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| The mysterious bluestone monument |
Stonehenge has baffled kings, historians and archaeologists throughout the millennia. Arthurian legends dictate that the vast stones were laid down by giants and demons. Historians and archaeologists simply could not work out how it was built, who built it or even why. However a recent discovery of a tomb may change all of this. The Carn Menyn site in the Preseli Hills, Wales is where the bluestones used to construct Stonehenge were quarried around 2300 BC.
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| The tomb at Carn Menyn |
Archaeologists have found a passage cairn tomb placed over a henge that is composed of the same bluestones that make up Stonehenge. The site was built very near the Carn Menyn Quarry and was the same age as the first bluestone phase of the various reconstructions of Stonehenge. The link between Welsh stone and the Neolithic monument on Salisbury Plain was first suggested in 1923 by the geologist Herbert Thomas. This was confirmed in 2008 when permission to excavate within the stone circle was granted for the first time in 50 years.
The stones were transported 150 miles to build the monument. Why this was the case still remains a mystery. Archaeologists are hoping that the tomb will provide answers. While all organic remains are gone due to grave robbing, archaeologists were still able to excavate around the edges. They are now sure that the person who once resided within the grave was the person who was responsible, and had enough social impetus, for the creation of Stonehenge. Their results will be published in the new BBC series Digging for Britain, airing at 21:00 on Fridays from the 9th of September on BBC 2 available on BBC Iplayer shortly after.
