Stonehenge was built when Britain was a ‘black country’, new children’s book claims

Stonehenge was built by black people, according to a new children’s history book.

Readers of Brilliant Black British History, by British-Nigerian author Atinuke, learn that the Neolithic monument in Wiltshire was built when Britain was a “black country”.

The book, aimed at children aged seven and over, also tells readers that “every Briton is descended from a migrant” and that “the very first Britons were black”.

The introduction adds that Britain has “been a majority white country for much less time than a majority black country.”

Atinuke also claims that the 10,000-year-old remains of Cheddar Man belonged to someone who had “as dark skin as possible.”

Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, was built by the Neolithic Britons around 5,000 years ago.

A facial reconstruction of Cheddar Man depicted him as dark-skinned in 2018, although an expert involved in the project insisted this was a “probable profile” rather than a certainty.

Brilliant Black British History is published by Bloomsbury and promoted by the literacy charity The Book Trust, itself funded by the Arts Council.

The book presents readers with an overview of the presence of black people in Britain.

He says Britain was “a black country more than 7,000 years before the arrival of white people and it was during this time that Britain’s most famous monument was built, Stonehenge.”

But research published in 2019 suggests that the Neolithic farmers who built Stonehenge were paler-skinned and descended from populations originating in Anatolia, in what is now Turkey.

They probably also had brown eyes and black or dark brown hair.

Atinuke’s book also features illustrations of Britain in different periods of its history.

One page shows an image of a black Roman legionary fighting a white Celt.

The author claims that the Romans had “returned to Europe and pushed north” after unsuccessfully attempting to conquer the African kingdom of Nubia.

In the Middle Ages, Britain was a “mixture of peoples”, according to the author.

The population consisted of “original British migrants, Celts, Romans, Britons, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Africans and Normans”.

They also spoke “a hodgepodge language: English”.

A page on the Black Lives Matter movement claims that even though race “does not exist scientifically,” black people suffer from “institutional racism.”

The book is billed in its blurb as a “revealing history of Britain” that focuses on “a part of our past that has been largely left out of history books: the brilliant black history of ‘England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland’. ‘

He adds: “Did you know the first Britons were black? Or that some of the Roman soldiers who invaded and ruled Britain were also black?

“Join this fascinating journey through the ages to meet these early Britons, as well as the Black Tudors, Georgians and Victorians who existed in all areas of life here.

The book was published on August 31.

Brilliant Black British History is a work by Nigerian-born author Atinuke, who has written several children’s books.

The research into Cheddar Man was carried out by a team from University College London.

The remains of Cheddar Man – the oldest nearly complete human skeleton ever discovered in Britain – were discovered in 1903 in Gough’s Cave, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset.

DNA testing revealed he had black skin, curly black hair and blue eyes.

Geneticist Susan Walsh of Indiana-Purdue University in Indianapolis, who helped reconstruct Cheddar Man’s face, said shortly afterward that while it was “likely” that he had the skin dark, DNA testing was not advanced enough to be sure.

The new book comes after campaign group Don’t Divide Us revealed in a report how children are being exposed to controversial theories of “anti-racism”.

The investigation revealed a book which tells children that racism began when “white people wanted more control”.

Another encouraged teachers to explain to children “what white privilege is.”