0:00:11 > 0:00:14For the last five years,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18archaeologists have been conducting the most far-reaching investigation
0:00:18 > 0:00:21of the Stonehenge site ever attempted.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33With state-of-the-art technology,
0:00:33 > 0:00:37they've investigated every monument
0:00:37 > 0:00:40both visible and invisible
0:00:40 > 0:00:42around the stone circle.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47It's an all-encompassing approach that could finally unlock
0:00:47 > 0:00:50the mystery of the enigmatic stones
0:00:50 > 0:00:53and the prehistoric culture that flourished around them.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01The ground-breaking work has already helped chart
0:01:01 > 0:01:04the first 6,000 years of the Stonehenge story.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Now the focus has shifted to unlocking
0:01:08 > 0:01:11the secrets of the iconic monument itself.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16How was it designed?
0:01:19 > 0:01:21The Neolithic people had an architect,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24a surveyor and a builder.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25How did it look?
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Just imagine how amazing Stonehenge would have looked with all of these
0:01:29 > 0:01:32cut surfaces glistening white in the sun.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34And what was it used for?
0:01:34 > 0:01:37To be buried in that ditch at Stonehenge
0:01:37 > 0:01:40suggests we have a sacrificial victim.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53An unprecedented level of new research,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55the latest remote sensing equipment
0:01:55 > 0:01:58and fresh discoveries
0:01:58 > 0:02:04has produced a more detailed and revealing picture of Stonehenge
0:02:04 > 0:02:07and its people
0:02:07 > 0:02:08than ever before.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32For hundreds of years,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35experts and amateurs alike
0:02:35 > 0:02:39have tried to solve the enigma of Stonehenge.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Some of its mysteries have been explained...
0:02:48 > 0:02:51..but the whole picture remained elusive.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Now a group of specialists known as the Hidden Landscapes Project,
0:03:00 > 0:03:05led by Birmingham University and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute
0:03:05 > 0:03:09in Austria, have taken a purely scientific approach to solving
0:03:09 > 0:03:12how Stonehenge was built
0:03:12 > 0:03:15and what it was used for.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22If you were to focus on excavation, you would by necessity end up
0:03:22 > 0:03:25focusing on particular monuments and particular sites.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28By surveying nearly 10 square km,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31we can actually look at the entirety of that landscape.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Using the data from their ground penetrating equipment...
0:03:43 > 0:03:47..the team have created a multi layered digital map
0:03:47 > 0:03:51of a 10 square km area around Stonehenge.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59If you walk around this landscape, you see some protected monuments
0:03:59 > 0:04:03covered by grass, but if you are going to put your magnetic eyes on,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06you see much more details
0:04:06 > 0:04:08and also the inner structure of this monument.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14The archaeologists have already thrown fresh light on the key events
0:04:14 > 0:04:17that led to the raising of the stones.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Evidence of a 9,000-year-old settlement
0:04:22 > 0:04:25and a newly discovered natural phenomenon
0:04:25 > 0:04:28has suggested why of all the places in Britain,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Stonehenge was built where it was.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36This is a place where memories and traditions start.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41Stonehenge isn't just a new build, it's in response to something.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48Traces of a communal tomb detected in a seemingly empty field
0:04:48 > 0:04:51have shown how the ritualistic use of the landscape
0:04:51 > 0:04:54began 1,000 years before the stone circle was raised.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59They covered the whole thing with a big mound
0:04:59 > 0:05:02forming this long barrow, a house for the dead people.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07And the discovery of a myriad of hidden temples and shrines
0:05:07 > 0:05:12has shown that Stonehenge is not alone and never has been.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Rather than seeing Stonehenge standing uniquely in the plain,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23we now start to see that there are a series of similar monuments.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26It begins to give us an insight
0:05:26 > 0:05:30into how the wider landscape was used at the time
0:05:30 > 0:05:34that Stonehenge was developing into the monument you see today.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40With the first 6,000 years mapped out,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44the rest of the Stonehenge story is now ready to be told.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52To better understand the period leading up
0:05:52 > 0:05:54to the raising of the stone circle...
