Original subtitles

*

Narrator: STONEHENGE, ENGLAND.

THE MOST FAMOUS PREHISTORIC MONUMENT

IN THE WORLD.

FOR CENTURIES, HISTORIANS HAVE WONDERED

WHY AND HOW IT WAS BUILT.

THE SKILL AND THE ENGINEERING AND THE INGENUITY

OF THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT IT IS JUST JAW-DROPPING.

Narrator: NOW NEW TECHNOLOGIES

ARE UNLOCKING STONEHENGE'S DEEPEST AND DARKEST SECRETS,

AND ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE REWRITING THE HISTORY

OF THIS ANCIENT WONDER.

THIS IS GOING TO REVOLUTIONIZE

OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ORIGINS OF STONEHENGE.

Narrator: WHAT THEY'RE FINDING IS SHOCKING.

THIS BLOW SUGGESTS THAT THIS PERSON WAS PROBABLY EXECUTED.

Narrator: IS THE STORY OF STONEHENGE

STRANGER AND MORE COMPLEX THAN WE EVER IMAGINED?

THE ONLY WAY TO FIND OUT IS TO UPROOT THE STONES THEMSELVES,

UNEARTHING BURIED SKELETONS...

CONCEALED CARVINGS...

AND THE CELESTIAL SECRETS

HIDDEN AT THE HEART OF THIS STONE AGE MASTERPIECE.

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

4,500 YEARS AGO...

IN AN AGE BEFORE METAL...

BEFORE THE WHEEL...

STONE AGE BRITONS RAISED UP 165 COLOSSAL STONES

ON A FEATURELESS ENGLISH PLAIN

TO FAMOUSLY CELEBRATE SUNRISE ON THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR

AND SUNSET ON THE SHORTEST.

BUT WAS ALL THIS BUILT FOR JUST TWO DAYS OF THE YEAR?

PIONEERING TECHNOLOGIES AND GRUESOME DISCOVERIES

ARE NOW REVEALING WHAT REALLY HAPPENED HERE

TO TELL THE FULL STORY OF STONEHENGE.

THIS WAS THE NEW YORK OF ITS TIME.

IT WAS THE LONDON OF ITS TIME, THE PARIS.

STONEHENGE WAS THE PLACE TO BE.

*

Narrator: TODAY, THE HENGE APPEARS RUINED,

BUT THERE'S ORDER IN THE CHAOS

AND CLUES TO THIS ANCIENT SITE'S FORMER GLORY.

FIVE COLOSSAL ARCHES STAND AT THE HEART OF THE HENGE,

ARRANGED IN A HORSESHOE

AND MADE FROM 20-FOOT-TALL STONES KNOWN AS SARSENS.

AROUND THEM, CIRCLES OF A DIFFERENT ROCK

KNOWN AS BLUESTONE,

EACH WEIGHING AS MUCH AS AN S.U.V.

ANOTHER RING OF SARSENS ENCIRCLES THE BLUESTONES,

PERFECTLY ALIGNED WITH THE WINTER-SOLSTICE SUNSET

AND SUMMER-SOLSTICE SUNRISE.

*

ALTHOUGH STONEHENGE IS FAMOUS AS A CELESTIAL TEMPLE,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS SUSPECT A MONUMENT THIS BIG

MUST HAVE ATTRACTED OTHER USES.

BUT WHAT?

*

MODERN FORENSIC TECHNIQUES

ARE REVEALING THE SURPRISING ANSWER

BECAUSE SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO CAME HERE NEVER LEFT.

WE KNOW THERE WERE 300 TO 400 BURIALS IN THE GENERAL REGION.

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGICAL BONE EXPERT JACKIE McKINLEY

SUSPECTS MANY OF THESE PEOPLE CAME TO STONEHENGE

FOR MORE THAN JUST TWO DAYS A YEAR.

THEY CAME TO LIVE AND WORK,

AND SHE BELIEVES THEIR BONES CAN PROVE HER THEORY.

McKinley: A LOT OF THE TIME,

THE DEAD ARE BURIED IN CERTAIN POSITIONS, POSTURES

WITH CERTAIN MATERIALS WITH THEM,

SO THERE'S A WHOLE VARIETY OF THINGS

THAT I GO TO LOOK FOR

BECAUSE THAT CAN TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR LIFE

BUT ALSO ABOUT STONEHENGE ITSELF.

*

Narrator: BURIED BENEATH THE STONES LAY HUMAN REMAINS --

FOUR SKELETONS, ONE DECAPITATED.

ANOTHER WITH FATAL ARROW WOUNDS

AND THE ARROWHEADS THAT KILLED HIM.

THEY'RE CLUES TO THE ANCIENT PEOPLE

THAT CAME HERE 4,500 YEARS AGO.

BUT THESE SKELETONS ARE NOT ALONE.

WITHIN A RING OF 56 PITS THAT SURROUND THE STONES

LIE THE CREMATED REMAINS OF DOZENS OF PEOPLE,

AND MANY MORE ARE BURIED OUTSIDE THIS RING.

WHAT CAN THESE REMAINS TELL US

ABOUT HOW STONEHENGE WAS REALLY USED?

*

TODAY, JACKIE'S EXAMINING

ONE OF THE MOST COMPLETE SKELETONS FOUND IN THE AREA.

McKinley: FROM THE SKELETON, I CAN SEE THAT THIS WAS

A YOUNG ADULT MALE, PROBABLY IN HIS MID-20s.

Narrator: DYING YOUNG WASN'T UNUSUAL IN PREHISTORIC BRITAIN,

BUT THE OBJECTS BURIED WITH THIS MAN

WERE ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY.

JACKIE BELIEVES THEY'RE A CLUE TO HIS OCCUPATION.

THIS IS A PAIR OF GOLD ORNAMENTS

THAT WERE FOUND ROLLED TOGETHER INSIDE THE MOUTH.

YOU SEE THEY'RE TUCKED AGAINST

THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF THE INNER JAW,

WHICH MEANS THEY WERE EITHER PLACED IN THE MOUTH

AT THE TIME OF DEATH OR SET IN BEFORE BURIAL.

AND THESE REALLY ARE VERY RARE.

THERE ARE ONLY ABOUT EIGHT PAIRS KNOWN FROM THE COUNTRY.

