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(D) Stonehenge(巨石阵)may have been a prehistoric health center rather than a site for observing stars or a temple in honor of the dead, scientists said yesterday. New evidence unearthed at the World Heritage Site in more than 40 years suggested that the monument was a place where the diseased and injured went in groups, seeking cures. After a two-week dig, scientists have concluded that Stonehenge was “the ancient healthcare centre of southern England” because of the existence of “bluestones”—the smaller columns of dolerite(辉绿岩)that formed an earlier stone structure. By dating pieces of remains to around 7330 BC, Tim Darvill, of Bournemouth University, and Geoffrey Wainwright, of the Society of Antiquaries have found that hunter-gatherers were at the site on Salisbury Plain 4, 000 years earlier than thought. The first stage of Stonehenge, a round earthwork structure, was built around 3000 BC. Professor Wainwright added: “I did not expect the degree of complexity we discovered. We’re able to say so much more about when Stonehenge was built and why—all of which changes our previous understanding of the monument. ” The research reveals the importance of the henge’s famous bluestones. Hundreds of bluestone chips gathered at the site have led the team to conclude that the bluestones were valued for their curing effects—the key reason that about 80 of them, each weighing up to 4 tons and a half, were dragged more than 150 miles from the Preseli Hills in Wales to Wiltshire. After years of research, Professors Darvill and Wainwright have concluded that, for thousands of years, the Preseli mountain range was home to magical health centers and holy wells. Even today there are those who believe in the curing powers of the springs for coughs and heart disease, and people who use crystals and bluestones for self-curing. Radiocarbon tests have also revealed that the construction of the original bluestone circle took place aro