Stonehenge was 'neolithic Lourdes' say archaeologists

The original purpose of Stonehenge was a place of healing say archaeologists after recent discoveries. Photo: Stonehenge. Credit: dannysullivan/Flickr

A BBC-funded excavation at Stonehenge may have uncovered the original reason for the site's existence say archaeologists.

The breakthrough discovery occurred when the team dug through a layer of ground at the site containing sockets which once held bluestones, smaller stones which formed the structure of the original Stonehenge site.

Professor Tim Darvill, of Bournemouth University, who is leading the excavation work along with Professor Geoff Wainwright, president of the Society of Antiquaries, said the bluestones had been transported 250km from the Preseli Hills in Wales to the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, where taken to the site because people believed they had magical healing powers.

Professor Geoffrey Wainwright theorised the original Stonehenge was a "Neolithic Lourdes".

"This was a place of healing, for the soul and the body," added Darvill. "The Preseli Hills is a magical place. The stones from there are regarded as having healing properties."

"The first week has gone really well. We have broken through to these key features. It is a slow process but at the moment everything is going exactly to plan," he said.

"Magical" Preseli Hills, Pembrokeshire, Wales, original location of the bluestones found at Stonehenge. Credit: diverstonefly/Flickr

The team say the familiar structure of Stonehenge, which consists of giant sarsen posts carried from around 20 km away, actually made up a much later Stonehenge structure. The archaeological dig is the first at the 4,500-year-old landmark for forty years.

The BBC will present the results of the excavation in a documentary as part of its Timewatch series to be screened in the northern autumn. Follow the day-by-day excavation news on the BBC Timewatch website.

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