Narrator: ANCIENT PEOPLE OFTEN BURIED THEIR DEAD

WITH POSSESSIONS THAT HINT AT THEIR OWNER'S PROFESSION.

DID THIS MAN TRADE IN FINE JEWELRY?

McKinley: WE WERE AT THE VERY EARLY STAGES OF METALWORKING.

THESE ARE VERY FINELY WORKED ITEMS,

AND TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE -- NOT JUST THE TECHNOLOGY,

BUT THE SKILL TO HAVE LEARNED

HOW TO CHANGE SOMETHING WHICH WAS ESSENTIALLY A ROCK

INTO SOMETHING THAT DELICATE AND THAT BEAUTIFULLY WORKED

WOULD REALLY HAVE BEEN SEEN AS SOMETHING QUITE MAGICAL.

Narrator: JACKIE THINKS THIS MAGIC

MAY HAVE BEEN WORKED BY THE MAN BURIED NEXT TO HIM.

McKinley: THERE WERE TWO GRAVES

THAT WERE WITHIN 3 METERS OF EACH OTHER.

Narrator: THE SECOND, OLDER MAN

WAS BURIED WITH THE SAME RARE GOLD ORNAMENTS,

TOGETHER WITH SIMPLE METALWORKING TOOLS.

I THINK HE WAS THE PERSON WHO WORKED THE MAGIC.

I THINK HE WAS THE PERSON WHO COULD MAKE THOSE CHANGES

FROM PIECES OF ROCK

TO ITEMS OF BEAUTY AND ITEMS OF UTILITY.

*

Narrator: JACKIE IS CONVINCED BOTH MEN WERE METALWORKERS

WHO CAME TO STONEHENGE

TO MAKE AND SELL THEIR PRECIOUS METAL GOODS.

TO HER, STONEHENGE WAS MORE THAN A MONUMENT.

IT WAS A THRIVING HUB FOR CRAFT AND TRADE.

BUT JACKIE'S DISCOVERED SOMETHING

EVEN MORE EXTRAORDINARY.

THESE ANCIENT CRAFTSMEN

HAD COME A LONG WAY TO SET UP SHOP AT STONEHENGE.

THERE ARE CERTAIN CHEMICAL SIGNATURES

WHICH ARE TAKEN UP FROM THE GROUND WATER

WHICH CAN GET FIXED IN THE DENTAL ENAMEL

AS IT'S DEVELOPING IN THE GROWING CHILD.

BY LOOKING AT THOSE SIGNATURES AND RELATING THEM

TO THE DIFFERENT GEOLOGIES ACROSS EUROPE,

WE CAN MORE OR LESS WORK OUT THE REGIONS

THAT PEOPLE CAME FROM.

Narrator: PREHISTORIC BRITONS HADN'T YET DISCOVERED THE WHEEL,

SO INVESTIGATORS ASSUMED THEY LIVED AND DIED IN ONE PLACE,

BUT THE EVIDENCE FROM THE OLDER MAN SHATTERS THIS BELIEF.

THE SIGNAL THAT WE GOT FROM HIM

SUGGESTS HE MAY HAVE BEEN FROM CENTRAL EUROPE,

FROM THE AREA OF WHAT WE NOW KNOW AS GERMANY.

Narrator: THAT'S A 700-MILE HIKE FROM STONEHENGE.

THE YOUNGER MAN'S RESULTS ARE EQUALLY ASTONISHING.

HE WAS BORN AT STONEHENGE

BUT SPENT HIS TEENS IN CENTRAL EUROPE.

McKinley: THE FACT THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE

THAT PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE MOVED SEVERAL TIMES

IN THEIR LIFETIME BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, QUITE LONG DISTANCES

IS ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING.

WHAT YOU'VE GOT IS A CONNECTION

BETWEEN PEOPLE OVER A LARGE GEOGRAPHIC AREA.

AND WHETHER THEY KEPT THAT CONNECTION

BECAUSE OF TRADE OR BECAUSE OF FAMILY

OR PROBABLY A COMBINATION OF THE TWO,

IT IS JUST -- IT'S SO MODERN IN MANY WAYS.

IT REALLY IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE WOULD BE DOING NOW.

Narrator: THIS DISCOVERY

REWRITES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

4,000 YEARS AGO, THESE TWO MEN TRAVELED

VAST DISTANCES OVER LAND AND SEA.

THEY WERE PART OF A COMPLEX WEB OF CONNECTIONS

PERHAPS WITH THE MARKETPLACE OF STONEHENGE AT ITS CORE.

AND THEY WEREN'T THE ONLY FOREIGN TRAVELERS

TO MAKE THEIR WAY TO THIS CORNER OF SOUTHWEST ENGLAND.

*

EVIDENCE FROM HUNDREDS OF GRAVES

SHOWS STONEHENGE WAS A MULTINATIONAL MELTING POT.

THE GRAVES ARE FILLED WITH ITEMS FROM DISTANT LANDS --

A GREEN-JADE AX HEAD FROM ITALY...

AN AMBER NECKLACE FROM DENMARK...

AND BLUE BEADS FROM GREECE.

ONE DAGGER COMBINES WHALE BONE FROM AS FAR AWAY AS SCANDINAVIA

WITH BRONZE MADE FROM CORNISH TIN AND WELSH COPPER.

*

THE GRAVES OF STONEHENGE ARE REWRITING OUR UNDERSTANDING

OF HOW STONE AGE PEOPLE LIVED.

BUT WHY DID THIS REMOTE, HARD-TO-REACH SPOT

BECOME THE MANHATTAN OF ITS AGE?

A CONTROVERSIAL NEW THEORY

SUGGESTS THE STONES THEMSELVES PROVIDED A UNIQUE DRAW.

DID THE TRADERS COME TO STONEHENGE IN SEARCH OF MAGIC?

*

*

Narrator: 4,500 YEARS AGO,

PEOPLE TRAVELED TO STONEHENGE FROM ACROSS EUROPE

TO MAKE AND TRADE PRECIOUS GOODS.

BUT WHAT DREW THEM HERE?

A NEW AND CONTROVERSIAL IDEA

SUGGESTS IT WASN'T THE MASSIVE SARSEN STONES,

BUT THEIR SMALLER, LESS CONSPICUOUS NEIGHBORS.

IN A SENSE, THE BLUESTONES ARE THE SECRET TO STONEHENGE.

