Stonehenge ‘Lourdes’ theory is bollocks, say experts

Remember the claim by archaeologists working with the BBC’s Timewatch that Stonehenge was a prehistoric Lourdes? We said it sounded like counterknowledge and, sure enough, a much more distinguished team of archaeologists think so, too.

This is from a report in the Daily Telegraph:

Now a team behind the latest dig suggest the standing stones were erected much earlier than previously thought, in 3,000 BC, and used for cremation burial throughout their history and not for healing.

The latest evidence is from a team of archaeologists from a number of British universities who have been carrying out excavations over the past five summers.

The Stonehenge Riverside Project looked at remains found in an “Aubrey Hole”, one of the pits where it was originally throught the wooden posts that predated the standing stones stood.

Crushed chalk was discovered leading the team to conclude that in fact standing stones had been erected in the holes much earlier than previously thought.

The report said: “We propose that very early in Stonehenge’s history, 56 Welsh bluestones stood in a ring 285 feet 6 inches across. This has sweeping implications for our understanding of Stonehenge.”

The second significant finding was from radiocarbon dating of human remains found on the site from between 2,300 and 3,000 BC. Researchers concluded that this meant cremation burial was going on long after the standing stones had been erected.

The report said: “Contrary to claims made in the recent BBC Timewatch film, which promoted a theory of Stonehenge as a healing centre built after the practice of cremation burial had ceased, standing stones and burial may have been prominent aspects of Stonehenge’s meaning and purpose for a millennium.”

The radiocarbon dating evidence carries a lot more weight than the fanciful notion of Tim Darvill and Geoff Wainwright, who, according to the Timewatch website: 

… believe the smaller bluestones in the centre of the circle, rather than the huge sarsen stones on the perimeter, hold the key to the purpose of Stonehenge. The bluestones were dragged 250km from the mountains of southwest Wales using Stone Age technology. That’s some journey, and there must have been a very good reason for attempting it. Darvill and Wainwright believe the reason was the magical, healing powers imbued in the stones by their proximity to traditional healing springs.

Now it’s important to say that the mystery of Stonehenge has not been cleared up: there simply isn’t enough physical evidence for us to do more than make an educated guess as to its purpose. But some guesses are wilder than others, and the tone of Darvill and Wainwright’s claims reeks of counterknowledge - even though both men are properly qualified. Cheap slogans such as “prehistoric Lourdes” are one clue; so is the tie-in with a TV programme.

Timewatch has a good record of demolishing pseudohistorians; but on this occasion it looks as if it used the licence fee to indulge in some dodgy, headline-grabbing archaeology. And now it’s paying the price.