Archaeologists have pinpointed the construction of Stonehenge to 2300 BC - a key step to discovering how and why the mysterious edifice was built. The radiocarbon date is said to be the most accurate yet and means the ring's original bluestones were put up 300 years later than previously thought. The dating is the major finding from an excavation inside the henge by Profs Tim Darvill and Geoff Wainwright.  The duo found evidence suggesting Stonehenge was a centre of healing.  Others have argued that the monument was a shrine to worship ancestors, or a calendar to mark the solstices.  A documentary following the progress of the recent dig has been recorded by the BBC Timewatch series. It will be broadcast on Saturday 27 September. 

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For centuries, archaeologists have marveled at the construction of Stonehenge, which lies on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. Mineral analysis indicates that the original circle of bluestones was transported to the plain from a site 240km (150 miles) away, in the Preseli hills, South Wales. This extraordinary feat suggests the stones were thought to harbour great powers.  Professors Darvill and Wainwright believe that Stonehenge was a centre of healing - a "Neolithic Lourdes", to which the sick and injured travelled from far and wide, to be healed by the powers of the bluestones.  They note that "an abnormal number" of the corpses found in tombs nearby Stonehenge display signs of serious physical injury and disease. And analysis of teeth recovered from graves show that "around half" of the corpses were from people who were "not native to the Stonehenge area". "Stonehenge would attract not only people who were unwell, but people who were capable of [healing] them," said Professor Darvill, of Bournemouth University.  "Therefore, in a sense, Stonehenge becomes 'the A & E' of southern England."  Source