*

Narrator: TODAY, STONEHENGE LOOKS DULL AND WEATHERED,

BUT STRIP AWAY THE LAYERS OF LICHEN AND MOSS,

AND THE MONUMENT APPEARS IN ITS FORMER GLORY --

SHINING, WHITE SARSENS MADE FROM A LOCAL SANDSTONE.

AND THE SMALLER BLUESTONES WERE EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL.

THEY'RE A TYPE OF VOLCANIC ROCK CALLED DOLERITE

THAT'S NOT FOUND LOCALLY.

*

ORIGINALLY, THERE WERE 80 OF THESE BLUESTONES,

PROTECTED BY TWO RINGS OF GIANT SARSENS.

*

THE BLUESTONES ARE CENTRAL TO STONEHENGE,

BUT THEY PLAYED LITTLE PART

IN THE SUMMER OR WINTER SOLSTICE.

SO WHAT WERE THEY FOR?

WHAT DID THEY MEAN TO THE PEOPLE WHO VISITED STONEHENGE?

ARCHAEOLOGIST TIM DARVILL

THINKS THE BLUESTONES HAD A UNIQUE AND POWERFUL ATTRACTION

BECAUSE IT SEEMS THE BUILDERS OF STONEHENGE

WENT TO EXTRAORDINARY LENGTHS TO OBTAIN THEM.

AND THIS IS IT. LOOK AT THAT.

THERE'S THE STONE RIGHT IN FRONT.

TIM AND HIS TEAM ARE IN THE PRESELI HILLS IN WALES.

THEY'RE 140 MILES FROM STONEHENGE.

Darvill: I'D SAY IT'S A GOOD PLACE.

Narrator: BUT INCREDIBLY, MANY HISTORIANS BELIEVE

THIS IS WHERE THE BLUESTONES WERE QUARRIED.

WOW. THAT WAS A WALK.

TIM WANTS TO PROVE THE STONES CAME FROM THESE HILLS

BY USING GROUNDBREAKING, NEW X-RAY TECHNOLOGY

TO PINPOINT THE EXACT LOCATION WHERE EACH STONE WAS QUARRIED.

*

Man: WELL, AT THE MOMENT, I'M ANALYZING THE CHEMISTRY

OF THIS PARTICULAR DOLERITE, AND THE MACHINE ITSELF

IS FIRING HIGH-ENERGY X-RAYS INTO THE ROCK,

AND THE ENERGY THAT'S BEING REFLECTED BACK

IS TELLING US WHAT ATOMS, WHAT ELEMENTS

ARE ACTUALLY IN THE ROCK ITSELF.

*

Narrator: ONCE THE TEAM HAS SCANNED THE LOCAL ROCKS,

THEY COMPARE THE RESULTS

TO READINGS PREVIOUSLY TAKEN AT STONEHENGE.

EACH COLORED LINE REPRESENTS THE UNIQUE COMPOSITION

OF AN INDIVIDUAL BLUESTONE AT STONEHENGE.

*

TIM OVERLAYS TODAY'S READINGS.

THE RESULTS ARE STRIKING.

ONE READING SEEMS A PERFECT HIT

AND ANOTHER TANTALIZINGLY CLOSE.

IN SOME WAYS, THE SAMPLES THAT WE'VE TAKEN TODAY

ARE INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM THOSE COMPOSITIONS...

-YES. -...FROM STONEHENGE.

Darvill: THERE'S A GOOD GROUP THERE.

Narrator: TIM'S INITIAL FINDINGS

SHOW AT LEAST TWO OF THE STONEHENGE BLUESTONES

COME FROM THIS ROCKY OUTCROP.

IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY.

BUT WITHOUT METAL TOOLS, OR EVEN WHEELS,

HOW DID THE STONE AGE BUILDERS EXTRACT AND TRANSPORT

THESE HUGE STONES ALL THE WAY TO STONEHENGE?

*

ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK THE STONE MASONS

DROVE WOODEN WEDGES INTO CRACKS IN THE ROCK.

[ THUNDER RUMBLES ]

WHEN THESE GOT WET, THEY EXPANDED,

BREAKING OFF HUGE SLABS.

80 SLABS, WEIGHING UP TO 5 TONS, WERE MOVED TO STONEHENGE.

THEY COULD'VE BEEN DRAGGED ON SLEDS ALONG ROLLERS...

...OR WRAPPED IN PROTECTIVE WICKER BRANCHES

AND ROLLED ACROSS COUNTRY.

THEY COULD EVEN HAVE BEEN CARRIED BY RAFT,

FLOATED ALONG THE COAST AND UPRIVER

UNTIL THEY REACHED THEIR CHOSEN SITE

140 MILES FROM THE QUARRY.

*

TIM AND HIS TEAM ARE PIECING TOGETHER THE PUZZLES

OF WHERE THE STONES CAME FROM

AND HOW THEY WERE TRANSPORTED TO STONEHENGE.

BUT THE BIGGEST QUESTION OF ALL IS, WHY?

WHY DID THE ANCIENT BUILDERS

CARRY THE STONES 140 MILES TO STONEHENGE?

TIM THINKS THE ANSWER LIES

IN THESE HILLS AND THEIR REPUTATION FOR MAGIC.

Darvill: THE SPRINGS ALL ALONG THE PRESELI HILLS

ARE WELL-KNOWN FOR THEIR MAGICAL PROPERTIES,

AND MANY OF THEM ARE STILL VISITED BY PEOPLE

WHO BELIEVE THAT THEY'VE GOT CURATIVE POWERS.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS WATER

IS THE FACT THAT IT HAS SEEPED THROUGH THE BLUESTONES,

AND THAT'S WHAT GIVES THESE THINGS THEIR MAGICAL POWERS.

Darvill: TIM BELIEVES THE BLUESTONES' MAGICAL PROPERTIES

BROUGHT THE BUILDERS OF STONEHENGE

TO THIS DISTANT HILLSIDE

AND THEN BROUGHT PEOPLE TO STONEHENGE ITSELF.

Darvill: THAT'S WHY THEY WANTED TO BE THERE.

THEY WANTED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH IT,

TO TOUCH, TO FEEL, TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT AWAY.

