Did Stonehenge start out as royal cemetery?

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England's enigmatic Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings — perhaps for ancient kings or chieftains, researchers reported Thursday. Radiocarbon dating of cremated remains shows that burials took place as early as 3000 B.C., when the first ditches around the monument were being built. Those burials continued for at least 500 years, when the giant stones that mark the mysterious circle were being erected. The Stonehenge Riverside Archaeological Project, which has been excavating sites around the world-famous monument for five years. Burial patterns support the idea that Stonehenge served as England's grandest Neolithic family cemetery. "We're wondering if we're looking at the burial ground of an ancient royal dynasty. Stonehenge was not exclusively a cemetery: The stone circle's orientation, which points to sunrises and sunsets on key seasonal dates, clearly shows it was a place of ceremony. And just last month, other researchers speculated that Stonehenge may have been an ancient place of healing as well. Based on past excavations its estimated that the cremated remains of 150 to 240 people were buried within Stonehenge over a 500-year period. As time went on, the pace of the burials apparently increased. The timing of the burials is one line of evidence suggesting that Stonehenge served as a cemetery for a royal dynasty. Another line of evidence is suggested by the discovery of a stone mace within one of the Stonehenge graves. The mace was seen as a symbol of authority in ancient times, just as it is today.