STONEHENGE DECODED

This mysterious ancient monument has kept us guessing about its purpose for centuries, but now it seems the answer could lie far beyond its stone boundaries.

The looming silhouette of Stonehenge has dominated the landscape of Salisbury Plain for so long that the two appear to have become one and the same. It was the landscape that inspired the origins of the henge, and in turn the henge went on to shape the land around it. Now it appears that the secret to its true purpose may be also be found beyond the circle itself.

In a revolutionary new study, archaeologists Mike Parker Pearson and Ramilisonina have concluded that Stonehenge is just part of a much larger ancient site, and that for centuries historians have been ignoring an important piece of the puzzle at the nearby Durrington Walls. But its purpose is not the only mystery surrounding this iconic monument. Though ancient stone circles can be found in their multitudes, with more than 1,000 still standing in the British Isles and Brittany alone, Stonehenge’s construction is unlike any on Earth. It is the only one to feature lintels – the horizontal stones that straddle its vertical pillars – and a type of stone exotic to the region. This uniqueness has prompted centuries of speculation and intrigue: Who built it and how? Why here? Why with this design? As a result, Stonehenge has become Britain’s most investigated ancient monument, but it remains shrouded in mystery.

Having been built before the introduction of the written word, there are no records to give us a definitive answer to any of these questions. While it’s safe to say that most historians have ruled out the involvement of wizards and giants in its creation, there remains much dispute as to why it was built and how such a primitive people succeeded in building this masterpiece of engineering. Could these new discoveries really hold the key to Stonehenge’s mystery?

In the 12th century, Welsh cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth immortalised an old folk tale in his chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae. Its protagonist was King Aurelius Ambrosius, a 5th-century commander of the Romano British who led a victorious battle against Anglo-Saxons. To honour the fallen, he sent the wizard Merlin to move a great stone circle from its original site in Ireland to the blood-soaked Salisbury Plain. The circle, Monmouth reported, had been built by giants.

Even in the Middle Ages, it’s unlikely this was considered any more than a fairytale. But in the 17th century, antiquarian John Aubrey carried out a study of ‘templa druidum’, asserting that Stonehenge had been built by the mysterious people who inspired the character of Merlin – the druids. These were ancient priests of the Celtic pagan religion who supposedly performed human sacrifice. He dated it to 460 BCE.

The druid theory was built upon in the 18th century by William Stukeley, a leading figure in Neo-Druidry who pioneered the archaeological investigation of Stonehenge. It was around this time that the name ‘Slaughter Stone’ was given to one of the stones close to the entrance of the circle, which had (and still has) a reddish tinge.

Stukeley’s claims were disregarded in the 19th century when Bronze-Age remains were discovered at the site. This period in Britain ended in approximately 800 BCE – more than 500 years before the earliest references to druids. In fact, modern radiocarbon dating has indicated that building began as early as 3100 BCE, during the late Neolithic. It’s unlikely Stonehenge was even used for druid ceremonies, as they preferred to perform these in woods or on mountains. Contrary to the belief that the Slaughter Stone had been stained by sacrificial blood, this discolouration was found to be caused by chemical reactions between rainwater and the iron within the stone.

Human activity in the area dates back even further to the Mesolithic period. Archaeologists have discovered four large postholes near the site believed to date from about 8000 BCE. These would have held timber posts that may have had ritual significance. In approximately 3500 BCE, a ‘cursus’ (earthwork with parallel banks) was built about 700 metres north of where Stonehenge would later stand, also likely ceremonial.

We can never be sure why this area held so much significance to the Ancient Britons. suggestion is that its hillocks and valleys made it an ideal hunting ground, with the River Avon allowing easy access for nomadic tribes. Others suggest that a rare natural phenomenon inspired the belief this was a sacred place, with shocks of bright pink flint breaking up the otherwise dull landscape. We now know that this rock discolouration was caused by a rare algae in the spring water, but at a time when the world was a colour palette of greens and browns, the only explanation would have been supernatural.

However, a recent excavation has revealed that a natural landform created by Ice Age meltwater may be the reason this site was considered so sacred. In 2013, Parker Pearson discovered naturally occurring ridges that point directly at the midwinter sunset in one direction and the midsummer sunrise in the other. This would have seemed more than mere coincidence to a civilisation so in tune with nature and the seasons, and perhaps the reason why they chose to build a monument like no other here.