*

Narrator: THE WELSH BLUESTONES MADE STONEHENGE FAMOUS

IN THE ANCIENT WORLD,

BUT WHY DID THE BRITONS FRAME THESE LEGENDARY BLOCKS

WITH THE MUCH LARGER SARSEN STONES?

COULD NEW TECHNOLOGY LIFT THE LID

ON THE ANCIENT WORLD'S MOST MYSTERIOUS RITUAL?

AND...

DO THE STONE CIRCLES HIDE AN EVEN DARKER SECRET

AS THE SITE OF A SHOWPIECE KILLING?

Buckberry: QUITE BLOODY. IT'S QUITE HORRIBLE.

WE KNOW THAT ONE OF THE MODES OF EXECUTION WAS DECAPITATION.

*

Narrator: STONEHENGE IN ENGLAND --

THE MOST FAMOUS PREHISTORIC MONUMENT IN THE WORLD.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE UNCOVERING EVIDENCE

THAT ANCIENT BRITONS USED THIS MONUMENT ALL YEAR LONG

FOR TRADING AND MAKING GOODS AND FOR BURYING THEIR DEAD.

BUT WHAT CEREMONIES WENT ON HERE

DURING THE TWO KEY DAYS IN THE ANCIENT CALENDAR

FOR WHICH THE HENGE WAS DESIGNED,

THE WINTER AND SUMMER SOLSTICES?

Greaney: WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH EVIDENCE ABOUT EXACTLY

WHAT KIND OF RITUALS TOOK PLACE HERE IN PREHISTORY,

SO WE HAVE TO KIND OF LOOK AT THE STONES THEMSELVES.

Narrator: SOME ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE

CLUES TO THE RITUAL SECRETS OF STONEHENGE

MAY LIE HIDDEN IN THE WAY ANCIENT STONE MASONS

CARVED THE TWO RINGS OF MASSIVE SARSEN STONES.

*

THESE STONES ARE A MIRACLE OF ANCIENT ENGINEERING.

ON THEIR TOPS LIE CARVED JOINTS,

PERFECTLY SHAPED TO SLOT INSIDE THE LINTEL BALANCED ON TOP.

THESE JOINTS KEEP THE WHOLE MONUMENT STEADY.

THE BALANCING LINTELS

ALSO HAVE TONGUES AND GROOVES THAT INTERLOCK...

TO SECURE THE CIRCLE.

THE ANCIENT CRAFTSMEN LEFT NOTHING TO CHANCE.

EVERY PART OF THE DESIGN

WAS CAREFULLY CONSIDERED AND EXPERTLY EXECUTED.

Greaney: STONEHENGE IS UNIQUE BECAUSE

IT'S THE ONLY LINTELED STONE CIRCLE IN THE WORLD.

IT'S THE ONLY ONE WITH THESE HORIZONTAL STONES

THAT CONNECT THE OTHERS TOGETHER,

AND IT'S ALSO THE ONLY ONE WHERE YOU'VE GOT THIS EVIDENCE

OF JOINTS AND THE STONES BEING SHAPED IN SUCH A UNIQUE WAY.

Narrator: TODAY, ARCHAEOLOGIST SUSAN GREANEY

USES LASER TECHNOLOGY TO LOOK FOR TINY INDENTATIONS

ON THE SURFACE OF THE GIANT SARSENS.

*

SHE HOPES MARKS CARVED BY ANCIENT STONE MASONS

4,500 YEARS AGO

COULD REVEAL WHAT TYPE OF RITUALS

THE STONE CIRCLES WERE DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE.

Greaney: THE WAY THAT THE STONES WERE SHAPED

WAS USING SARSEN HAMMERSTONES...

SO LITERALLY EACH BASH OF THE STONE

JUST RESULTS IN A LITTLE KIND OF DIMPLE.

AND SO THE DETAIL OF THAT, YOU JUST WOULDN'T BE ABLE

TO PICK UP WITH THE NAKED EYE.

Narrator: THE LASER SCANNER SENDS OUT

TINY PULSES OF INVISIBLE LIGHT.

[ WHIRRING ]

THE LIGHT BOUNCES BACK TO THE SCANNER TO CREATE A 3-D IMAGE

THAT'S ACCURATE TO THE TINIEST FRACTION OF AN INCH.

IT CAN SHOW YOU HOW THE STONES WORKED AND SHAPED IN PREHISTORY,

AND THIS IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT'S NOT REALLY BEEN

LOOKED AT IN MASSIVE DETAIL BEFORE.

Narrator: SUSAN CAREFULLY EXAMINES THE SARSEN STONES.

SHE HOPES TO DISCOVER WHICH SURFACES

THE ANCIENT MASONS SPENT THE MOST EFFORT CARVING

BECAUSE THESE COULD POINT TOWARDS

THE MOST SACRED SPOTS ON THE SITE,

PERHAPS WHERE HOLY MEN WOULD ONCE HAVE STOOD.

Man: YEAH, WE'RE GOING TO NEED...

I MEAN, THIS SIDE WILL COME OUT VERY NICELY HERE.

BUT TO GET THE TOP OF IT OVER THERE, WE'LL NEED TO...

ON ONE OF THE FALLEN STONES,

SUSAN SPOTS A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT DETAIL.

YEAH, SO, THE RIDGES THAT YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THE STONE

ARE THE REMNANTS OF HOW THEY'VE BEEN WORKING

AND SHAPING THIS PARTICULAR STONE.

*

CAN DOWNLOAD THE DATA AND HAVE A LITTLE PREVIEW OF WHAT WE'VE SCANNED?

YEAH, WE CAN HAVE A LOOK AT IT. YES, YEAH, CERTAINLY.

Narrator: SCANS OF THE STANDING SARSENS

REVEAL MORE OF THESE ROUGH WORK MARKS,

BUT ONLY ON ONE SIDE.

THE INTERIOR SURFACES HAVE BEEN HAMMERED SMOOTH,

A PROCESS KNOWN AS DRESSING.

AND THE BEST-DRESSED STONES WERE USED TO FRAME

THE RISING SUN ON THE SUMMER SOLSTICE.

Greaney: THE LASER SCANNING HAS SHOWN US THAT THE STONES

THAT WERE THE MOST FINELY DRESSED --

TO MAKE THE MOVEMENT OF THE SUN REALLY OBVIOUSLY.

AND IT SHOWS WHICH BITS OF THE SITE

WERE IMPORTANT IN PREHISTORY.