0:05:57 > 0:06:01..Dr Henry Chapman concentrated on one of the largest monuments
0:06:01 > 0:06:04surveyed by the Hidden Landscapes Project.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11Lying 3 km to the north-east is Durrington Walls.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Its 500m wide circular ditch and bank
0:06:18 > 0:06:23make it the largest monument of its type in Britain.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30Durrington Walls is a huge, huge henge.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36It's dated from the middle of the third millennium.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38round about the early stages of Stonehenge.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Giant monuments like Durrington Walls
0:06:41 > 0:06:44were the product of emerging hierarchies
0:06:44 > 0:06:47who wanted to demonstrate their authority in the region.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Clearly some very, very powerful people around at that time
0:06:50 > 0:06:53who are able to control resources,
0:06:53 > 0:06:55control the labour force,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59to create some of the largest monuments we've ever seen.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02What Durrington I think is showing is that although
0:07:02 > 0:07:04it's just that one point which we understand,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07it's got ramifications for the whole of the Stonehenge landscape.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13It was this drive to build ever more spectacular monuments
0:07:13 > 0:07:17that pushed the builders towards the ultimate expression
0:07:17 > 0:07:21of prehistoric building prowess - Stonehenge.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25It's possible to imagine a level of competition between different groups
0:07:25 > 0:07:26in southern Britain,
0:07:26 > 0:07:31and this might be related to increasing political centralisation,
0:07:31 > 0:07:32order and control.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36It might be related to a greater sense of identity
0:07:36 > 0:07:40among the different groups that occupy the wider landscape.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Now in that context, the construction of this extraordinary building
0:07:44 > 0:07:48of Stonehenge marks a kind of exponential increase
0:07:48 > 0:07:50in terms of the scale of the enterprise
0:07:50 > 0:07:52and from the point of view of competition,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54very difficult to compete with.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00The raising of Stonehenge's megaliths
0:08:00 > 0:08:03began around 4,600 years ago.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Made of a dense sandstone known as sarsen,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15the biggest of the megaliths weighed almost 40 tonnes.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23No large deposits of sarsen have been found
0:08:23 > 0:08:25in the vicinity of Stonehenge,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29and it's wildly accepted that the enormous building blocks
0:08:29 > 0:08:33came from the Marlborough Downs, 48km to the north.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42This is a sarsen field on the Marlborough Downs.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45The stones just lie on the surface.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48They don't have to be quarried. They're here naturally.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Experimental archaeologist Katy Whitaker
0:08:54 > 0:09:00believes the prehistoric architects' choice of building materials
0:09:00 > 0:09:02went beyond the merely practical.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Just as now it's quite strange to come across these stones
0:09:08 > 0:09:11lying in the landscape, it must have been very odd
0:09:11 > 0:09:15in the late Neolithic to just discover them.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Why are they there, where have they come from?
0:09:21 > 0:09:24This combination of their positions in the landscape,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26their texture, their surface, their strangeness,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30these are all qualities that may well have been significant to people
0:09:30 > 0:09:34in the past, and may have influenced their choices to take them
0:09:34 > 0:09:37all the way down to Stonehenge and use them in the monument itself.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42At the time Stonehenge was constructed,
0:09:42 > 0:09:46more than 500 square km of this landscape
0:09:46 > 0:09:50was littered with thousands of huge sarsen stones,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53from which around 80 of the biggest
0:09:53 > 0:09:56were selected for the construction of Stonehenge.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Well, this is a much better example of the sort of stone
0:09:59 > 0:10:01that the builders needed for Stonehenge.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03The next question then is how to move it?
0:10:03 > 0:10:07From here on the Marlborough Downs, 30 miles down to Salisbury Plain.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Despite numerous theories, the route taking by the huge sarsens
0:10:18 > 0:10:21to Stonehenge is still disputed.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30But when Professor Wolfgang Neubauer studied the data
0:10:30 > 0:10:32from the survey, he saw a new solution.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36How the big sarsen stones have been brought to Stonehenge
0:10:36 > 0:10:40has been a striking question all over the centuries.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45And one of the theories comes up with the idea that they brought
0:10:45 > 0:10:49the stones down on the River Avon, which is a rather small river.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54This theory then envisions the stones being dragged overland
0:10:54 > 0:10:58for the last couple of kilometres to their final resting place.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03Findings from the survey highlighted a problem with that idea.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06In the topographic data, we have a dry valley
0:11:06 > 0:11:09and this means there is a really massive depression
0:11:09 > 0:11:12which they would have had to cross with the heavy stones.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17So I think this theory is rather unlikely.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Instead, Professor Neubauer has spotted what he believes
0:11:21 > 0:11:25to be a much more likely path, along which the stones were transported.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Running from the stone circle to the River Avon
0:11:29 > 0:11:34are two parallel ditches that form the monument known as the Avenue.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Within the section closest to Stonehenge,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43there are a number of striations in the ground formed by glacial action.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53The Hidden Landscapes scans revealed that these marks
0:11:53 > 0:11:55extend far beyond the Avenue.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02This scratchy pattern is rather obvious
0:12:02 > 0:12:05in the area of the stone circle,
0:12:05 > 0:12:11and gets even more striking close to the Cursus monument.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15They also appear on the other side where, the geological situation
0:12:15 > 0:12:16is completely different,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20then they go on in the direction of the Marlborough Downs.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Professor Neubauer is convinced that such a distinctive feature
0:12:25 > 0:12:29in the landscape would've been the most logical course for the stones.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35It looks very obvious to me that they took the shortest way
0:12:35 > 0:12:37from the Marlborough area,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41where the sarsen stones actually appear sometimes on the surface,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44and brought them down on the direct way to Stonehenge.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Even taking this direct route,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53it's estimated that it would have taken almost ten years
0:12:53 > 0:12:57to drag all the stones to their final resting place.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Yet remarkable as the transportation of the stones is...
