Operation Stonehenge Documentary: part of 6km complex, neolithic mining and surgery

New documentary on the recent research project uncovering under the surface of Stonehenge reveals many things about it's use.Such as, that there were many similar structures in the area and that there were many mining pits for mining flint from the chalk and skulls found showing they had surgery and recovered.

The BBC documentary on this is worth watching, contains reconstructions.

Link to documentary

Wonderful find. That dates the first settlements in that area to around 8000BC, just when the ice sheet was retreating. It really makes that area seem like it was some kind of staging post or gold rush area for settlers from Europe.

Here is the information on the documentary with more details.

www.bbc.co.uk...

Episode 1 of 2
DURATION: 1 HOUR
Stonehenge is an icon of prehistoric British culture, an enigma that has seduced archaeologists and tourists for centuries. Why is it here? What is its significance? And which forces inspired its creators? Now a group of international archaeologists led by the University of Birmingham and the Ludwig Boltzman Institute in Vienna believe that a new state-of-the-art approach is the key to unlocking Stonehenge's secrets. For four years the team have surveyed and mapped every monument, both visible and invisible, across ten square kilometres of the sacred landscape to create the most complete digital picture of Stonehenge and the surrounding area over millennia. Known monuments have yielded more data than ever before, revealing hidden structures within, and new finds are revolutionising the very timeline of Stonehenge.

Operation Stonehenge takes the viewer on a prehistoric journey from 8000BC to 2500BC as the scientists uncover the very origins of Stonehenge, learning why this landscape is sacred, preserved and has been revered by following generations. Evidence of war and conflict, as well as the cultivation of ideas and industry, is explored to reveal complex communities with international trade links as far-reaching as Spain and central Europe.

Using CGI to reveal the monuments hidden beneath Stonehenge and featuring factually sourced dramatic reconstructions, the stories of the buildings and the people that occupied this sacred landscape over four millennia ago are revealed in comprehensive detail.

And more information here.

www.bbc.co.uk...

The creation of Stonehenge tested the ingenuity and technology of an ancient people to the limit. If renowned archaeologists Professor Timothy Darvill and Professor Geoff Wainwright are correct, its fame as a place where the sick could be healed spread throughout Britain and beyond.

And now, 4000 years and more since its creation, Stonehenge is performing another service. The origins of the stones, their construction, and the remains of those who lived and died near Stonehenge are telling us profound things about what life was like for our ancient ancestors.

Along with other archaeological discoveries, Stonehenge is giving away the secrets of Britain in 2500 BC.

Along with other archaeological discoveries, Stonehenge is giving away the secrets of Britain in 2500 BC.

And the first thing the great stone circles tell us is that, for at least some of the time, life in prehistoric Britain was pretty good.

Communities were settled. Agriculture was well developed and efficiently practised. Compared with modern Britain, streams were teeming with fish and woods were alive with game.