*

Narrator: SUSAN'S WORK SHOWS

THAT ONLY A SMALL AREA INSIDE THE CENTRAL HORSESHOE

WAS OPTIMIZED TO GIVE THE PERFECT VIEW

OF THE RISING SUN.

*

AND BECAUSE THE INNER CIRCLE IS SMALL,

THIS TELLS HER SOMETHING IMPORTANT

ABOUT HOW STONEHENGE WAS USED.

IT WASN'T DESIGNED AS A PREHISTORIC CATHEDRAL

FOR A VAST CONGREGATION.

IT WAS AN EXCLUSIVE TEMPLE FOR A TINY ELITE.

*

SUSAN'S RESEARCH, COMBINED WITH EVIDENCE

FROM OTHER NEARBY PREHISTORIC SITES,

ALLOWS US TO PAINT A PICTURE

OF HOW THIS ELITE MAY HAVE USED STONEHENGE.

THESE CHOSEN FEW MAY HAVE ARRIVED BY BOAT

AND THEN WALKED ALONG A PROCESSIONAL AVENUE

TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE HENGE.

ON THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR, THEY WOULD'VE STOOD

ALONG THE CENTRAL AXIS OF THE STONE CIRCLE,

SURROUNDED BY THE SMOOTH FACES OF THE INNER SARSENS,

AND WITNESSED A SPECTACULAR EVENT

AS THE SUMMER SUN ROSE DIRECTLY ABOVE THE HEEL STONE.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE SLOWLY UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES

OF HOW THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ANCIENT MONUMENT WAS USED.

BUT WHY DID ANCIENT BRITONS DECIDE TO TRANSPORT THESE STONES

140 MILES TO THIS FEATURELESS PLAIN?

WHAT WAS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS PLACE?

NOW, A BIZARRE CACHE OF BONES UNEARTHED AT STONEHENGE

MAY FINALLY PROVIDE THE ANSWER.

*

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE FINALLY PIECING TOGETHER

THE ANCIENT WORLD'S GREATEST PUZZLE,

TO UNDERSTAND WHY STONEHENGE WAS BUILT

AND HOW IT WAS USED.

BUT THERE'S ONE MAJOR PIECE MISSING.

A REALLY BIG QUESTION STILL REMAINS IN THIS LANDSCAPE.

WHY IS STONEHENGE WHERE IT IS?

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNCOVERED EVIDENCE

THAT MAY SOLVE THIS MYSTERY.

IF THEY'RE RIGHT, IT WILL FINALLY EXPLAIN

WHY THE ANCIENT BUILDERS

WENT TO SUCH EXTRAORDINARY LENGTHS

TO BRING THE BLUESTONES

TO THIS SEEMINGLY ORDINARY PLACE.

*

BURIED BENEATH THE STONES,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNEARTHED THOUSANDS OF ANIMAL BONES,

SHARDS OF BONE FROM WOLVES,

RAVENS, DOGS, FOXES, AND PIGS...

...SKULLS FROM CATTLE AND HORNS FROM BISON.

IN THE DITCHES SURROUNDING THE STONES,

THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF DEER ANTLERS,

AND, AT THE MONUMENT'S SOUTHERN EXIT,

TWO HUGE JAW BONES THAT APPEAR TO BELONG

TO A NOW-EXTINCT BREED OF WILD COW CALLED AN AUROCH.

THE STRANGE BONES WERE CAREFULLY PLACED IN A SYMBOLIC POSITION.

BUT WHY?

*

DAVID JACQUES BELIEVES ANCIENT AUROCHS COULD BE THE KEY

TO UNDERSTANDING WHY STONEHENGE WAS BUILT WHERE IT WAS.

AUROCHS CAPTIVATED THE STONE AGE IMAGINATION,

APPEARING IN CAVE PAINTINGS ACROSS EUROPE.

Jacques: THEY WOULD'VE BEEN HUGE MEGACOWS,

ABOUT 2 METERS HIGH.

RUNNING SPEED, ABOUT 35 MILES AN HOUR.

ENORMOUS HORNS. THIS WOULD'VE BEEN A REALLY FEROCIOUS ANIMAL.

IN A SENSE, YOU GET THE FEELING

THAT THE ARTIST IS WORSHIPPING THEM.

THERE WOULD'VE BEEN ENORMOUS RESPECT FOR THESE WILD ANIMALS.

Narrator: BUT WHY BURY THEIR BONES AT STONEHENGE?

DAVID THINKS HE'S FOUND THE ANSWER

AT A SITE HE'S BEEN EXCAVATING

JUST A MILE AND A HALF FROM THE STONES.

Jacques: IT'S A SITE TO ITS EAST,

WHICH I'VE BEEN EXPLORING SINCE 2005.

IT'S KNOWN AS BLICK MEAD.

AND HERE IS WHERE THE EARLIEST PEOPLE

WHO WERE LIVING IN THIS LANDSCAPE LIVED,

AND THEY LIVED HERE FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.

Narrator: AT BLICK MEAD, DAVID HAS FOUND

FRAGMENTS OF BUTCHERED AND COOKED AUROCH BONE.

AND TODAY HE'S TRAVELING TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING

RADIOCARBON-DATING LABORATORIES

TO GET HIS MOST RECENT FIND DATED.

HE HOPES THIS COULD SOLVE

THE MYSTERY OF STONEHENGE'S LOCATION.

Jacques: THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF THESE BONES THERE.

IT LOOKS TO US AS THOUGH THIS LANDSCAPE

IS REALLY HEAVILY POPULATED BY AUROCHS.

Narrator: LIKE THE BUFFALO

THAT ROAMED THE GREAT PLAINS OF AMERICA,

DAVID BELIEVES VAST HERDS OF AUROCHS DOMINATED THE PLAIN

WHERE STONEHENGE STANDS TODAY.

BUT EARLY HUNTERS WERE WAITING, READY TO HERD THE BEASTS

THROUGH A NATURAL CHANNEL IN THE LANDSCAPE,

UP TOWARDS WHAT WOULD ONE DAY BECOME STONEHENGE.

WE THINK THAT THE HUNTERS ARE TRACKING AUROCHS

FROM THE SPRINGS UP OVER SALISBURY PLAIN

IN THE DIRECTION OF THE STONEHENGE KNOLL.