0:13:09 > 0:13:13..it's the precision of Stonehenge's design that sets it apart.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Archaeological surveyor Tony Johnson
0:13:24 > 0:13:27has studied its unique layout for over a decade.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34The Neolithic people had, just as we have today with large buildings,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37an architect, a surveyor and a builder.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Most people's idea of Stonehenge is that they just built it.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41Well, they didn't.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45You couldn't build something like Stonehenge without a plan.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Assisted by land artist Rob Irving,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Johnson set out to demonstrate
0:13:52 > 0:13:56how the geometrical blueprint of Stonehenge was plotted
0:13:56 > 0:13:58using elementary surveying tools.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05The surveyors laid out the positions of the stones precisely
0:14:05 > 0:14:09using ropes and pegs in a way that we hope to demonstrate today.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14An open expanse of sand provided enough space
0:14:14 > 0:14:17to sketch out the monument's floor plan.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19The beach acts as a convenient scratch pad
0:14:19 > 0:14:22where we can mark out lines that are easily visible
0:14:22 > 0:14:26to demonstrate the geometry of Stonehenge.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30The first step was to draw a circle with the same dimensions
0:14:30 > 0:14:32as Stonehenge's outer ring of megaliths.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40To match Stonehenge's orientation,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43a line was drawn bisecting the circle
0:14:43 > 0:14:45in the direction of the rising sun.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Around this central axis, the symmetrical layout
0:14:52 > 0:14:55of the entire monument was plotted.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Irving used elegant geometrical rules
0:15:01 > 0:15:03to map out the position of the stones.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08On the circle, we're going to mark a hexagon,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11each side of which is exactly the same length
0:15:11 > 0:15:16as the radius of the circle, and we're going to build out from there
0:15:16 > 0:15:19to mark those 30 points which relate to the stones at Stonehenge.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24In total, five hexagons were etched out,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28creating the coordinates of Stonehenge's 30 outer megaliths.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35So you get a better idea of where the centre of the stones were,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38what I'm doing is making a posthole-sized imprint
0:15:38 > 0:15:42of where the stones would sit in the geometry of the whole thing.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49From the position of key stones,
0:15:49 > 0:15:53the inner horseshoe of megaliths known as the trilithons
0:15:53 > 0:15:55was also calculated.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08The axis of the rising sun was used as the fixed line of reference.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13What we're doing now is setting out the positions of the trilithons
0:16:13 > 0:16:17that formed the horseshoe which were the centre of the geometric array.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25On this evidence, Johnson concluded that the monument was planned
0:16:25 > 0:16:27as a whole from the outset.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33The trilithons had to be erected first
0:16:33 > 0:16:36so it proves that the surveying method they used
0:16:36 > 0:16:38was done in one phase, one plan.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Everything was marked out on the ground
0:16:40 > 0:16:42before the stones were brought in.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47The monument's innate symmetry
0:16:47 > 0:16:52has revealed that the architects of Stonehenge had a grasp of geometry
0:16:52 > 0:16:56two millennia before the Greeks defined the term "mathematics."
0:17:13 > 0:17:174,600 years on, the remaining stones still stand
0:17:17 > 0:17:21as a powerful reminder of the skill and ambition
0:17:21 > 0:17:23of Stonehenge's creators.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30A great deal of work went into the sizing of the stones to make sure
0:17:30 > 0:17:34you had the right lintel lengths to bridge the gaps, for example.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41And above all, the attempt to create a perfectly horizontal top
0:17:41 > 0:17:44of the great sarsen lintels.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49The megaliths were not simply held in place by their own weight.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53They were interlocked using a series of elaborate precision joints.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59On top of each upright, protruding tenon joints were carved
0:17:59 > 0:18:03to fit into mortise sockets on the underside of the lintels.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10The lintels themselves were carved with a groove at one end
0:18:10 > 0:18:12and a tongue at the other.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14They, too, interlocked.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20It was a meticulous construction method designed to make permanent
0:18:20 > 0:18:25the monument's primary function, to mark the passage of the sun.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32The sophistication and precision with which Stonehenge was built
0:18:32 > 0:18:35around this solar axis is exceptional.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46It could be that Stonehenge is partly concerned
0:18:46 > 0:18:51with measuring and celebrating important points in the annual cycle.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Midsummer, midwinter,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56changes in the year from winter to spring to summer and so forth.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05The complexity of the architecture cannot be paralleled anywhere else.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10This does give Stonehenge an exceptional presence
0:19:10 > 0:19:12in the wider world at the time.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14There is nothing else quite like it.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Today, only half of Stonehenge's outer circle has survived.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39With no clue as to what happened to the missing sarsens,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43it's believed by some that the monument was never finished.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47But in the summer of 2013,
0:19:47 > 0:19:52the rare phenomenon of a British heat wave revealed new evidence.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01In 2013, we had a very wet spring
0:20:01 > 0:20:05followed by a hot dry spell in June.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08And that put the grass here under great stress.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Grass was fighting for moisture.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18When it does that, it begins to parch.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22And we got a series of parch marks that showed us the positions
0:20:22 > 0:20:26of some stones which we'd never seen before at Stonehenge.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35So, we had the position of stone 17 here...
0:20:38 > 0:20:41..stone 18 here...
