Stonehenge dig a threat to journalists - April 02, 2008
The first excavation inside Stonehenge since 1964 is taking place right now. This is, of course, a great excuse to claim we soon know the truth of the mysterious stones.
The point of the latest dig is to work out when stones were first placed on the site, in a ‘Double Bluestone Circle’ of which no trace remains. The current iconic set of stones was re-erected later than this original circle and it is hoped that carbon dating, presumably of organic material found in the excavations, could indicate when the stones first arrived on site (English Heritage dig website).
“The bluestones hold the key to understanding the purpose and meaning of Stonehenge,” says Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage. “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.”
And dig scientist Geoffrey Wainwright confidently declares, “We will be able to say not only why but when the first stone monument was built.”
Of course journalists will be fervently hoping he’s wrong about the "why" part...
If he’s right we will no longer we able spout off about “some of England’s most sacred soil”.
No more will be able to fill our newspapers and blogs waxing lyrical about the possibility that the henge was “the Lourdes of the bronze age, where the sick and troubled sought healing from the supernatural power of bluestones”.
We’ll also be short of chances to note nonsense like “Theories of the role of Stonehenge range from the supernatural -- one says the legendary wizard Merlin built it -- to sacrifices linked to sun worship.”
How else we will get away with inserting straight-faced statements about theories with no basis in fact into science stories, such as that “the Greek Oracle of Delphi may also be relevant to Stonehenge’s past”. Apparently as she may have popped up to Britain for her Winter holidays.
Some speculate that Stonehenge also functioned as a primitive computer. Just to join in with the rampant speculation, the Great Beyond is going to claim that falling stones are the origin of the phrase ‘to crash’ in IT circles.
So please Professor Wainwright, if you do discover the truth, keep it to yourself. Don’t destroy one of the few opportunities for genuinely creative writing left to us modern churnalists.
Of course if he does, we can just turn our attention to the nearby wooden sister-circle (see Nature from 2007; subscription required).
More: Alex Witze recently blogged about Stonehenge from the SAA meeting in the United States.
Image top: Stonehenge / English Heritage
Image lower: 1954 trenching which revealed stumps and holes of five Bluestones / English Heritage
Comments
I found this post while doing some monitoring for my client the Smithsonian Channel - they are filming a documentary alongside the BBC of the excavation.
Thought readers might be interested to check out a live blog the EVP of the Channel, David Royle, is posting live from Stonehenge.
He's also uploading videos and photos every day.
The link is http://community.smithsonianchannelcommunity.com/droyle
Posted by: Paull Young | April 2, 2008 05:17 PM
Stonehenge without speculation? impossible. maybe not:
www.sarsen56.wordpress.com
Posted by: Anthony Johnson | April 3, 2008 08:24 PM