THE AREA AROUND THE STONEHENGE KNOLL IS A KILL ZONE.

IT'S A TERRIFIC PLACE TO TAKE THESE ANIMALS DOWN.

Narrator: DAVID'S CONVINCED THAT LONG BEFORE STONEHENGE WAS BUILT,

HUNDREDS OF HUNTERS FROM ALL OVER BRITAIN

GATHERED AT THE SITE FOR ANNUAL AUROCH HUNTS.

THESE EVENTS WOULD'VE BEEN SO SPECIAL.

IT'S LIKE THE SUPER BOWL. IT'S LIKE THE POPE SPEAKING.

THIS IS SPORT. THIS IS RELIGION.

THIS IS FEASTING.

IT WOULD'VE BEEN EXHILARATING, 'COURSE,

WITH SERIOUS STREAK OF DANGER IN IT,

BUT IF YOU GOT ONE OF THOSE ANIMALS DOWN,

YOU MIGHT WELL BE REMEMBERED WAY OUTSIDE OF YOUR LIFETIME.

Narrator: THESE HUNTS MADE THIS LANDSCAPE FAMOUS.

DAVID BELIEVES THE HUNTERS MARKED

THIS LEGENDARY HUNTING GROUND

BY BUILDING THE FIRST MONUMENT HERE.

800 FEET NORTHWEST OF STONEHENGE,

BENEATH WHAT IS NOW AN ACCESS ROAD TO THE STONES,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND EVIDENCE

OF THREE HUGE WOODEN TOTEM POLES

ERECTED 5,000 YEARS BEFORE STONEHENGE WAS BUILT.

*

Jacques: IT'S GOT THE EARLIEST MONUMENTS IN EUROPE

BEING PUT UP ON THE SAME KNOLL

WHERE STONEHENGE LATER GOT BUILT,

SO IT'S BEEN A SPECIAL, SACRED SPOT

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,

ACTUALLY OVER 10,000 YEARS.

Narrator: 5,000 YEARS AFTER THE THREE POLES WERE ERECTED,

STONEHENGE BEGAN TO TAKE SHAPE NEARBY

WITH A DITCH, WOODEN POLES, AND BLUESTONE CIRCLE.

NEXT CAME THE GIANT SARSEN STONES

TO CREATE THE ICONIC STONE CIRCLE WE SEE TODAY.

*

TWO MONUMENTS JUST A SHORT WALK APART.

DAVID BELIEVES THIS CAN'T BE A COINCIDENCE.

TO HIM, THERE'S A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE STONE CIRCLE

AND THE TIMBER POSTS ERECTED BY THE HUNTERS

IN HONOR OF THE GREAT HUNTS.

THE AUROCH BONES FOUND BENEATH STONEHENGE SUGGEST HE'S RIGHT,

BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.

SO FAR, THERE'S LITTLE EVIDENCE

THAT THE HUNTERS EVER CAME INTO CONTACT

WITH THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT STONEHENGE 5,000 YEARS LATER.

DAVID HOPES THIS AUROCH TOOTH

FOUND IN A PREHISTORIC HOUSE AT BLICK MEAD

COULD PROVIDE A LINK BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS.

HE'S CONVINCED THE HUNTERS WERE STILL AROUND

WHEN THE BUILDERS FIRST ARRIVED IN THE AREA,

AND THESE LAST HUNTERS TAUGHT THE BUILDERS

ABOUT THE LANDSCAPE'S GLORIOUS PAST.

*

OTHER FINDS FROM BLICK MEAD

SUGGESTS HIS THEORY COULD BE RIGHT.

WILL THE TOOTH PROVIDE YET MORE AMMUNITION

FOR THIS RADICAL IDEA?

I JUST WANTED TO CHECK WHICH ONE YOU THOUGHT

WOULD BE BEST FOR SAMPLING.

I'VE GOT SOME AUROCHS' TEETH FRAGMENTS.

-SO THEY'RE JUST THERE. LOOK. -OKAY.

AND ALSO SOME CHARCOAL.

SO, THESE ARE FROM THE FIRE FROM WITHIN THE HOUSE.

Narrator: BUT RADIOCARBON-DATING SCIENTIST

ELAINE DUNBAR HAS SPOTTED A PROBLEM.

BECAUSE THIS HAS GOT TOOTH ENAMEL ON IT,

WE CAN'T BE SURE THAT THE ACTUAL CARBON

THAT'S IN THIS TOOTH ENAMEL

ISN'T FULL OF CONTAMINATION FROM THE SOIL,

WHICH CAN GIVE DATES THAT ARE ACTUALLY OLDER

OR YOUNGER FROM THE CONTAMINATION.

OH, THAT'S A REAL PITY.

BUT ELAINE IS CONFIDENT SHE CAN GET AN ACCURATE DATE

FROM THE CHARCOAL FRAGMENTS FOUND WITH THE TOOTH

THAT WERE MOST LIKELY USED TO COOK THE AUROCH MEAT.

ELAINE BEGINS THE COMPLEX PROCESS

TO DETERMINE WHEN THIS MIGHTY BEAST LIVED.

*

IT TAKES FOUR WEEKS TO PROCESS THE RESULTS.

OKAY. ELAINE, GO ON. GIVE ME THE WORST.

I'M ABSOLUTELY -- THE WHOLE TEAM, TO BE HONEST,

WE'RE ON TENDER HOOKS FOR THIS DATE.

Narrator: IF THE DATE IS CLOSE TO 4000 B.C.,

IT MEANS HUNTERS WERE STILL HERE

AFTER THE BUILDERS OF STONEHENGE HAD ARRIVED.

*

IT'S 4200 TO 4040 B.C.

OH, MY -- OH, MY GOD.

I MEAN, THAT IS -- THAT IS A FABULOUS DATE.

I MEAN, THAT IS A DREAM DATE FOR US.

I MEAN, BASICALLY, THIS IS GOING TO REVOLUTIONIZE

OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ESTABLISHMENT

OF THE ORIGINS OF THE STONEHENGE LANDSCAPE.

IT DOESN'T GET BIGGER THAN THAT.

IT'S A COMPLETELY NEW REVELATION

ABOUT WHY STONEHENGE IS WHERE IT IS.