0:20:43 > 0:20:46..stone 19 here
0:20:46 > 0:20:50and stone 20 here.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00The parchmarks represented some of the most compelling evidence to date
0:21:00 > 0:21:03that Stonehenge was actually completed.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10To grasp how the stone circle would've looked in its heyday,
0:21:10 > 0:21:16Katy Whitaker recreated the masonry techniques used by its builders.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23When you look at Stonehenge today,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26you can see that the sarsens are really quite dark greys and browns
0:21:26 > 0:21:29in colour, a bit like this piece of sarsen here,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32and that's because of the weathering they've undergone
0:21:32 > 0:21:34over thousands of years.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39Sarsen is so hard, the tools used would also have to have been made of sarsen.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44This hammer stone is made of the densest type of sarsen
0:21:44 > 0:21:45that you can collect.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48It's got a good shape, it's got a good edge here,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50which will help me pick away at the surface.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Whitaker has replicated the techniques Neolithic stonemasons
0:21:58 > 0:22:01used to produce the finished sarsens.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08It's been calculated that to shape all the megaliths like this
0:22:08 > 0:22:11would have taken ten masons over a decade.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20One of the things that's really noticeable about this
0:22:20 > 0:22:23is just how little return you get for a lot of work.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Underneath the dust that's been created, there's a really tiny area
0:22:27 > 0:22:29that's started to change,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32revealing the white colour of the clean stone underneath.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37So just imagine how amazing Stonehenge would have looked
0:22:37 > 0:22:41with all of these standing stones, their cut surfaces glistening
0:22:41 > 0:22:45white in the sun, as you approached up the slope towards the monument.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52Centuries of weathering have left Stonehenge's remaining megaliths
0:22:52 > 0:22:54dark and rough,
0:22:54 > 0:22:56but 4,600 years ago,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59with each stone freshly worked and set into place
0:22:59 > 0:23:05as its architects had planned, worshippers of the day
0:23:05 > 0:23:08would've seen Stonehenge in all of its intended glory.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18A stunning gleaming white monument.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Its intricate construction a testament to the sophistication
0:23:28 > 0:23:31and commitment of the people who built it.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Stonehenge truly was the crowning glory of its age.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50But the story didn't stop with the raising of the stone circle.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Alongside the sarsens,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03Stonehenge contains other megaliths known as the bluestones.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Although the bluestones are dwarfed by the giant standing sarsens,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15the effort needed to transport them to the site
0:24:15 > 0:24:16was still enormous.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22Analysis of the rock has proved many of them were quarried
0:24:22 > 0:24:26from the Preseli hills in Wales, over 200 km to the west.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Skeletal remains found close to Stonehenge
0:24:37 > 0:24:41have provided a glimpse into the life of one family
0:24:41 > 0:24:46dating back to the period when the bluestones were raised.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53The remains we see here are those of an adult male
0:24:53 > 0:24:55probably in his late 30s or his 40s.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01Along with the man, the remains of six other people,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03including children, were found in the grave.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Observed similarities in the skulls
0:25:08 > 0:25:10suggested they belonged to the same family.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14The individuals who came from here predominately date
0:25:14 > 0:25:18to the time at which the bluestones were erected at Stonehenge.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26We undertook strontium-oxygen isotope analysis
0:25:26 > 0:25:30on the teeth from three of the adults.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33And what we found was that they were not local to the area
0:25:33 > 0:25:35in which they were buried.
0:25:35 > 0:25:42They had originated from about 150 to 200 km west of Stonehenge.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46This would take them into Wales,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50which is also the area from which the bluestones come from.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04The coincidence of bluestones and people
0:26:04 > 0:26:07migrating from the same part of Britain to Stonehenge
0:26:07 > 0:26:13became more intriguing on closer inspection of the bones.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Looking at this skeleton, you can see that there was a massive
0:26:20 > 0:26:23traumatic injury to the left thigh bone.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33The contours have undergone a major change.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38If I compare this with a complete femur here,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42you can see just how dramatic those changes are.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45This is a major trauma,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47this is a very heavy thick bone.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51It needs a pretty powerful force acting on it
0:26:51 > 0:26:53to break it the way it is.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59What causes this sort of thing in modern clinical cases
0:26:59 > 0:27:03is maybe a motorcyclist who is run into by a motor car.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09It's that kind of level of force.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14What you have is a major fracture mid-shaft which has ended up
0:27:14 > 0:27:17causing massive damage to that bone.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20This looks like it might have been a compound fracture
0:27:20 > 0:27:22that broke through the surface as well.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29But the amazing thing is it mended. And he lived.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Further archaeological investigations of the bluestones
0:27:45 > 0:27:48have shown that after their initial placement,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50they were re-positioned a number of times.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59When Stonehenge was built around about 2600BC,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02that wasn't the end of the story in terms of
0:28:02 > 0:28:04the architectural development of the monument.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07In the following centuries, on several occasions
0:28:07 > 0:28:11the arrangement, particularly of the bluestones, was altered.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17It's likely that these re-organisations
0:28:17 > 0:28:20relate to changing ceremonial activities.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23If you need to re-organise your ceremonies or your rituals,
0:28:23 > 0:28:25you re-organise the stone settings.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28And I think that accounts for why the bluestones are being shifted
0:28:28 > 0:28:32and changed very significantly in the later life of the monument.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43To understand what motivated these changes...
0:28:46 > 0:28:49..the Hidden Landscapes Project has examined
0:28:49 > 0:28:50every monument in the area.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07Seeing Stonehenge from above, it does reinforce that sense of
0:29:07 > 0:29:10the importance of looking at all the monuments together,
0:29:10 > 0:29:13looking at the whole landscape rather than just the site.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17Now that's exactly what we've been doing with the project,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20identifying the importance of the other monuments,
0:29:20 > 0:29:24which are going to add and enrich our understanding of this landscape.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28Situated just to the north, in clear sight of Stonehenge,
0:29:28 > 0:29:31a collection of tombs known as the Cursus barrow group
0:29:31 > 0:29:34were constructed after the completion of the stone circle.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37Their appearance marked the arrival of a culture
0:29:37 > 0:29:41that had a profound impact on the ritual use of the monument
0:29:41 > 0:29:44and its surrounding landscape.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47The Cursus barrow group is a beautiful arrangement
0:29:47 > 0:29:50of different styles of building, but in terms of
0:29:50 > 0:29:53the overall story of Stonehenge, these are quite a late addition.
