LONDON _ A wealthy young teenager buried near Britain's mysterious Stonehenge monument came from the Mediterranean hundreds of miles away, scientists said Wednesday, proof of the site's importance as a travel destination in prehistoric times. 
 
 In this image provided by Wessex Archaeology on Wednesday Sept. 29, 2010 shows the remains of an early bronze age burial. Although it cannot be seen in this photograph, this person was buried wearing... (Associated Press) 
 
 The teen _ dubbed "The Boy with the Amber Necklace" because he was unearthed with a cluster of amber beads around his neck _ is one of several sets of foreign remains found around the ancient ring of imposing stones, whose exact purpose remains unknown. 
 
 The British Geological Survey's Jane Evans said that the find, radiocarbon dated to 1,550 B.C., "highlights the diversity of people who came to Stonehenge from across Europe," a statement backed by Bournemouth University's Timothy Darvill, a Stonehenge scholar uninvolved with the discovery. 
 
 "The find adds considerable weight to the idea that people traveled long distances to visit Stonehenge, which must therefore have had a big reputation as a cult center," Darvill said in an e-mail Wednesday. "Long distance travel was certainly more common at this time than we generally think." 
 
 The skeleton, thought to be that of a 14- or 15-year-old, was unearthed about two miles (3 kilometers) southeast of Stonehenge, in southern England. 
 
 Clues to the adolescent's foreign origins could be found in the necklace, which isn't a recognized British type. But he was traced to the area around the Mediterranean Sea by a technique known as isotope analysis, which in this case measured the ratio of strontium and oxygen isotopes in his tooth enamel. 
 
 Different regions have different mixes of elements in their drinking water, for example, and some of those are absorbed into a person's tooth enamel as he or she grows up. Analysis of the isotopes of oxygen and strontium carried in the enamel can give scientists a good but rather general idea of where a person was raised. 
 
 The teen, whose necklace suggests he came from a rich family, is one of several long-distance travelers found near Stonehenge. The "Amesbury Archer," so-called because of the stone arrowheads he was found with, was buried three miles (5 kilometers) from Stonehenge but is thought to have come from the Alpine foothills of central Europe. The "Boscombe Bowmen," also found nearby, are thought to have come from Wales or possibly Brittany. 
 
 It isn't clear precisely what drew these people to Stonehenge, a site which has existed in various forms for some 5,000 years. It clearly had an important ceremonial function, and the area around it is dotted with the remains of prehistoric monuments and tombs. Some say it was at the center of a sun-worshipping culture or that it served as a kind of astronomical calendar. 
 
 Others, like Darvill, also say it might have been an important healing site, drawing pilgrims from across Europe like a prehistoric version of Lourdes. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Online: 
 
 Stonehenge: 
 
 http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/ ||||| Wessex Archaeology / AP 
 
 Sponsored Links 
 
 (Sept. 29) -- New research indicates that Stonehenge may have been an ancient tourist destination, attracting visitors from across Europe.Studies of the skeleton of an adolescent boy from some 3,500 years ago found near the site suggest that he traveled all the way from the Mediterranean -- potentially Italy, Spain or southern France -- to the southwest of England.Another body found near the famous stone complex has been identified as coming from the German Alpine foothills some 800 years earlier."The find adds considerable weight to the idea that people traveled long distances to visit Stonehenge, which must therefore have had a big reputation as a cult center," Timothy Darvill, professor of archeology at Bournemouth University, told The Associated Press . "Long-distance travel was certainly more common at this time than we generally think."Researchers from the British Geological Survey analyzed isotopes in the travelers' teeth to pinpoint where they were raised.Drinking water in different climates contains different ratios of heavy oxygen and light oxygen. Stones in different parts of Europe also contain different ratios of isotopes of the element strontium.These two substances build up in children's teeth and remain there throughout adulthood, providing clues as to where the person grew up.One thing they share is that both seem to have borne some kind of illness. The boy was buried at the age of 14 or 15, suggesting he may have died prematurely, The Independent reported. The German seems to have suffered from a painful leg condition.It may be that Stonehenge was a center of healing, drawing people from across Europe in search of cures, The Independent said.Stonehenge has long mystified scientists. The site was first worked upon about 5,000 years ago. A thousand years later, massive stones were added to the site, according to Stonehenge.co.uk. The stones, which weigh as much as 4 tons each, were taken more than 200 miles from Wales to the remote location in southwest England.Nobody is quite sure what the site was used for. It could have been a religious site built by sun worshipers, since the axis that runs through the center of the stone circle aligns with the midsummer sunrise.Today, the site is a favorite with both tourists and pagans, who celebrate religious festivals there.Whatever drew these ancient travelers to the location, they certainly weren't budget travelers. The boy was found with a 90-piece amber necklace, while the German had copper daggers and gold hair clasps."People who can get these rare and exotic materials are people of some importance," Andrew Fitzpatrick of Wessex Archeology told BBC News
– Religious site? Healing temple? Whatever Stonehenge was used for, it was quite the tourist hot spot. Isotopic tests performed on a recently discovered skeleton—dubbed "The Boy with the Amber Necklace" because of the beads tied round his neck—found that he traveled from the north coast of the Mediterranean to get there. And scientists say his hundreds-of-miles journey gives credence to the belief that Stonehenge was a top tourist attraction in prehistoric times. Other skeletons have been traced to Brittany and the Alps, the latter of which was found buried with gold and copper items—a sign that foreign visitors were wealthy. The bejeweled skeleton belonged to a teen who died near age 14 or 15, potentially bolstering the belief that sick travelers came to Stonehenge in hopes of being healed, and were buried there if that didn't work out, reports the AP. Click here for more.