FOR DAVID, IT'S PROOF THAT THE HUNTERS

COULD'VE PASSED ON THEIR BELIEFS TO THE BUILDERS OF STONEHENGE,

AND THAT MEANS THE MONUMENT WE SEE TODAY

IS PART OF A MUCH LONGER TRADITION

THAT BEGAN NOT 5,000, BUT 10,000 YEARS AGO

WITH THE HUNTING OF GIANT AUROCHS

ON THIS WINDSWEPT PLATEAU.

*

THE STONES ARE GIVING UP THEIR SECRETS,

REVEALING HOW THIS ANCIENT WONDER WAS REALLY USED.

NOW ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE DISCOVERING

THESE STONES GUARD ANOTHER SECRET

THAT'S BEEN HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS --

MYSTERIOUS SYMBOLS CARVED ON THE STONES THEMSELVES.

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE PIECING TOGETHER

THE FULL STORY OF STONEHENGE.

THEY'RE REVEALING HOW THIS MONUMENT WAS REALLY USED --

TO MAKE AND TRADE GOODS AND TO BRING GOOD FORTUNE.

NOW NEW EVIDENCE POINTS

TO PERHAPS THE STRANGEST USE OF ALL.

*

BENEATH THE LICHEN AND MOSS,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED STRANGE CARVINGS

CAREFULLY ETCHED INTO THE SARSEN STONES.

*

THESE CAN'T BE ORIGINAL FEATURES OF THE HENGE.

THEY'RE TOO DETAILED TO HAVE BEEN MADE WITH STONE TOOLS.

THEY MUST'VE BEEN MADE LATER WITH METAL.

WHY DID THESE LATER PEOPLE

CARVE THESE STRANGE SHAPES ONTO THE STONES?

WHAT DO THE SHAPES REPRESENT, AND WHAT PURPOSE DID THEY SERVE?

*

Greaney: ACTUALLY, YOU CAN JUST ABOUT MAKE OUT ONE HERE.

IT'S QUITE A LARGE ONE.

ARCHAEOLOGIST SUSAN GREANEY

HOPES LASER-SCANNING TECHNOLOGY CAN FIND THE ANSWERS.

SO WE'RE CONCENTRATING ON THIS PARTICULAR STONE

BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE SOME OF THE CARVINGS

WERE ADDED TO THE STONES.

THEY'RE REALLY DIFFICULT TO SEE

BECAUSE OF THE LICHEN COVER, BECAUSE THEY'RE WEATHERED,

BUT YOU CAN ACTUALLY JUST MAKE THEM OUT.

THERE'S ONE JUST HERE, QUITE A LARGE ONE.

-OH, YES. YEAH. -YEAH?

-OH, AND THERE'S MAYBE... -YEAH, POSSIBLY, YEAH.

SO HOPEFULLY, THAT'LL SHOW UP REALLY CLEARLY IN THE SCAN.

Narrator: TODAY, SUSAN WANTS TO IDENTIFY

MORE OF THESE STRANGE CARVINGS.

SHE WANTS TO FIND OUT IF THESE MARKS ARE SIMPLY RANDOM GRAFFITI

OR IF THEY CONTAIN A HIDDEN MESSAGE.

THE CARVINGS WERE ADDED TO THE STONES, WE THINK,

IN ABOUT 1800, 1700 B.C.

SO THAT'S ABOUT 600 OR 700 YEARS

AFTER THE STONES HAD BEEN PUT UP,

SO IT'S ALMOST LIKE ADDING GRAFFITI

TO AN OLD CHURCH OR SOMETHING.

THE MONUMENT'S ALREADY OLD WHEN THEY'RE ADDED.

Narrator: SUSAN THINKS THESE SHAPES REPRESENT AX HEADS,

SYMBOLIZING ANCIENT BRITAIN'S MOST TREASURED POSSESSION.

Greaney: SO THE AXES ARE KIND OF MUSHROOM-SHAPED, REALLY.

THEY'RE SHOWN UPRIGHT,

AND THEY'RE SHOWN WITHOUT ANY KIND OF HANDLE,

SO IT'S THE ACTUAL METAL PART OF THE AX

THAT'S BEING CARVED ONTO THE STONES.

Narrator: ONE SYMBOL CARVED OVER AND AGAIN.

THIS MUST'VE BEEN DONE FOR A REASON. BUT WHAT?

400 MILES NORTH OF STONEHENGE,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK THEY'VE FOUND A CLUE.

*

AT AN ANCIENT SCOTTISH BURIAL SITE,

BENEATH THE LID OF A STONE-LINED GRAVE,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED SIMILAR AX-HEAD CARVINGS.

FOR PREHISTORIC PEOPLE,

METAL AXES WERE A VITAL AND VALUABLE POSSESSION,

OBJECTS SO PRECIOUS,

IT SEEMS THEY WANTED TO TAKE A REMINDER TO THEIR GRAVE.

AT STONEHENGE, ONE MAN WAS EVEN BURIED WITH HIS AX.

THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THERE WAS A CLOSE ASSOCIATION

BETWEEN THE DEAD AND THEIR AXES.

SO DO THE SYMBOLS ON THE STONES REPRESENT BODIES IN THE GROUND?

*

Greaney: AT THE TIME THAT THESE CARVINGS

ARE BEING PUT ONTO THE STONES AT STONEHENGE,

THE WHOLE LANDSCAPE AROUND HERE IS BEING USED FOR BURIALS,

SO IT'S POSSIBLE THAT PEOPLE WERE COMING HERE,

BURYING THEIR DEAD IN THIS LANDSCAPE,

AND PERHAPS THE MOURNERS OR THE FAMILY

WERE ADDING AN AX TO STONEHENGE AT THAT TIME.

Narrator: IF SUSAN'S RIGHT, THESE CARVINGS ARE MEMORIALS.

PEOPLE CAME HERE TO COMMEMORATE THEIR DEAD,

CARVING EACH AX IN HONOR OF THE DECEASED,

TURNING STONEHENGE

INTO A PREHISTORIC WALL OF REMEMBRANCE.

THIS IS A MAJOR DISCOVERY MADE POSSIBLE BY NEW TECHNOLOGY.

Greaney: WE HAVE ABOUT 114 AXES ON THE SITES

ACROSS ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE OF THE SARSEN STONES,

SO IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO HAVE ALL OF THIS NEW DATA

WHEN WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE IT WITH THE NAKED EYE.

