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After yesterday's frenetic media circus, archaeologists Tim Darvill and Geoff Wainwright were pleased to finally get their hands dirty today and begin the real work of excavating their marked-out plot within Stonehenge's inner circle. Conditions could be better for this sort of work: While rain is thankfully absent and bright sunshine beams down from a nearly cloudless sky, a strong wind whips across the Salisbury Plains, creating a miniature dust bowl as the researchers work in the trench. Worse still, the soil excavated from the trench is being sifted upwind of the site, so with every shake of the sieve a cloud of soil blows onto the workers hunched in the pit.
So far, about 6 inches of topsoil have been removed. The new trench partially overlaps at one end with previous excavations carried out in the 1920s and 1960s—so, some of the work has been removing the soil used to fill back in these earlier explorations.
The soil from the rest of the trench has so far yielded some animal bones (possibly from rabbits), a few snail shells and a number of clay smoking pipes that Darvill says could date back to the seventeenth century. Also found were some fragments of crockery, which Darvill suspects were left behind by Victorian picnickers. More importantly, however, fragments and flakes of bluestone, as well as sarsen and flint (perhaps used as blades to work with animal skins), have been retrieved from the ground. The significance of the stones, and the secrets stored in them, will become clearer over the coming weeks and months as the archaeological team analyzes their findings.
Meanwhile, discussion of the archaeological dig has found its way on to the blogosphere, where theories about Stonehenge's origins—and the excavation—abound. (A rumor is already spreading that the excavation is part of a plan by English Heritage to physically relocate the monument.) One blog of particular note is "Girl with Trowel," where PhD student Kayt Armstrong describes her experience last week helping to prepare for the excavation by conducting a Ground Penetrating Radar survey to locate the previous trench. ("It's been so hard knowing what I was up to, and how amazing it is, and not being able to blog about it 'till today!") While at Stonehenge, she had to wear a bright yellow vest to signify her official status—lest authorities mistake her for a trespassing tourist or a rogue druid.
Dan Jones is a freelance science writer who has contributed articles to New Scientist.
I've been waiting for half my (long) life for the truth to come out about Stonehenge. I can't wait to read the final findings in my future issue of the Smithsonian. FM
Posted by Francine Moment on April 4,2008 | 06:53AM
The aerial view of Stonehenge shows two small circular areas nearby. One about 0.1 mile to the east, near the road. The second about 0.2 mile to the southwest, in a field. Have these locations been investigated? Happy digging! Hope you find something significant. LC
Posted by Leo Coakley on April 5,2008 | 12:05PM
I visited there over 40 years ago. In fact I took some Army training on the Salisbiry Plain before D-Day 1944 (USARMY) There was no fence then and the Guard let my wife and I in one hour before the gate opened. What a thrill to be there alone. I have some beautiful photos for rememberance. BUT all I can say is "Leave the bloody site alone"
Posted by Stan on April 13,2008 | 07:55PM
This seems so exciting, I was wondering, exactly how long will this be lasting?
Posted by Anna on April 15,2008 | 09:22AM
Let's hope the Smithsonian handles this better than the Caves in Arizona!
Posted by Jake on April 20,2008 | 01:55PM