The first excavation at Stonehenge for over forty years confirms some of the recent archaeology in Britain concerning the longevity of sites and the importance of ritual. The Bluestones were brought from North Wales and appear to have acted as the healing foci for rituals whilst the sarsen stones brought a later taste for monumentalism. The analogy with cathedrals and saints shrines is mentioned.
The length of our history comes into play when you consider that the first rituals can be traced to 7,000BC and festivals may have been carried out on the site right up to the seventeenth century.