Operation Stonehenge: What Lies Beneath
Stonehenge is one of the most enigmatic and fascinating historical sites that Britain has to offer, largely because historians have little idea what the huge stone monoliths were for, or how they got there. There's no end of theories, but none of them so far have been conclusive. Recent revolutionary research has just been undertaken which, over the course of four years, has yielded some fascinating insights into the site. Drawing on this new data, archaeologists might finally be able to put to bed some of its mysteries. This two-part programme reveals the project's findings
Episodes
Operation Stonehenge takes the viewer on a prehistoric journey from 8000BC to 2500BC as the scientists uncover the very origins of Stonehenge, learning why this landscape is sacred, preserved and has been revered by following generations. Evidence of war and conflict, as well as the cultivation of ideas and industry, is explored to reveal complex communities with international trade links as far-reaching as Spain and central Europe. Using CGI to reveal the monuments hidden beneath Stonehenge and featuring factually sourced dramatic reconstructions, the stories of the buildings and the people that occupied this sacred landscape over four millennia ago are revealed in comprehensive detail.
Operation Stonehenge follows a group of international archaeologists, led by the University of Birmingham and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute in Vienna and supported by new research from English Heritage. Solving many of the mysteries of Stonehenge, revelations include the discovery of new monuments in the landscape, the most definitive understanding to date of how the monument looked in its heyday, the precise geometric mastery that dictated its design and solar alignment, and tantalising new evidence of how the megaliths were transported to the site and elaborately finished by skilled engineers and stonemasons. Precise CGI reconstructions reveal not just an enigmatic circle of stones, but the crowning achievement and epicentre of a highly sophisticated civilisation that had mastered deep mining, international trade, precision engineering, intricate gold working and state-of-the art metallurgy, alongside complex astronomy and mathematics.
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