Who put the stone in Stonehenge?

Last Modified: 31 Mar 2008
By: Tom Clarke

Will an excavation of Britain's most mysterious site reveal how it was built, and why?

Archaeologists have begun excavations at the world heritage site to try to shed light on the origins of the bluestone circle thought to have been erected 3,000 years ago.

The standing stones on Salisbury Plain, are known to have been brought there from the Preseli Hills in Wales, 150 miles away. But when, why, and by whom? Tom Clarke has left no stone unturned.

Geoff Wainwright and Tim Darvill are the first archaeologists to break the hallowed turf around Stonehenge in over forty years. Their quest, is to find the exact date for when the first standing stones were erected at Stonehenge - and hopefully why.

Stonehenge is such a national and international treasure, you have to have a very good reason to be allowed to excavate here - but just last week the powers that be gave them the nod.

The theory they want to test is dedicated to the mysterious bluestones that made up the original Stonehenge. But to understand its origins Professor Wainwright took us 150 miles away, to a remote crag in west Wales. Because this is where the bluestones came from.

Work at this site in Wales has suggested the unique blue stone flecked with white was strongly associated by ancient Britons with the healing powers of nearby natural springs. Wainwright believes this could hint at the true purpose of Stonehenge.

Till now, Stonehenge has always been thought of as a monument to the afterlife - this latest dig could end up turning that theory on its head.