Summary
Highlights
Albert Lin embarks on a journey to understand why Stonehenge was built in its specific location, thousands of years ago. Using advanced technologies like LIDAR and satellite imagery, he aims to uncover the deep human journey connected to this ancient monument. He highlights the grandeur of Stonehenge and the effort it took to build, questioning the reasons behind its placement.
Lin's investigation begins at Blick Mead, a site near Stonehenge with history predating the monument. He explores a spring-fed lagoon, a reliable watering hole 8,000 years ago during the era of hunter-gatherers. Archaeologist David Jacques showcases tens of thousands of exceptionally well-preserved stone tools found at Blick Mead, suggesting it was a significant gathering place, potentially an early form of a city.
Through LIDAR data, Lin discovers that what is now a small river at Blick Mead was once a massive flood plain. This leads him to explore the concept of ancient 'rivers as highways' for hunter-gatherers using boats. He then dives into the waters off the Isle of Wight, where maritime archaeologist Gary Momber reveals a remarkably preserved 8,000-year-old wooden structure, believed to be a dock or platform, indicating sophisticated boat-building and waterway travel.
A 6,000-year-old domestic dog tooth found at Blick Mead suggests that hunter-gatherers and their animals traveled hundreds of miles to reach the area. Using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), archaeologists uncover a 30-foot-long, flat stone surface beneath the boggy ground. This unique discovery of a carefully laid stone surface, embedded with hundreds of flint tools, is theorized to be a sacred site for worship, predating Stonehenge by 2,000 years, and located alongside the ancient river.
Journeying to Finmark, Norway, within the Arctic Circle, Lin examines 7,000-year-old rock carvings created by hunter-gatherers. These detailed carvings reveal intimate insights into their lives and spiritual beliefs, including animal transformations and the interconnectedness of humans and nature. These carvings help to understand the spiritual significance animals held for ancient ancestors, creating a parallel to the potential beliefs at Blick Mead.
Back at Blick Mead, large quantities of Aurochs bones are discovered, indicating these massive, powerful animals were central to the lives of the inhabitants. Lin explores the hunting techniques used to fell these formidable beasts. Analysis of ancient pollen and fungal spores confirms that Aurochs grazed in open areas around Blick Mead, a rare landscape in forest-covered England. Importantly, Aurochs bones found at Stonehenge's ditch suggest a symbolic connection, with augmented reality illustrating an Aurochs skull forming a sacred gateway at the monument.
A groundbreaking discovery occurs when the stone surface at Blick Mead is removed, revealing 8,000-year-old preserved Aurochs hoofprints underneath. This suggests the stone surface was deliberately laid to protect and honor these prints, indicating the Aurochs were religious totems. Lin then returns to Norway to seek evidence of early hunter-gatherer settlements, using 3D scanners to uncover foundations of pit houses, showing that these nomadic people built permanent dwellings, likely similar to those at Blick Mead, forming what could be early cities. This confluence of resources and sacred animal worship explains why the area became so important, influencing future constructions like Stonehenge.