TOM MORGAN
Archaeologists yesterday began a historic dig which they hope will unravel the mystery of Stonehenge.
A trench is being excavated at the World Heritage site in a bid to establish the precise dating of the Double Bluestone Circle, the first stone structure built some 3000 years ago.
Timothy Darvill and Geoffrey Wainwright, the professors leading the first dig inside the stone circle in 44 years, believe their project could answer the "eternal questions" of when and why Stonehenge was first built.
Professor Darvill, of Bournemouth University, and Professor Wainwright, president of the Society of Antiquaries, will compare samples with their research in the Preseli hills in south-west Wales, from where 80 such stones were carried an estimated 4500 years ago.
Dr Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage, which maintains Stonehenge, described the two-week dig as "tremendously exciting".
He said: "The bluestones hold the key to understanding the purpose and meaning of Stonehenge.
"Their arrival marked a turning point in the history of Stonehenge, changing the site from being a fairly standard formative henge with timber structures and occasional use for burial, to the complex stone structure whose remains dominate the site today."
Mr Wainwright added: "This small excavation of a bluestone is the culmination of six years of research which Tim and I have conducted in the Preseli hills of North Pembrokeshire and which has shed new light on the eternal question as to why Stonehenge was built.
"The excavation will date the arrival of the bluestones following their 153-mile journey from Preseli to Salisbury Plain and contribute to our definition of the society which undertook such an ambitious project.
"We will be able to say not only why but when the first stone monument was built."
The hole, which will eventually measure 3.5 metres wide and 1.5 metres deep, will be dug by hand in a previously excavated area on the south-eastern quadrant of the Double Stone Circle.
Mr Darvill said he had consulted druid groups before carrying out the dig.
He said: "It is an incredibly exciting moment and a great privilege to be able to excavate inside Stonehenge.
"This excavation is the first opportunity in nearly half a century to bring the power of modern scientific archaeology to bear on a problem that has taxed the minds of travellers, antiquaries and archaeologists since medieval times - just why were the bluestones so important and powerful to have warranted our ancestors to make the gargantuan journey to bring them to Salisbury Plain?"
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