Stonehenge Was a Place for Healing

A new theory about the role played by Stonehenge complex in ancient times was brought by Professor Timothy Darvill, Head of the Archaeology Group at Bournemouth University.

"The questions most people ask when they consider Stonehenge is 'why was it built?' and 'how was it was used?'" says Darvill.

He believes that the ancient monument was a source for healing and not a mortuary place, as previously thought.

In December, during the winter solstice, ancient British people thought that the henge was 'occupied' by a prehistoric god similar to the Roman and Greek god of healing, medicine and disease, Apollo.

"Although his main sanctuary was at Delphi in Greece, it is widely believed that he left Greece in the winter months to reside in the land of the Hyborians (ancient Britons)"

Darvill and colleague Professor Geoffrey Wainwright located in the Preseli Mountains, 250 km away in west Wales, the origin of the bluestones used in the construction of Stonehenge.

"Our work has taken us to the Preseli Mountains to provide a robust context for the source of the bluestones and to explore various ideas about why those mountains were so special to prehistoric people".

"Accounts written in the 14th century refer to a magician bringing the stones from the west of the British Isles to what we know as Salisbury Plain," he continues.

"It was believed that these particular stones had many healing properties because in Preseli, there are many sacred springs that are considered to have health-giving qualities; the water comes out of the rocks used to build Stonehenge and it's well established that as recently as the late 18th century, people went to Stonehenge to break off bits of rock as talismans."

Many ancient tombs around Stonehenge revealed that a good proportion of those buried presented illness, with many bone injuries.

"Stonehenge is a very powerful and positive place of pilgrimage, although whether the monument's healing power actually worked is a matter for further discussion," concludes Darvill.