A BOOK of special photographs of Stonehenge, which are kept in Swindon, is being launched this month.

Stonehenge A History in Photographs has been written by Julian Richards, the TV presenter and archaeologist.

It depicts 150 years of photographic history of the site which date back to 1853.

Most of the photographs in the book are from English Heritage's photographic archive, the National Monuments Records Centre at Churchward.

The centre holds around nine million photographs of British monuments, many of which have never been seen by the general public before.

Those featured in the book include pictures of a royal picnic at Stonehenge, a visit from Churchill, druid ceremonies, festival gatherings and the first ever aerial photograph taken from an army balloon in 1905.

The images relate the recent history of the stones which continue to intrigue experts and amateurs alike from around the world.

The book covers two campaigns of general excavation and re-building work right up to the present day.

On Saturday the author will be at Stonehenge all day and will be available to answer questions and sign copies of the book.

Stonehenge is open from 9.30am to 4pm and visitors will to buy copies of the book on site.

Stonehenge a History in Photographs is priced £17.99 and will be available in all good bookshops from Monday.