ARCHAEOLOGISTS have solved one of the greatest mysteries of Stonehenge - the exact spot from where its huge stones were quarried.
A team has pinpointed the precise place in Wales from where the bluestones were removed in about 2500 BC.
It found the small crag-edged enclosure at one of the highest points of the 1,008ft high Carn Menyn mountain in Pembrokeshire's Preseli Hills.
The enclosure is just over one acre in size but, according to team leader Professor Tim Darvill, it provides a veritable "Aladdin's Cave" of made-to-measure pillars for aspiring circle builders. Within and outside the enclosure are numerous prone pillar stones with clear signs of working. Some are fairly recent and a handful of drill holes attest to the technology used. Other blocks may have been wrenched from the ground or the crags in ancient times.
They were then moved 240 miles to the famous site at Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.
The discovery comes a year after scientists proved that the remains of a "band of brothers" found near Stonehenge were Welshmen who transported the stones. The skeletons were found by workmen laying a pipe on Boscombe Down and chemical analysis of their teeth revealed they were brought up in South West Wales.
Experts believed the family accompanied the stones on their epic journey from the Preseli Hills to Salisbury Plain.
Now Prof Darvill, colleague Geoff Wainwright, a retired English Heritage archaeologist, and six researchers and students from Bournemouth University have confirmed where exactly they uncovered the stones.
The team have spent the past three years on the project.
They scoured a 3km-square area in the highest points of Carn Menyn where they made the amazing discovery.
Prof Darvill said, "When we came across the enclosure we couldn't believe it. You dream about finding things like this but don't really think they exist. We have done geological and chemical tests which are still ongoing but show the quarry is the exact place.
"Geographically, the bluestones are very distinctive and could have only come from a very certain area. We already knew it was in the Preseli Hills but the geological tests combined with the chemical test results make us sure we have found it.
"Nobody can be sure why the stones were taken from there to Salisbury but I believe it is because they were regarded as holy or to do with a deity of some kind.
Source For Full Article : http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=15661198%26method=full%26siteid=50082%26headline=archaeologists%2dfigure%2dout%2dmystery%2dof%2d%2dstonehenge%2d%2dbluestones-name_page.html
Credit To Author.
Disclaimer
This website contains copyrighted news material - the use of which has
not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We believe
that our use of such material for nonprofit educational purposes (and other
related purposes) constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as
provided for in the US Copyright Law at Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. If you
wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go
beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. If
for any reason you believe that our use of your material on this site does
not fall within the fair use guidelines, please immediately notify The Black
Vault so that we can promptly address the matter.
Sincerely,
John Greenewald, Jr.
a
The Black Vault Headquarters
http://www.blackvault.com
| 
Online Stats: 
