Archaeologists Dig For Clues At Stonehenge

(AP)  Some of England's most sacred soil has been disturbed for the first time in more than four decades as archeologists try to solve the enduring riddle of Stonehenge: When and why was the prehistoric monument built?

The excavation project, that started Monday and is set to last until April 11, is designed to unearth materials that can be used to establish a firm date for when the first, mysterious set of bluestones was put in place at Stonehenge, one of Britain's best known and least understood landmarks.

The UNESCO World Heritage site, a favorite with visitors the world over, has become popular with Druids, neo-Pagans and New Agers who attach mystical significance to the strangely-shaped circle of stones, but there remains great debate about the actual purpose of the structure.

The dig will be led by Timothy Darvill, a leading Stonehenge scholar from Bournemouth University, and Geoffrey Wainwright, President of the Society of Antiquaries.

Both experts have worked to pinpoint the site in the Preseli Mountains in south Wales where the bluestones came from. They will be able to compare the samples found in Wales to those at Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain.

"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."

Scientists believe that the bluestones were put in place about 2600 B.C. and removed 200 years later, but they concede the date is only an approximation at best.

Darvill said the excavation marks the first opportunity to bring the power of modern scientific archaeology to bear on a problem that has taxed the minds of so many experts since medieval times: Why were the bluestones so important to have warranted bringing them from so far away?

The excavation goal is to find remnants of the original bluestones, or related materials, that can be subjected to modern radiocarbon dating techniques to establish a more precise timeline for the construction of Stonehenge, said Dave Batchelor, an archaeologist with English Heritage, which oversees the Stonehenge site.

"We have to find the material that will give us a good date," he said. "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."

He said bluestones actually have an "inky, bluey, black" appearance and come only from the Preseli Mountains in South Wales.

It is hoped that fixing the date of the start of construction with more precision will allow scientists to finally grasp how and why the monument was built.

They also may learn more about how the stones were transported. Research shows the bluestones, weighing an estimated five tons apiece, may have been dragged from the mountains in south Wales to the sea, put on huge rafts, and floated up the River Avon.

Archeologists believe that before the bluestones were put in place, Stonehenge consisted of a circle of wooden posts and timbers built in approximately 3100 B.C.

The research that began Monday with the digging of a trench marks the first time ground inside the inner stone circle has been excavated since 1964. The area, revered as a powerful link to England's pagan past, is so sensitive that Cabinet approval was needed before the work could begin.

Renee Fok, a spokeswoman with English Heritage, said the project was okayed only after experts were convinced of its potential value. She said the project represents "the logical next step" after the two professors located the source of the bluestones in Wales.

"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."

She said tourists will be able to visit Stonehenge as usual and will also be able to watch live video coverage of the excavation in special tents at the site.

[conbuck1]

We were told in school that it was a devise that they used to tell time.

[swwils]

Those Archaeologist need to be digging for oil.Stone Henge is cool but if there isn''t a trillion barrels of oil underneath it then really who gives a s.h.i.t.

[veteran72]

I''m not saying I''m old or anything, but I remember when they put that thing up.....I lived near there and with all that construction going on, it naturally drew the youngsters, and I was constantly yelling out the window, "You kids get off of my lawn"!!!....young whippersnappers and rapscallions,...........

[aztecdakota]

Does this take a genious? It was a fort, fortress, on high ground, barricades between the uprights. Constructed to protect the people in that area from attacks from others. AND, they did a *** good job building. Oh, obvious it had a roof, at one time. Anyone out there in the archeological or military, or construction business? It was a *** good defensive location. and strong.

[rushlimpdrug]

When I was a kid growing up, the old man down the
street had a bumper sticker on his car that read:
"Stonehenge-The Happiest Place on Earth"

[talkingham]

"Scientists believe that the bluestones were put in place about 2600 B.C. and removed 200 years later, but they concede the date is only an approximation at best."--

That sentence is just wrong, send the article back to edit.

I can''t remember if there was a Xena episode about the construction of Stonehenge. It probably would have just a good a chance of being right about how and why they were built as a couple of self-important archeologists who like to dig things up, put them in a warehouse and hide them fromt he public after the public foots the bill- and of course they''ll claim the glory of figuring it all out, like Columbus "discovered" America.

They will say it is an astronomy based ceremonial center. Actually the entire site is much larger than the stone circles and in the design of the site looks very much like the layout of many native aemrican ceremonial centers.

[drputt45]

It reminds me of some of the highway projects around here that run out of money and sit there for years. Looks like the ancients had the same problem and never finished the cloverleaf.

[stn_sage]

Good luck, Stonehenge archeologists.
It''ll be interesting to see what you conclude.

[rushlimpdrug]

Stonehenge was built on the concept that archeologists
will scratch their heads and dig anywhere.

[rf35]

The purpose of Stonehenge was to provide the leaders of the time with extra shade because a period of global warming was causing uncomfortably warm weather. The warming was blamed on the flatulence of the Eurasian elk Alces alces (moose) which was driven to extinction in England by 1,500 BC.