In 3100 BCE, Britain was at the height of its Neolithic period. The previously nomadic tribes began to settle, and slowly made the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers. Cattle, sheep and goats were brought over by migrants from the continent, as well as the first seed grains of wheat and barley. It is these people who initiated the first stage in Stonehenge’s development – the creation of a circular earth bank and ditch measuring about 110 metres in diameter, with a large entrance to the north east (aligned with the landform and the midsummer sunrise) and a smaller one to the south. A ring of 56 chalk pits – known as Aubrey holes – around the edge of the bank suggests that timber posts were erected at this time.

Around 3000 BCE, it is believed some kind of timber structure was erected within the circular enclosure. Further standing timbers were placed at the north-east entrance, and a parallel alignment of posts ran inward from the south entrance.

The first stones arrived in about 2600 BCE. These appear to have been bluestones – possibly about 80 of them – arranged in pairs to form a double ring. It is also believed that the ‘Avenue’ – a parallel pair of ditches and banks leading to the River Avon – was added at this time. However, this phase was abandoned unfinished, with the bluestones later removed and the holes filled in.

Between 2600 BCE and 2400 BCE, huge sandstone boulders called sarsens were brought to the site to create the iconic ring and horseshoe arrangement we recognise today. By this point, Britain had entered the Bronze Age, and its people had developed better tools and a communal way of life. A settlement at the nearby Durrington Walls – two miles north east – has proved to be the largest of its period, with hundreds of houses possibly occupied by the builders of Stonehenge.

Finally, between 2400 BCE and 1600 BCE, the bluestones were re-erected within the outer sarsen circle. By about 1500 BCE, Stonehenge was no longer maintained. Stones were removed from the site or simply eroded away. Today, it lies in ruin.

WHAT WAS IT FOR?

With so much thought and manpower involved in its construction, Stonehenge must have had an equally well-designed purpose. Could the answer lie in the landscape?

For many, the biggest clue in deciphering what Stonehenge was originally built for lies in its alignment. At summer solstice, an observer standing in the centre of the stone circle can watch the Sun rise directly over the north-east entrance, and approximately over the Heelstone. This has resulted in the popular belief that Stonehenge was a kind of calendar – vital for a society built on agriculture. Historians have suggested that the Aubrey holes acted as markers for astronomical observations, particularly lunar ones. In 1966, English astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle concluded that the 28-day lunar cycle could have been indicated by moving a stone representing the moon anticlockwise around the Aubrey holes by two holes every day. It would also have been possible to use these to predict a lunar eclipse.

An alternative theory is that Stonehenge was simply ceremonial. The man-made avenue that leads to its north-east entrance suggests a processional route, and implies that the monument may have been an ancient temple. Some have even suggested that it had a timber roof, and that the sun’s rays would enter the building through a door during the summer solstice. However, the relatively short length of British trees would have created problems when trying to build a roof of this size, and no evidence for any rainwater run-off has ever been found.

Archaeologists Geoff Wainwright and Timothy Darvill have proposed that Stonehenge was a centre of healing – a kind of ancient Lourdes. They believe the bluestones were brought from the Welsh mountains because of their healing powers – a claim first made in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s 12th-century tale. The grave of a crippled Bronze-Age man believed to hail from an alpine region of central Europe has been used to support this theory. The pair argue that the distances people travelled to the site could only have been fuelled by a promise of spiritual and physical benefit.

But the latest theory – and perhaps the most substantiated – arose after the discovery of more than 50,000 cremated bone fragments in one of the Aubrey holes. The findings, made by Parker Pearson, led him to conclude that Stonehenge was in fact a giant burial ground – or at least started off that way. The bones date back to 3000 BCE – around the time that the henge and Aubrey holes were created – and many were found within the holes themselves. The excavations also revealed crushed chalk at the bottom of the pit, suggesting that they supported not timber posts, but something much heavier – perhaps bluestones acting as ancient grave markers.

Parker Pearson has also developed the idea that Stonehenge was part of a much larger ancient landscape that included the nearby Durrington Walls settlement. In 1998, a Malagasy colleague suggested that, as with similar circles in Madagascar, the henge represented the ancestors, constructed in stone to reflect the eternity of life after death. Wood, which decomposes, represents the temporary world of the living. It was then that the pair formulated a model in which Stonehenge was linked to its timber equivalent at Durrington Walls.

Excavations have shown that an avenue similar to the one at Stonehenge led from its large timber circle to the River Avon. Funerary processions may well have begun at Durrington Walls, continued along the river, and finished at the burial ground of Stonehenge.

With so many restrictions on the archaeological excavation of Stonehenge, it may be years before further links can be made between the two sites. But what all of these findings remind us is that nothing in history can be considered in isolation – it’s all part of a much bigger jigsaw puzzle.

In "All About History Annual" editor-in-chief Jon White, Imagine Publishing, UK, 2016, excerpts volume 3 pp.40-47. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.

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