The BBC reports that excavations are beginning at Stonehenge for the first time in more than four decades, and – interestingly – that the Beeb is actually providing the funding. (Make sure you check out the short video accompanying the article which gives a nice concise history of the construction (and partial destruction) of the monument.) Especially interesting is the suggestion that the new excavation hopes to test the theory that Stonehenge may have been seen as a place of healing:
The two-week dig will try to establish, once and for all, some precise dating for the creation of the monument. It is also targeting the significance of the smaller bluestones that stand inside the giant sarsen pillars. Researchers believe these rocks, brought all the way from Wales, hold the secret to the real purpose of Stonehenge as a place of healing.
The excavation at the 4,500-year-old UK landmark is being funded by the BBC. The work will be filmed for a special Timewatch programme to be broadcast in the autumn.
The researchers leading the project are two of the UK’s leading Stonehenge experts – Professor Tim Darvill, of the University of Bournemouth, and Professor Geoff Wainwright, of the Society of Antiquaries. They are convinced that the dominating feature on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire was akin to a “Neolithic Lourdes” – a place where people went on a pilgrimage to get cured.
Some of the evidence supporting this theory comes from the dead, they say. A significant proportion of the newly discovered Neolithic remains show clear signs of skeletal trauma. Some had undergone operations to the skull, or had walked with a limp, or had broken bones.
There are more details about the research and new excavations in a a second story at the BBC website. Looks like a documentary worth keeping an eye out for.