0:29:55 > 0:30:00These things are coming in after Stonehenge has been completed.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03We are getting new styles of burial, new styles of material,
0:30:03 > 0:30:05pottery, grave goods.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07We're getting the Beaker phenomenon.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17Recovered artefacts from tombs like these
0:30:17 > 0:30:21have given this era its distinctive name.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30The reason we call this period of time in prehistory the Beaker period
0:30:30 > 0:30:33is because of these pottery vessels.
0:30:33 > 0:30:34They're bell shaped
0:30:34 > 0:30:37and they're normally made from local clay.
0:30:39 > 0:30:44They're found in graves and they're really finely crafted
0:30:44 > 0:30:48with these horizontal bands of incised decoration.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54The origin of these objects showed that Stonehenge was becoming
0:30:54 > 0:30:58the focal point for a new wave of continental influences.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03Men in particular are buried with weapons
0:31:03 > 0:31:08and this burial comes with the typical male artefacts.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12He's known as the Roundway Archer,
0:31:12 > 0:31:18because he was found with this really beautifully fashioned
0:31:18 > 0:31:20flint arrowhead.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26The shaft and the feathers would have rotted away,
0:31:26 > 0:31:30and so would the bow, the bow string and perhaps the quiver
0:31:30 > 0:31:32that would have held arrows.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36And alongside this arrow head
0:31:36 > 0:31:41is the other element of the archer's kit.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44Which is this.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47It's a wrist guard. It would have been attached with leather straps.
0:31:47 > 0:31:52And it was found on the archer's arm bone.
0:31:54 > 0:32:00The really exciting thing about this is that it's made of jadeite,
0:32:00 > 0:32:02and it's not from this country.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04This is probably from Spain.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10For it to be associated with this man in this burial
0:32:10 > 0:32:15indicates how widely he and his community were connected,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17and how important he was
0:32:17 > 0:32:22to be buried with artefacts that are this precious and this rare.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28From assemblages like this, we can see that people and ideas
0:32:28 > 0:32:32are coming into Britain from the continent.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34And we can see that in the decoration of the pottery,
0:32:34 > 0:32:39we can see that in how far away these materials are being brought,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42and they're being brought to the area around Stonehenge.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47This is a place of great significance
0:32:47 > 0:32:49and influential people are coming here.
0:32:54 > 0:32:59As well as celebrating its dead in complex burial groups,
0:32:59 > 0:33:02the Beaker Culture also stamped its identity on the region
0:33:02 > 0:33:07by constructing the 2.5km long processional route
0:33:07 > 0:33:09known as the Avenue.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15Like the re-arrangement of the bluestones,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18the Avenue's parallel ditches appear to have controlled
0:33:18 > 0:33:20the passage of worshippers around Stonehenge.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28When the Hidden Landscapes Project surveyed an area
0:33:28 > 0:33:33close to the Avenue, they detected traces of another structure
0:33:33 > 0:33:37built to influence the movement of people,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40a wooden barrier, nearly 2km long.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47One of the really weird things about the Stonehenge landscape,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50and one that not many people know about because it's not visible
0:33:50 > 0:33:54from the land surface is what is known as the palisade.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59It's effectively a long fence
0:33:59 > 0:34:02which runs from the western side of Stonehenge
0:34:02 > 0:34:05and curves round towards one of the gaps in the Cursus.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09Excavations of the southern end of this palisade
0:34:09 > 0:34:12have dated it later than the construction of Stonehenge...
0:34:16 > 0:34:19..and predicted that some of its posts were as much as 7m tall.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25The palisade bisected the entire landscape.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33If it was all built at the same time,
0:34:33 > 0:34:36then that's effectively a barrier to movement from the east and west,
0:34:36 > 0:34:38dividing this landscape.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42The palisade is one of these things which is incredibly significant
0:34:42 > 0:34:44to the landscape, but it's not widely understood.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Along with the transformation of the land around Stonehenge,
0:34:56 > 0:34:59the Beaker period brought with it
0:34:59 > 0:35:02new ritualistic uses of the stone circle.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15Forensic investigations on a male skeleton
0:35:15 > 0:35:18have provided powerful evidence
0:35:18 > 0:35:23that three centuries after its construction,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26Stonehenge became a site of human sacrifice.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38This is a really nice looking skeleton.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41This is in very good condition.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46He was buried, very unusually, in a ditch at Stonehenge.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49This is a very highly ritualised site,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52so this is quite an unusual find.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01People often get the impression that in the distant past,
0:36:01 > 0:36:03life was nasty, brutish and short.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08We know that this man died when he was in his late 20s,
0:36:08 > 0:36:12but I wouldn't say that his life was nasty and brutish.
0:36:12 > 0:36:18You look at him, he was a robust, muscly man of about 5'10".
