Lecture 2 - Discovering and Understanding Stonehenge

Stonehenge was in use as a major monument for over 1,500 years. We trace its story, from its earliest enigmatic origins and vital first stones, now proven to have been brought ceremoniously from West Wales, right through to its final years as the Neolithic world yielded to the Bronze Age and its changing beliefs. New discoveries have tumbled over themselves in recent years, always writing and re-writing the story of Stonehenge. We follow the latest archaeology and studies that have shone fresh light on the site and those related to it, as it developed over the centuries. Stonehenge was a cosmic calendar and an ancestral cemetery. It was also an engineering and social marvel but also a vibrant part of religion and entertainment and fun for folk from throughout Britain. Enter a thrilling world of stunning engineering and social cohesion, midwinter feasts, journeys of life and death, and a dynamic sacred ceremonial space that still stands and inspires us, 5,000 years after it was begun.