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Stonehenge ‘No Place for the Dead’

Timothy Darvill and Geoffrey Wainwright A leading expert on Stonehenge based at BU has breathed new life into the controversy surrounding the origins of Stonehenge.

In his new book Stonehenge: The Biography of a Landscape (Tempus Publishing) Professor Tim Darvill, Head of the University’s Archaeology Group, suggests that the ancient monument was a source and centre for healing and not a place for the dead as believed by many previous scholars.

Professor Darvill also makes a case for revellers who travel to be near the ancient monument for the summer solstice in June to reconsider. Instead, he believes that those seeking to tap into the monument’s powers at its most potent time of the year should do so in December during the winter solstice when our ancestors believed that the henge was ‘occupied’ by a prehistoric god - the equivalent of the Roman and Greek god of healing, Apollo – who ‘chose’ to reside in winter with the Hyborians, long believed to be the ancient Britons.

The basis for Professor Darvill’s findings lies in the Preseli Mountains in west Wales where he and colleague Professor Geoffrey Wainwright have located an exact origin for the bluestones used in the construction of Stonehenge some 250 km away.

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

Open Lecture at BU

Professor Timothy Darvill and Professor Geoffrey Wainwright, formerly Head of Archaeology at English Heritage, will expound their theories further during an open lecture at Bournemouth University on Thursday 30 November at 5.30pm when the subject will be Beyond Stonehenge: Carn Menini and the Preseli Bluestones.

Admission to the lecture is free. All are welcome.
Pre-booking is recommended by emailing bulectures@bournemouth.ac.uk or by telephoning (01202) 9610933.

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