0:36:20 > 0:36:24Tiny nicks on the man's bones show the cause of death.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31He was shot repeatedly with flint arrows.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36The location of the skeleton's burial
0:36:36 > 0:36:38showed this was no ordinary death.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46To be buried in that ditch at Stonehenge with the injuries he has
0:36:46 > 0:36:50suggests we have a sacrificial victim.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13There are several injuries, all in the chest area,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16that show where those arrows went.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19And if we start off by looking at this bone here,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21the breast bone of the sternum,
0:37:21 > 0:37:23if I take this arrowhead,
0:37:23 > 0:37:28you can see the tip of the arrowhead where it's come into his body
0:37:28 > 0:37:30from the back and to the side,
0:37:30 > 0:37:33and has stuck into the back of his sternum.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43In addition, we have injuries in the right side of the ribs.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47You can see there are two little marks, one here,
0:37:47 > 0:37:50and although this is damaged, there is also another mark there.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52And these are where the arrowhead has passed
0:37:52 > 0:37:56through between the ribs and straight through into the body
0:37:56 > 0:38:00where it has stuck within the soft tissues.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08Similar too on the right-hand side.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11We have two of the ribs on the left-hand side,
0:38:11 > 0:38:13we're looking at the 10th and 11th,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17where again an arrow has gone between the two ribs
0:38:17 > 0:38:20and caught the top of one and the bottom of the other.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26And we know this is one of the three
0:38:26 > 0:38:28that would have killed this young man.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46No other killings of this kind have been found in Stonehenge.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Why the man was sacrificed may never be known.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56But his burial, so close to the stone circle,
0:38:56 > 0:38:58suggests his death was ritualistic.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09While one grave showed evidence of bloody sacrifice...
0:39:11 > 0:39:14..other excavated Beaker graves in the Stonehenge landscape
0:39:14 > 0:39:16have also been remarkably well preserved.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26The artefacts they contain reflect the revolutionary technologies
0:39:26 > 0:39:28that arrived in Britain at the time.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34Burials from the Beaker period
0:39:34 > 0:39:39are the first time we see metal artefacts in Britain.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43This is a copper dagger.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51When it was new, it would have been absolutely bright and gleaming.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55This is not about cutting up your dinner
0:39:55 > 0:39:58or fighting with the neighbours.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03This is a ceremonial dagger and it's probably from central Europe.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09The people with the knowledge of the technology also arrive in Britain
0:40:09 > 0:40:13and they share that technology amongst the people here.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17And it changes their culture.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21This is the start of the age of metal.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Soon after the introduction of copper,
0:40:30 > 0:40:34it appears that British smiths worked out the secret
0:40:34 > 0:40:36of making a superior metal, bronze.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39The arrival of metal in Britain
0:40:39 > 0:40:41happens quite late compared to Europe,
0:40:41 > 0:40:45but the discovery of tin in south-west England, Cornwall and Devon,
0:40:45 > 0:40:49brings on the true Bronze Age very quickly.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53In Britain, the abundance of copper and the far rarer tin
0:40:53 > 0:40:58saw local metal workers lead the way in prehistoric bronze production.
0:40:59 > 0:41:04By alloying the copper with a little bit of tin,
0:41:04 > 0:41:06I'm going to make a 6% tin bronze
0:41:06 > 0:41:10which is quite typical composition for the early Bronze Age.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Bronze tools and weapons were far harder and more durable
0:41:18 > 0:41:21than anything made from copper or flint.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35It's good, it's gone in.
0:41:37 > 0:41:38So we should have a knife there.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42I'm going to lift the mould out, lay it on its side
0:41:42 > 0:41:44and then break it open.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52This is the moment of truth.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01So this is the end of the process of all our work.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03Just like the knives you find
0:42:03 > 0:42:07associated with burials in the area around Stonehenge.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10This is the proof of the big change with the advent of bronze.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19As Britain entered the Bronze Age,
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Stonehenge was already over 400 years old,
0:42:22 > 0:42:26an ancient monument in its own landscape.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31But as an explosion of tomb building shows,
0:42:31 > 0:42:34its reputation is greater than ever.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38There are hundreds of Bronze Age burial mounds
0:42:38 > 0:42:40in the area around Stonehenge.
0:42:42 > 0:42:43When first built,
0:42:43 > 0:42:47many of them would have been gleaming, white, shining mounds.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54These would have been seen across very large distances across the landscape
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Each of these circles shows the position
0:42:59 > 0:43:01of a Bronze Age burial tomb.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04The Hidden Landscapes Project
0:43:04 > 0:43:07has thrown new light on their complex interconnections.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12The geophysical survey work is allowing us to see
0:43:12 > 0:43:17for the first time how the obvious surviving monuments relate to others
0:43:17 > 0:43:19which we now can't see on the surface.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27Up till now, we've only seen little snippets of the landscape.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30This allows us to put it all together in one big picture.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35The position and alignment of the tombs
0:43:35 > 0:43:37revealed a clear strategy behind their placement.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42The biggest mounds are associated with an elite class
0:43:42 > 0:43:45within early Bronze Age society,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48who are using Stonehenge and the other monuments around
0:43:48 > 0:43:51as focal points, which they can refer to in relation to
0:43:51 > 0:43:55their own power and prestige in the early Bronze Age.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02Artefacts discovered in these graves
0:44:02 > 0:44:06show these generations of Stonehenge people were more connected
0:44:06 > 0:44:08than ever before with the wider world.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14So we have a Breton style of daggers, for example,
0:44:14 > 0:44:18turning up in British early Bronze Age graves.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20There are various other kinds of accoutrements -
0:44:20 > 0:44:22pins, certain kinds of wet stones,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25other kinds of objects which suggest continental connections.
0:44:27 > 0:44:32Two-way trade with the continental mainland had flourished
0:44:32 > 0:44:35with Stonehenge seemingly a vital hub.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41In Stonehenge, you do see an increase of the volume of material
0:44:41 > 0:44:43from far afield and abroad.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48We find amber from the Baltics, copper axes from Spain
0:44:48 > 0:44:50and gold from Ireland,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53whilst in Holland you would find Cornish tin.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59The Bronze Age saw a huge increase in international trade.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03To better understand the practical challenges
0:45:03 > 0:45:06that made this boom possible, Professor Van de Noort,
0:45:06 > 0:45:09along with shipwright Brian Cumby,
0:45:09 > 0:45:14set out to build the first full scale replica of a Bronze Age boat.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18The innovative plank-built sea craft
0:45:18 > 0:45:20developed in Northern Europe at this time.
