Day 12:The Final Reckoning

On Friday, after slicing through 4,500 years of history in less than two weeks, Professors Tim Darvill and Geoff Wainwright downed their trowels. In the trench, the chiselled chalk bedrock of intersecting sockets resembled exposed jaw-bone; the bluestones missing like pulled teeth.

This was a moment for quiet reflection: on the wider significance of the project as well as the personal journeys that had brought the two archaeologists here - the pinnacle of their careers.

"The last two weeks have been a period of great discoveries, very hard work, a lot of friendship and deep satisfaction that we've achieved what we set out to do", said Professor Wainwright.

Hands were shaken and photos taken, but there was still work to do. The trench was photographed, drawn, measured, scanned and scrutinised like a pinned butterfly. Dr Mike Allen further sampled for organic matter to carbon date in the lab. He hopes it will tell us when the bluestones were originally set in their sockets.

Sunday was hard-labour day. Most of what comes out of a trench gets shovelled back in - a process known as back-filling. In this case there was around two tonnes of the stuff, with sterilized soil replacing material that was permanently removed for study.

It was thirsty work but everybody mucked in, and the final turf was re-laid in the late afternoon. High above Stonehenge, right on cue, storm clouds gathered, rain began to fall and a clap of thunder applauded a job well done.

In the final video, Professors Darvill and Wainwright summarise the fortnight's historic events.

Day 11: Context is everything

Friday April 11, 2008 -Environmental archaeologist Dr Mike Allen likes to see the big picture, so he uses the latest scientific techniques to reconstruct Stonehenge's ancient setting. Likening the prehistoric scene to a landscape painting, "my colleagues paint the detail in the middle, and I paint the rest", he explained.

Masters of rock, geologists Rob Ixer and Jason Allen, were also at the dig today, scrutinising all the stones from the trench. They confirmed that some of the bluestone was spotted-dolerite from Preseli, in southwest Wales. Other highlights included chunks of non-local greensand and hematite, a piece of worked sarsen, and a fossil sea-lily.

Most of the material from the trench is taken off-site to the 'engine-room' of the dig (a humble portacabin). There, research assistant Debra Costen supervises the wet-sieving, sorting and recording of every single trowel-full. It's a demanding task - over two tonnes of spoil have been processed so far (some kind of record?).

An archaeological excavation is necessarily methodical, but patience and vigilance are richly rewarded. Forget needles in haystacks: Debra found an ancient grain buried in the bucket-loads - the only one of the dig so far. In today's video Dr Allen explains how by studying the small - he's on the trail of tiny snails - we can understand the large.

Day 10: Past misdemeanours

Thursday April 10, 2008 -It seems that Sir Christopher Wren, the famous 17th century architect, also left his mark on Stonehenge - but in a quite unexpected way. His name is skillfully chiselled into one of the 40-tonne sarsens that watches over the dig.

Wren wasn't the first or only one to deface the stones. The carvings that Professor Wainwright was so taken by on Day 3 look like Latin characters, though the meaning of the message is unknown. And there are prehistoric marks too - dagger and axe shapes are visible to the trained eye.

A few other characters were also all over the monument today. It was 'academics day' - a chance for the team's colleagues and peers to view and discuss the excavation so far. Presumably they didn't sign the stones.

The find of the day was more Beaker pottery, dating from the time that the monument was built. The quest is now on to find organic material from the stone holes that can be used to date when the bluestones were set.

If found, the material will be carbon dated in the lab. Dr Mike Allen, the team's environmental archaeologist, will also employ this technique on the snail shells that have been found. It's thought that the Romans introduced this particular species, though our dating could challenge that.

Watch the video to see how people's enjoyment of the monument hasn't always been good for the stones. But there is a flip side - finds coordinator Yvette Staelens has "a hundred stories" on her desk.

Day 9: One trench, many sockets

Wednesday April 9, 2008 -The dig has revealed lots of large, intersecting bluestone sockets that have been carved into the chalk bedrock at different times. The largest of these dominates the centre of the trench, and was cut in Roman times.

We know it's Roman because of the finds it contained, including a 'House of Constantine' coin, from the 4th century (pictured). The emperor and his laurel are clearly visible; he scrubbed-up well after being spotted in the 'washer'(see Day 8) by sharp-eyed undergraduate Steve Bush.

There was other evidence too. Mark Maltby is a zooarchaeologist, meaning he specialises in the study of old bones. He identified pieces of chicken bone from the socket - the Romans enjoyed chicken then as much as we do today.

From the trench as a whole, a host of animal bones or teeth have been dug up. Mark identified the remains of horse, pig, cattle, duck, rabbit, hare and either sheep or goat (not some strange hybrid, just difficult to tell apart in the field).

Find out much more about the bluestone sockets from Professor Tim Darvill in today's video clip. He explains the order in which they were created, and why it may show that bluestone was "celebrated and reused many times over".

Day 8: The heavy hand of history

Tuesday April 8, 2008 -The cold snap was epitomised this morning when the team's 'washer' (a wet-sieving machine) was frozen solid. This machine doesn't clean clothes (the team's are too muddy to bother) but the material from the trench - over 1000 litres so far.

It works on simple but effective principles. Buckets of soil encrusted stones are poured into a bath of cold running water, then tumbled and sieved until the soil washes away. But here's the clever part: willing archaeology students do the tumbling, with their bare hands. From morning till night.

Back at the glamorous sharp-end of the dig, principal excavator Dr Miles Russell and the two Professors, Darvill and Wainwright, ploughed on despite the thunder, lightning and hail. There were some striking finds from all ages, including both Roman and prehistoric pottery, plus another Neolithic flint scraper.

Fragments of animal bone are also common, but it's important to remember that these are not fossils. Fossilisation - where minerals replace the original material - requires tens of thousands or even millions of years. We'll know more tomorrow, when an expert arrives to put some metaphorical flesh onto the bones.

In today's clip, Dr Russell speculates on the mind-set of the Neolithic people who built Stonehenge, and why he's finding topsoil packed into the bluestone holes. Were they attempting to "heal the wounds?", he asks.