Darvill and Wainwright were well placed for such a project. Following these guidelines, Darvill and Wainwright requested official permission for the archaeological equivalent of keyhole surgery in order to study part of the first bluestone setting on the site. Over the previous weekend, the team had set up a temporary building that would serve as a base for operations and marked out the plot to be excavated.
The trench that Darvill and Wainwright marked out for the excavation was surprisingly small: But the trench, wedged between a towering sarsen stone and two bluestones, was far from a random choice. In fact, a portion of it overlapped with the excavation carried out by archaeologist Richard Atkinson and colleagues in that had partially revealed though not for the first time one of the original bluestone sockets and gave reason to believe that another socket would be nearby.
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In addition, Bournemouth University researchers had conducted a ground-penetrating radar survey, providing further assurance that this would be a productive spot. Wainwright had cautioned me that watching an archaeological dig was like watching paint dry. But while the work is indeed slow and methodical, it is also serene, even meditative. An avuncular figure with a white beard framing a smiling, ruddy face, Wainwright joined Bournemouth University students operating a large, clattering sieve, picking out everything of interest: Some days a strong wind blew through the site, creating a small dust bowl.
Other days brought rain, sleet and even snow. As material was excavated from the trench and sifted through the coarse sieve, it was ferried to the temporary building erected in the parking lot. By the end of the excavation, contours of postholes that once held timber poles and of bedrock-cut sockets for bluestones were visible. In addition, dozens of samples of organic material, including charred cereal grains and bone, had been collected, and 14 of these were selected for radiocarbon dating.
Although it would not be possible to establish dates from the bluestone sockets themselves, their age could be inferred from the age of the recovered organic materials, which are older the deeper they are buried. Environmental archaeologist Mike Allen compared the positions and depths of the bluestone sockets with this chronology. Using these calculations, Darvill and Wainwright would later estimate that the first bluestones had been placed between and B.
Among other finds, the soil yielded two Roman coins dating to the late fourth century A. Similar coins have been found at Stonehenge before, but these were retrieved from cut pits and a shaft, indicating that Romans were reshaping and altering the monument long after such activities were supposed to have ended.
The Story of Carbon Dating
As so often happens in archaeology, the new findings raise nearly as many questions as they answer. Charcoal recovered by Darvill and Wainwright—indicating the burning of pine wood in the vicinity—dates back to the eighth millennium B.
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Could the area have been a ritual center for hunter-gatherer communities some 6, years before the earthen henge was even dug? The new radiocarbon dating also raises questions about a theory advanced by archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson of the University of Sheffield, who has long suggested that Stonehenge was a massive burial site and the stones were symbols of the dead—the final stop of an elaborate funeral procession by Neolithic mourners from nearby settlements. Not everyone buys into the healing stone theory. For his part, Wainwright believes that no theory will ever be fully accepted, no matter how convincing the evidence.
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Subscribe Top Menu Current Issue. History World History Video Newsletter. Related Content Gobekli Tepe: Carved sarsens-enormous blocks of hard sandstone-were used to build the towering trilithons that dominate the landscape of Salisbury Plain in southern England. But archaeologists Timothy Darvill and Geoffrey Wainwright believe the smaller so-called bluestones hold the key to unraveling Stonehenge's mystery Michael Freeman. Charcoal recovered at the excavation dates back to the eighth millennium B.
Stonehenge birthdate discovered by archaeologists
Some archaeologists now think the site served different needs over time Michael Freeman. The Stonehenge bluestones, which may have been thought to have healing powers, were carried to the site from Wales-by boat or rafts along the Welsh coast, or around the southwest tip of England Michael Freeman. Please turn on JavaScript.
Media requires JavaScript to play. Intriguingly, the date range ties in closely with the date for the burial of the so-called "Amesbury Archer", whose tomb was discovered three miles from Stonehenge. Some archaeologists believe the Archer is the key to understanding why Stonehenge was built. Analyses of his corpse and artefacts from his grave indicate he was a wealthy and powerful man, with knowledge of metal working, who had travelled to Salisbury from Alpine Europe, for reasons unknown.
Post mortem examinations show that he suffered from both a serious knee injury and a potentially fatal dental problem, leading Darvill and Wainwright to conclude that the Archer came to Stonehenge to be healed. But without an accurate date for Stonehenge, it was not even clear whether the temple existed while the Archer was alive. His remains have been dated between BC and BC - within the same period that the first stone circle was erected. I think the answer to that is almost certainly 'no'. Did he limp, or was he carried, all the way from Switzerland to Wiltshire, because he had heard of the miraculous healing properties of Stonehenge?
But Stonehenge probably had more than one purpose, so I have no problem with other people's interpretations. They also found that bluestone chippings outnumbered sarsen stone chippings by three to one - which Wainwright takes to be a sign of their value. The duo are preparing to publish an academic report of their excavation, and will announce their findings to their peers next month, in a lecture at London's Society of Antiquaries.
Stonehenge birthdate discovered by archaeologists - Telegraph
Ongoing debate Experts on Stonehenge said the new date was a major milestone in understanding Britain's most famous monument. Dr Andrew Fitzpatrick, of Wessex Archaeology, said: But this anchors it. It helps us to be secure about the chronology of events. Profs Darvill and Wainwright believe their ideas hold true "The theory that it was a centre of healing is certainly a plausible one, but I don't think we can rule out the other main competing theory - that the temple was a meeting point between the land of the living and the dead.
I favour the interpretation that he was one of the earliest metal workers, who travelled to the area to make a living from his skills. Most Popular Now 56, people are reading stories on the site right now. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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Page last updated at E-mail this to a friend Printable version. The dig was the first inside the ring since The key was to get organic matter from the bluestone sockets. All theories about Stonehenge must follow an accurate dating.