Stonehenge Meets 21st-Century Science

One of the world's most famous prehistoric sites, the Stonehenge located about 8 miles north of Salisbury, England- has been the subject of so much study, and so little in the way of answers, that it is an archaeologist's dream; maybe they'll soon be the ones to solve the mystery of why, how, and who.

That definitely seems to be the mission for Timothy Darvill, a leading Stonehenge scholar from Bournemouth University, and Geoffrey Wainwright, president of the Society of Antiquaries, who have just begun a new dig at the famed site.

The new dig-the first in over sixty years- will last until the 11th of April in hopes of finding who built Stonehenge, for what reason, and why they brought the magnificent stones all the way from Wales.

"The excavation will date the arrival of the bluestones following their 153-mile journey from Preseli to Salisbury Plain and contribute to our definition of the society which undertook such an ambitious project," Wainright said. "We will be able to say not only why, but when the first stone monument was built."

Stonehenge has a very confused and extended past, and is much more than just a group of rocks. In fact, at the beginning, it is believed that the structure was actually made of wooden posts. It was only in the third phase of Stonehenge, estimated to be around 2600 BC that the stones made their appearance. But that only leads to the next question; where did the stones come from?

According to Wikipedia, the bluestones” which were brought in at the beginning of this phase, “were thought for much of the 20th century to have been transported by humans from the Preseli Hills, 250 km away in modern day Pembrokeshire in Wales. A newer theory is that they were brought from glacial deposits much nearer the site, which had been carried down from the northern side of the Preselis to southern England by the Irish Sea Glacier.”

But whether they came from Wales or closer at hand, the team’s first plan is to find evidence of the original stones and use modern scientific archaeology to acquire a more fixed date for when they were set up. "We have to find the material that will give us a good date," said Darvill. "That's where the luck comes in. We could get an absolute blank or we could get something magnificent or we could get something in between."

And don’t think that the decision to begin this latest dig was an easy decision. So important to the English people is Stonehenge, that cabinet approval was necessary to OK the plan. Renee Fok, a spokeswoman with English Heritage, said that the project was only okayed after experts were convinced of the potential value of this new archaeology exposition.

"It's the culmination of their work, it makes sense to go back to the stone circle and get a date," she said. "We want to strike a balance. We want the best research, but we can't just say go ahead and dig as you like, it's a very fragile area. Even the Druids are happy with this project, we've spoken to them and they don't object."

Apparently, even the Druids want some idea of who built their revered landmark.

Posted by Josh Hill.

 

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Links:

http://www.physorg.com/news126200034.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~brianj/bluestones59.html

Comments

[knoxvilledaniel]

Whoever built Stonehenge, it was probably Merlin / Myrrdin & NOT extra - terrestrial astronauts. Seriously, my money's on Merlin !! I think Arthurian legend gives him the credit.

[Chris Anderson]

Stonehenge isnt that impressive when you see it in person. I think the ancients who built it decided to lug huge rocks there at enormous effort, only to f*ck with us now as the the meaning of it all..ahaha

[mark]

I think the cabinets saw a great value of that stonehenge. They might can dig a huge gold or diamonds.