New research has suggested that ancestors of the people who built one of Britain's most famous landmarks, Stonehenge, had come from the Mediterranean.

Researchers in London compared DNA extracted from Neolithic human remains found in the UK, with that of people alive at the same time in Europe.

They found that agriculture was introduced to Britain by "incoming continental farmers" with small, geographically structured levels of hunter-gatherer ancestry.

It said indications are that British Neolithic people were mostly descended from Aegean farmers - from Turkey and Greece - who followed the Mediterranean route north.

Arriving in Britain around 6,000 years ago, the newcomers virtually replaced the existing hunter-gatherer population.

Stonehenge was built in several stages: the first monument was put up about 5,000 years ago.

While the unique stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period, about 2,500 BC.

In the early Bronze Age, several burial mounds were also built nearby.

Details have been published in the journal Nature.

A reconstruction of a bearded Neolitihic man | Image: English Heritage

Researchers found: "Genome-wide ancient DNA studies indicate predominantly Aegean ancestry for continental Neolithic farmers, but also variable admixture with local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.

"Neolithic cultures first appear in Britain circa 4,000 BC, a millennium after they appeared in adjacent areas of continental Europe.

"The pattern and process of this delayed British Neolithic transition remain unclear."

"Our analyses reveal persistent genetic affinities between Mesolithic British and Western European hunter-gatherers.

"We find overwhelming support for agriculture being introduced to Britain by incoming continental farmers, with small, geographically structured levels of hunter-gatherer ancestry.

"Unlike other European Neolithic populations, we detect no resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry at any time during the Neolithic in Britain.

"Genetic affinities with Iberian Neolithic individuals indicate that British Neolithic people were mostly descended from Aegean farmers who followed the Mediterranean route of dispersal.

"We also infer considerable variation in pigmentation levels in Europe by circa 6,000 BC."