Ancient Britons who built Stonehenge had ‘dark brown to black’ skin, study suggests

Ancient Britons who built Stonehenge likely had dark skin, according to a new study by scientists at the University of Ferrara in Italy.

Researchers suggest that almost all Europeans had dark skin until about 3,000 years ago – much more recently than previously believed.

The study analysed data from 348 ancient genomes to reach this conclusion. Experts now say that Stonehenge, constructed around 5,000 years ago, was probably built by people with “dark brown to black” skin.

The study found that during the Paleolithic period (13,000-35,000 years ago), approximately 92 per cent of Europeans had dark skin, eight per cent had intermediate skin, and none had pale skin.

This trend continued for thousands of years, with researchers noting the shift to lighter skin tones was “slower than expected”.

Even by the Iron Age (1,700-3,000 years ago), 55 per cent of Europeans still had dark skin, while 27 per cent had intermediate skin and only 18 per cent had pale skin. Scientists described the change as “all but linear in time and place.”

Silvia Ghirotto, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Ferrara, explained the Stonehenge connection.

She told The Telegraph: “Given that Stonehenge was built during the transition from Neolithic to Bronze Age, and given the high frequency of dark-skinned samples we inferred for that period even in northern Europe, it is likely that Britons who built Stonehenge displayed dark features.”

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This challenges long-held assumptions about early European populations. It was previously known that Cheddar Man, who lived 10,000 years ago in Britain, had dark skin and blue eyes.

Researchers analysed DNA from human remains dating between 45,000 and 1,700 years ago. Because skin and hair aren’t preserved in fossils, scientists used genetic code from remains and compared it with data from modern Europeans.

This allowed them to predict the skin, hair and eye colour of ancient people.

“We also observed a peak of light eye pigmentation in Mesolithic times, and an accelerated change during the spread of Neolithic farmers over Western Eurasia,” the study noted.

The research team examined 26 genes associated with melanin production, which determines skin colour. Scientists know modern humans migrated from Africa to Europe about 60,000 to 70,000 years ago.

As humans moved to regions with lower ultraviolet radiation, their skin gradually lightened. This adaptation allowed more UV light to penetrate the skin, helping bodies produce vitamin D – vital for healthy bones and muscles.

In contrast, darker skin contains more brown and black pigments, providing better protection against UV damage from sunlight.

For decades, scientists assumed this change happened rapidly after migration from Africa.