteor storms, not honor the Sun
- The theory concerns the Taurids, a meteor shower stretching across weeks, caused by debris from Comet Encke
- Around 3500 BCE and 3100 BCE, Earth likely crossed dense pockets of Encke's trail
- This timing matches when Neolithic builders constructed the Cursus and first bank and ditch of Stonehenge
- Around 3100 BCE, the meteor radiant sat north of the midsummer sunrise, aligning with solstice view
- The Tunguska airburst in 1908 flattened roughly 830 square miles of forest, possibly from a Taurid fragment
- Steel suggests the ancients watched for predictable patterns—stormy Junes followed by calm stretches
Related site: Stonehenge — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: 5 Mysterious Ancient Artifacts With Warnings We Ignored by Dark5 Ancient Mysteries