The Bluestone Odyssey

Why were bluestones hauled over 200km from southwest Wales to Stonehenge? Where did the name of Britain come from? Follow this personal journey of discovery to seek answers to these and other questions about Britain's ancient past.

Fieldwork prompted by clues embedded in British mythology led to the identification of a key Neolithic cult centre near present day Cardigan in West Wales, where bluestones were imported from the nearby Preseli Hills and incorporated in megalithic structures, long before such stones were transported to Stonehenge.

Tracing the mythological footprint of the Neolithic peoples' journey from their Anatolian homeland through the Mediterranean and into the Western Seaways, the book explores evidence of an ancient goddess of human and agricultural fertility. Was the great Stonehenge project initially mounted to appease that deity in response to a dramatic downturn in the fortunes of those first farmers?

Great changes came about with the advent of the metal ages, but the ancient cult of the goddess survived, eventually becoming Christianised in the Mediterranean Virgin Mary and Mari of the Western Seaways. The Reformation saw the deliberate destruction of megaliths, shrines and pilgrimages associated with the Marian cult in the Cardigan and Preseli district, but her spirit lives on despite the dominance of patriarchal monotheism.