Stonehenge: A History Mystery

Experts Are Digging for Answers to Questions Surrounding England's Ancient Stone Circle

When you gaze at Stonehenge, it's impossible not to ask, "What, when, where, who and why?"

But even experts can't unravel the entire mystery of this ancient ring of huge stones in southern England.

However, they keep trying.

Earlier this year, Geoffrey Wainwright and Tim Darvill were digging among the stones while working on a documentary for the Smithsonian Channel. It was just the latest quest to find out more about the history and meaning of one of the world's most popular tourist attractions.

While the British professors dug and tourists from around the globe circled the outer ring of the lichen-covered stones in the middle of a windy plain grazed by sheep, Bridget Byrne was allowed to step inside the possibly "magic" ring and ponder the mysteries up close.

What is it?

Stonehenge is now a rather ramshackle broken ring of bluestones and sandstones. It's usually a drab gray, but sunshine and rain make it glisten, and it's positioned to frame the rising of the midsummer sun.

The smaller bluestones, some weighing almost five tons, formed an original ring, replacing what had once been built from earth and wood.

Later the bluestones were rearranged as giant-size sarsen sandstones, the heaviest weighing more than 40 tons, were added.

Why did that happen?

That's one of the mysteries the professors are trying to solve.

When was it built?

It's believed it was begun more than 50 centuries ago, around 3100 B.C., and the final stage, which included the addition of horizontal stones (lintels) along the top of the uprights, was completed around 1600 B.C.