0:45:20 > 0:45:26I've been building classic wooden boats for nigh on 40 years.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31When I was given this job,
0:45:31 > 0:45:33it was a complete new learning curve for me.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36I had to start to think like a Bronze Age man.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43They had to hand carve everything and fit it and look at it -
0:45:43 > 0:45:45that looks good, that looks bad.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48It's just a matter of building by eye all the time.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51The design was based on fragments of prehistoric boats
0:45:51 > 0:45:53discovered in Britain.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55The biggest challenge was how to build
0:45:55 > 0:45:58the craft's plank-constructed hull without nails or glue.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03We knew from the excavation that they used yew branches
0:46:03 > 0:46:05from the yew tree, withies.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07And this is used to tie this plank
0:46:07 > 0:46:11to this frame and hold the whole boat together,
0:46:11 > 0:46:14and we are amazed at how strong she is.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17We thought that would be one of the weak points of the boat,
0:46:17 > 0:46:19but we've been proven wrong.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27To test the viability of their sewn-plank hull,
0:46:27 > 0:46:29Van de Noort and a crew of 19
0:46:29 > 0:46:33took the replica on its maiden open water voyage.
0:46:38 > 0:46:4216 metres long and weighing over five tonnes,
0:46:42 > 0:46:45these boats were bigger and had more cargo capacity
0:46:45 > 0:46:48than any craft built before.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56Well, I'm just measuring it using GPS.
0:46:56 > 0:46:592.5 knots at cruising speed,
0:46:59 > 0:47:02so 2.5 sea miles per hour.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05And when we push it harder, it goes just over 3.5 knots.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10Travelling at this rate,
0:47:10 > 0:47:14a Bronze Age boat could've crossed the Channel in less than a day.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19By mastering the use of planks
0:47:19 > 0:47:23instead of hollowed out tree trunks or animal hides,
0:47:23 > 0:47:27Bronze Age ship-builders had made a huge leap forward.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30She could probably take about seven tonnes of cargo,
0:47:30 > 0:47:37but I think they would carry livestock, people and tin ingots.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42Van de Noort's wider research on Bronze Age trade has identified
0:47:42 > 0:47:45prehistoric Britain's special role.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52How Britain fits in that picture of these Bronze Age networks
0:47:52 > 0:47:54is really access to tin,
0:47:54 > 0:47:58which is a rare metal, but you need it for making bronze objects.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01And I think that is the critical valuable that Britain
0:48:01 > 0:48:04adds into this European network.
0:48:07 > 0:48:11At the heart of Britain's commerce
0:48:11 > 0:48:13was Stonehenge.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18Lots of archaeologists have come up with this idea
0:48:18 > 0:48:21that Stonehenge has become a kind of central place,
0:48:21 > 0:48:24a place of power, and it may well have been that if you were
0:48:24 > 0:48:27in Germany, and you wanted gold and tin from Cornwall,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30that you had to go through the people
0:48:30 > 0:48:33who we have found buried near Stonehenge.
0:48:42 > 0:48:47The increasingly ostentatious placement of tombs around Stonehenge
0:48:47 > 0:48:51during the late Bronze Age, confirmed its status as the place
0:48:51 > 0:48:54for the upper echelons to flaunt their power and influence.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01The burial mounds built between about 2000-1700 BC
0:49:01 > 0:49:05appear to be in position not only for wider communities to see
0:49:05 > 0:49:09but perhaps more importantly for competitor groups to see
0:49:09 > 0:49:11from other vantage points.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14we might imagine a kind of political landscape here,
0:49:14 > 0:49:18where the elites are jockeying for prime position.
0:49:18 > 0:49:23Funeral events would have served as opportunities for expressing
0:49:23 > 0:49:26the power of the dead individuals, but also the power
0:49:26 > 0:49:28of the groups conducting the funerals.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33But they were not just expressing their power within the community.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41They were also celebrating their wealth,
0:49:41 > 0:49:44because excavated from some of these high status tombs has come
0:49:44 > 0:49:46a remarkable amount of gold.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51This absolutely exquisite artefact
0:49:51 > 0:49:55was discovered in the Bush Barrow in 1808.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59The Bush Barrow is about half a mile away from Stonehenge
0:49:59 > 0:50:04and on a direct alignment with the most sacred area of the monument.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08It's been dated to around 1950 BC.
0:50:10 > 0:50:15The piece itself is known as a lozenge. It's almost pure gold.
0:50:15 > 0:50:20And across the whole of it there are geometrical designs
0:50:20 > 0:50:23of parallel lines and diagonal zigzags.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26And it's perfectly executed.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31The level of workmanship and the amount of gold in this lozenge
0:50:31 > 0:50:35indicate that this person was incredibly high status.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Perhaps a chief, perhaps a senior priest.
0:50:39 > 0:50:44And they think it would've sat in the centre of the man's chest.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46Perhaps holding together a garment
0:50:46 > 0:50:49or perhaps hung as a pendant of some description.
0:50:51 > 0:50:55But the most impressive item found in the Bush Barrow grave
0:50:55 > 0:50:58is actually in this tiny little dish.
