Quick Links

In northern Brazil's Amazon close to French Guinea is a curious archeological site. The Solstice Archeological Park (called Parque Arqueológico do Solstício in Portuguese) is the site of a megalithic stone circle - something one might expect more from Europe than the Amazon. This site, colloquially known as Amazon Stonehenge, is made up of 127 blocks of granite on the bank of the Rego Grande river.

The Solstice Archeological Park remains something of an enigma - like the famous Stonehenge of England that researchers are still looking for answers as to its purpose and its history. Monolithic circles often called "Stonehenge" or "henges" are actually quite common in Europe, many like the Cromlech of the Almendres is old than the one in England but is almost unknown as a tourist attraction.

The Solstice Archeological Park - The Amazon Stonehenge

The Amazon Stonehenge has some 127 blocks of granite - each up to around 4 meters tall. The circle measures over 30 meters in diameter and is set on a hilltop by the river. It is thought that the granite blocks may have been quarried from a part of the river around two miles away.

  • Blocks: 127 Granite Blocks
  • Diameter: Over 30 Meters or 100 Feet

One thing it does have in common with the much older Stonehenge in Great Britain is that much of its original function remains a mystery.

It is believed that the henge was constructed by indigenous peoples around 1,000 years ago - or around 500 years before European contact. It seems that the culture that built it was sophisticated.

  • Age: Around 1,000 years Old
  • Purpose: Perhaps Astronomical Observatory and/or Burial or Ceremonial Functions
  • Builders: An Indigenous Culture

The Amazon Stonehenge is located in what is now the sparsely populated state of Amapá in northern Brazil.

Related: 19 Ancient Sites Older Than Stonehenge (Worth Planning Your Next Trip Around)

Rediscovery Of The Amazon Stonehenge

The first reports of the "Amazon Stonehenge" or "Tropical Stonehenge" are from the naturalist Emilio Goeldi in the late 19th century. But excavations only started in 2005.

  • Excavations: Since 2005

The site was bought to the researcher's attention in the 1990s as local cattle ranchers slashed and burned the surrounding rainforest for pasture land. With the rainforest cleared, the bizarre arrangement of tower granite monoliths was revealed.

Discoveries like the Amazon Stonehenge lead one to wonder what other secrets are there waiting to be discovered in the Amazon rainforest?

Suggestions For What The Amazon Stonehenge Was Used For

"For now, Rego Grande, which local people already call the Amazonian Stonehenge, remains enigmatic. Pottery shards jut through the soil as if offering tantalizing clues around the place, which has the feel of a contemporary conceptual art piece. Researchers are still trying to determine how Rego Grande fits into the evolving views on the Amazon’s human history."

New York Times

It is believed by archeologists that the site was built for ceremonial, burial, or astronomical purposes (or some combination of them). It was built by indigenous peoples hundreds of years before Europeans arrived in the New World.

Excavations have also found ceramic burial urns (that suggest the site may have been connected with burial customs in some way). It has been suggested that the site could have been connected to the agricultural or hunting cycles of the area.

The tall stones seem to be aligned with the sun's path during the winter solstice. At that time the sun shines straight through a hole carved into the megalith onto another rock.

Related: The U.S. Has Its Very Own 'Stonehenge,' And This Is What We Know About It

A Tantalizing Symbol of A Much More Complex Society

There have been a number of archeological discoveries in Brazil that paint a picture that there were once sophisticated cultures in the Amazon.

Many imagine the Amazon Rainforest to be pristine and untouched by man except for small groups of nomadic tribes in the jungle. But the discovery of giant land carvings, the remains of fortified settlements, and complex road networks paint a different picture.

  • Complex: Ancient Amazon Populations Were Complex

According to the New York Times, some scholars now estimate that the Amazon could have supported a population as large as 10 million people before they were decimated by European epidemics and contact. It is clear that these cultures were much more sophisticated than what scholars had been believing.

  • 10 Million: Could Have Lived In The Amazon Pre-Contact

The Amazon Stonehenge is not unique and there are several other megalithic sites that have been discovered in Brazil on the curves of the Rego Grande River. There is so much to learn about the prehistory of the Amazon and that history is much more interesting and complex than had been previously thought.