Narrator: NOW ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE DISCOVERING

SHOCKING NEW EVIDENCE --

THAT THE STONES DID MORE THAN RECORD DEATHS.

THEY WITNESSED THEM.

WAS STONEHENGE THE SITE OF A BRUTAL MURDER?

Narrator: FOR 4,500 YEARS,

PEOPLE HAVE FLOCKED TO STONEHENGE.

TODAY A MILLION PEOPLE VISIT EVERY YEAR,

NEVER KNOWING THEY COULD BE LOOKING AT A CRIME SCENE.

*

OSTEOARCHAEOLOGIST JO BUCKBERRY

IS USING THE LATEST FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY

TO REOPEN AN ANCIENT COLD CASE --

THE BODY OF A MAN DUMPED IN A SHALLOW GRAVE

IN THE MIDDLE OF STONEHENGE.

COULD THIS MAN'S BONES REVEAL A SINISTER,

PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN USE FOR THE FAMOUS STONE CIRCLE?

THIS IS THE FOURTH CERVICAL VERTEBRUS,

OR THE FOURTH BONE DOWN FROM IN THE NECK,

AND THERE'S ACTUALLY A CUT MARK IN HERE

AT THE BACK OF THE VERTEBRA.

AND SO THIS BLOW,

IT'S COMING IN FROM BEHIND THROUGH THAT VERTEBRA,

AND IT INDICATES THAT HE WAS ACTUALLY DECAPITATED.

*

THIS IS A REALLY BRUTAL FORM OF EXECUTION.

IT'D BE QUITE BLOODY. IT'S QUITE HORRIBLE.

I THINK IT'S INTERESTING THAT THE PEOPLE WHO DID THIS

CHOSE A REALLY ICONIC LOCATION TO DO THIS, AT STONEHENGE.

*

Narrator: JO'S DISCOVERED CHILLING NEW EVIDENCE

THAT THE CHOICE OF LOCATION FOR THIS BRUTAL KILLING

WASN'T UNIQUE.

200 MILES FROM STONEHENGE,

AT ANOTHER PREHISTORIC PAGAN SITE,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND MORE VICTIMS,

MURDERED WITH THE SAME GRISLY M.O.

MOST OF THE INDIVIDUALS AT THE SITE DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE A HEAD,

AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SERIES OF HEADS

BURIED AT DIFFERENT POSITIONS ACROSS THE SITE, AS WELL.

Narrator: 10 HEADLESS BODIES.

11 SKULLS, 7 WITHOUT JAWS.

*

JO AND HER TEAM HAVE UNEARTHED SHOCKING EVIDENCE

OF MULTIPLE DECAPITATED BODIES,

ALL SEEMINGLY KILLED

AT ICONIC PREHISTORIC LANDMARKS ACROSS BRITAIN.

IS THIS THE WORK OF A DERANGED ANCIENT SERIAL KILLER?

WE TOOK A FEW RADIOCARBON DATES.

THIS IS ONE OF THE SAMPLING HOLES FROM THAT.

THE THREE DATES THAT WE HAVE ARE

FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE 7th CENTURY

THROUGH TO ABOUT 1060,

SO THAT'S THE MIDDLE TO LATE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD,

A FEW CENTURIES AFTER THE ROMAN PERIOD.

*

Narrator: THE KILLINGS OCCURRED OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS,

SO THESE MEN COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY A SINGLE KILLER.

BUT THEY DATE FROM A TIME WHEN BRITONS WERE CHRISTIANS,

AND THAT GIVES JO A CLUE

TO WHY THE MAN WAS BURIED AT PAGAN STONEHENGE.

Buckberry: IN THIS PERIOD, MOST PEOPLE WERE BURIED

IN A CHURCHYARD CEMETERY,

SO BURYING THESE INDIVIDUALS IN AN EARLIER SITE

THAT'S GOT ASSOCIATIONS WITH PAGANISM PERHAPS

ACTUALLY REALLY EXCLUDES THESE INDIVIDUALS

FROM THE CHRISTIAN CEMETERIES

THAT WERE IN THE ANGLO-SAXON SETTLEMENTS.

Narrator: THESE MEN WERE CONDEMNED TO SPEND ETERNITY

BEYOND THE REACH OF THEIR CHRISTIAN GOD

AND LEFT TO ROT WITH THE HEATHENS.

WHY?

JO THINKS THE ANSWER LIES

IN THE BRUTAL NATURE OF THEIR DEATHS.

THE LATER ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD,

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ANGLO-SAXON LAWS

WHERE SOMEBODY COULD BE PUNISHED FOR A CRIME BY EXECUTION,

AND WE KNOW THAT ONE OF THE MODES

OF EXECUTION WAS DECAPITATION.

Narrator: IT SEEMS THESE MEN AND THE MAN AT STONEHENGE

WERE CRIMINALS EXECUTED FOR THEIR CRIMES.

SO THIS ACTUALLY HELPS PLACE INTO CONTEXT

THE STONEHENGE INDIVIDUAL

WHO WAS DECAPITATED IN THE 7th CENTURY.

CLEARLY, THEY'VE DELIBERATELY CHOSEN

TO EXECUTE AND BURY THIS INDIVIDUAL AT STONEHENGE

BECAUSE IT'S SO ICONIC.

IT'S SO DRAMATIC.

*

BY CHOOSING STONEHENGE,

THEY'RE REALLY SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR OWN POWER

AND THE POWER THAT THE PLACE ALSO HOLDS.

Narrator: THE EXECUTIONERS HARNESSED THE POWER OF STONEHENGE

TO SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE,

THAT CRIMES WOULD BE PUNISHED

AND THE GUILTY BANISHED IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT.

WHAT WAS ONCE A TEMPLE FOR THE ELITE

HAD BECOME A DUMPING GROUND FOR OUTCASTS.

*

OVER FIVE MILLENNIA, THIS MONUMENT HAS HAD MANY USES --

CELESTIAL TEMPLE...

TRADING POST...

HEALING CENTER...

MEMORIAL WALL...

AND BODY DUMP.

BUT ITS POWER HAS REMAINED UNCHANGED.

TODAY, 4,500 YEARS AFTER IT WAS BUILT,

STONEHENGE CONTINUES TO FASCINATE AND INSPIRE,

AND ITS MAGIC REMAINS AS STRONG AS EVER.

*

*

*