0:51:01 > 0:51:07These are some of the estimated 140,000 tiny gold studs
0:51:07 > 0:51:11that were placed into the handle of a bronze dagger
0:51:11 > 0:51:14that was found in this Bush Barrow grave.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22At ultra-high levels of magnification,
0:51:22 > 0:51:26some of the intricately worked studs can still be seen embedded
0:51:26 > 0:51:28in fragments of wood from the handle.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40Artist Willard Wigan is uniquely qualified to understand
0:51:40 > 0:51:43what it took to achieve gold working on this microscopic scale.
0:51:49 > 0:51:53Wigan is the world's pre-eminent nano-sculptor,
0:51:53 > 0:51:56a niche market where smaller is better.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00I'm actually producing something
0:52:00 > 0:52:04that's smaller than a full stop in a newspaper.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09Wigan's completed works sit framed in the eye of a needle,
0:52:09 > 0:52:12or on the head of a pin.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15Because I'm working on this molecular scale,
0:52:15 > 0:52:17you have to hold your breath.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23I'm actually working between the pulse beat.
0:52:25 > 0:52:30The process to actually finish one can take anything up to two months.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33Things are going to go wrong, you're going to lose pieces,
0:52:33 > 0:52:36something will bend and then it will turn into a little catapult,
0:52:36 > 0:52:41and then what you've been working on for four weeks is gone.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49Based on his own skills, Willard has figured out the techniques
0:52:49 > 0:52:51the ancient gold workers must have used.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59I would say two fine pieces of gold twisted and rolled.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05If you look here, you can see where it's twisted and flattened off.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07I cannot see an adult doing that,
0:53:07 > 0:53:12because your eyesight starts to deteriorate, even at 21.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16It would have to be a child that's done that.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Even when aided with modern technology,
0:53:19 > 0:53:23Willard grasped the difficulties of making a gold stud on this scale.
0:53:23 > 0:53:29They probably found a way of slicing the gold into very fine fragments
0:53:29 > 0:53:32by perhaps using a piece of flint,
0:53:32 > 0:53:36and then you'd get these shavings of gold would come off.
0:53:41 > 0:53:47Your movements would have to be very, very fine.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50Twisting one that way and one the opposite way.
0:53:55 > 0:54:00Once I've got to the stage of where I think it's going to snap, I stop.
0:54:00 > 0:54:01Cut them off at each end.
0:54:04 > 0:54:09And then squeeze at the end to give that pin head look at the top.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15Back then there was no technology, there were no microscopes, nothing.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18This is a phenomenal achievement.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27More prehistoric gold objects have been found in the regions
0:54:27 > 0:54:30surrounding Stonehenge than anywhere else in Britain.
0:54:36 > 0:54:40This golden age represented Stonehenge at the peak
0:54:40 > 0:54:41of its power and wealth.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45A discovery made by the Hidden Landscapes Project
0:54:45 > 0:54:48in a field to the east provided a glimpse of when
0:54:48 > 0:54:51the area's ritual importance began to decline.
0:54:53 > 0:54:59This is an amazing field, so just by driving over with my magnetometer,
0:54:59 > 0:55:03I did see on the screen a lot of pits and a lot of long ditches,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07and in between, a lot of smaller pits the size of postholes.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16From the shape and distribution of the features,
0:55:16 > 0:55:20Professor Neubauer recognised the telltale footprints
0:55:20 > 0:55:22of prehistoric buildings.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30When I first saw it, it was of course, "Wow!"
0:55:30 > 0:55:33Now we have a settlement, what we have been looking for all the time,
0:55:33 > 0:55:36so there were so many empty areas without any settlement traces
0:55:36 > 0:55:40that it really was a great thing to have it now in this large field.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51The evidence of everyday life
0:55:51 > 0:55:54encroaching into areas previously held sacred
0:55:54 > 0:56:00represented the beginning of the Stonehenge landscape's demise
0:56:00 > 0:56:02as a ceremonial site.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09By 1500 BCE,
0:56:09 > 0:56:12all monument building had stopped
0:56:12 > 0:56:15and the area was broken up into farmlands.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21Over 1,000 years old by then,
0:56:21 > 0:56:26the stone circle was, as it is today,
0:56:26 > 0:56:29an enigmatic reminder of a lost civilisation.
0:56:37 > 0:56:4321st-century technology underpinned by hard archaeological evidence
0:56:43 > 0:56:46has revolutionised the understanding of Stonehenge.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52As we start to see our results in relation to other people's results
0:56:52 > 0:56:55and so on, we've got as complete a picture as we can ever have
0:56:55 > 0:56:57of the entire landscape.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01We're reinventing Stonehenge for this generation.
0:57:04 > 0:57:09By peeling away the land, the archaeologists have rewritten
0:57:09 > 0:57:12the 10,000-year-old story of the sacred site.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19From its origins as a hunting ground
0:57:19 > 0:57:22to its rise as a ceremonial arena.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32Having this iconic landscape now really covered,
0:57:32 > 0:57:36we can now put the whole thing in a context
0:57:36 > 0:57:39in space but also in time.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44The vast array of data has provided new scientific insight
0:57:44 > 0:57:48into the pre-planning,
0:57:48 > 0:57:52construction
0:57:52 > 0:57:54and use of the stone circle...
0:57:57 > 0:58:01..forever dispelling the myth of its seclusion.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Just as significantly, the discoveries have placed Stonehenge
0:58:07 > 0:58:11at the very heart of a fast evolving and dynamic culture.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18This is the story of Stonehenge.