Speed Reading — Stonehenge - Level 3 — 300 wpm 

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Scientists say they have uncovered details about who built the 5,000-year-old prehistoric monument Stonehenge. The ancient stones in the southwest of England are famous all over the world. How Stonehenge was built has been a mystery for thousands of years. A new study shows that the architects and builders of Stonehenge could have come from Wales, which is more than 160 kilometres away. Researchers wrote in the Scientific Reports journal that some human bones found at the site were from the Preseli Mountains in west Wales. The researchers said the oldest human remains discovered so far date back to about 3000 BC, which is over 5,000 years ago.

Stonehenge is a ring of standing monoliths - giant stones. Each standing stone is around four metres high and 2.1 metres wide. They each weigh around 25 tons. Scientists say Stonehenge was first used as a burial mound. The giant monoliths also came from the Preseli Mountains. Scientists are not sure how ancient people transported the giant stones the 160 km to their site in Stonehenge. They now believe the people who are buried at Stonehenge helped transport, position and erect the stones. Researcher John Pouncett said: "People from the Preseli Mountains not only supplied the bluestones used to build the stone circle but moved with the stones and were buried there too."

Comprehension questions
  1. How old is Stonehenge?
  2. Where in England is Stonehenge?
  3. How far did the article say Stonehenge was from Wales?
  4. What is the name of the journal mentioned in the article?
  5. What 5,000-year-old remains were found at Stonehenge?
  6. What did the article say monoliths were?
  7. How much does each of the stones at Stonehenge weigh?
  8. What do scientists think Stonehenge was first used for?
  9. Where might people who transported stones to Stonehenge be buried?
  10. What kind of stone is the stone used to build Stonehenge?

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