- Surveys revealed many significant structures, from a solar-aligned ditch to a burial long barrows, while bones of giant Aurochs and mysteriously tinted flints may indicate why it became a site of such spiritual significance.
- Stonehenge is one of the most enigmatic and fascinating historical sites that Britain has to offer, largely because historians have little idea what the huge stone monoliths were for, or how they got there. There's no end of theories, but none of them so far have been conclusive. Recent revolutionary research has just been undertaken which, over the course of four years, has yielded some fascinating insights into the site. Drawing on this new data, archaeologists might finally be able to put to bed some of its mysteries. This two-part program reveals the project's findings.
It's always impressive what can be uncovered of our ancient past during the three days of a Time Team dig. Imagine what you could do in a program with years of surveying using the most up-to-date remote sensing technology, and a budget that includes fancy graphics and suitably muddy reconstructions.
The first episode of this two-part investigation into the site of Stonehenge explores the surroundings. Extensive surveys have revealed a whole host of significant structures, from a solar-aligned ditch over 2km long to previously unknown burial long barrows, while discoveries of the bones of giant Aurochs and mysteriously tinted flints might indicate why it became a site of such special spiritual significance.
The concluding part of the documentary focuses on the construction, design and enduring significance of the iconic stone circle and the ancient civilization that flourished around it. With access to the ground-breaking research of a revolutionary project led by the University of Birmingham and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute in Vienna, the program reveals new insights into Britain's world-famous prehistoric monument.
After five years, the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project has made astonishing progress in surveying the area around the site, but what has been learned about the building and purpose of the great stone monument itself? The second part of this enlightening documentary fills in the gaps in our knowledge - for example, whether the outer circle of stones was ever actually completed - and clarifies much about the people who built it and subsequently used and worshiped at it.
What's so fascinating is how tiny clues uncovered by traditional archaeology or hi-tech methods can be extrapolated into much wider ideas about, say, burial customs or entire societal structures. And wait till you see how the site must have looked when first raised. You'd be worshiping there, too...
by Gill Crawford
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