Neolithic people buried hundreds of stones carved with images of the sun about 4900 years ago and they may have done it because a volcanic eruption covered the sky

Neolithic people on the Danish island Bornholm sacrificed hundreds of stones engraved with sun and field motifs. Archaeologists and climate scientists from the University of Copenhagen can now show that these ritual sacrifices coincided with a large volcanic eruption that made the sun disappear throughout Northern Europe.

When a volcano erupted some 4,900 years ago, it devastated communities in the Northern Hemisphere. The eruption covered the sky and sent parts of the planet into a temporary cooling phase. Now, researchers believe hundreds of mysterious “sunstones” might be linked to this event.

About 4,900 years ago, a Neolithic people on the Danish island Bornholm sacrificed hundreds of stones engraved with sun and field motifs. Archaeologists and climate scientists from the University of Copenhagen can now show that these ritual sacrifices coincided with a large volcanic eruption that made the sun disappear throughout Northern Europe.