As they went about their work with axes and ropes, they had no inkling that every single mark they left behind would be pored over by scientists almost 4,000 years later.
Now laser scans carried out on timbers from Norfolk's Seahenge, which shed new light on our understanding of the Bronze Age, have been used to digitally re-assemble the relic.
They were made by Glasgow-based imaging specialists Archaeoptics, which closed down in 2006.
Now its former technical director Alistair Carty has used its archive to piece together the enigmatic timber circle more than 20 years after its excavation.
"It was just a bit of fun really, going back through our old stuff and finding new uses for some of the old data," he said. "So about a year ago I decided to just get on with it.
"Because we always acted as a sub-contractor, a lot of people weren't aware of what we scanned."
Re-assembling Seahenge took around two days, using plans made at the time it was discovered.
The circle of 54 oak posts and its central timber stump were dug up from the beach at Holme-next-the-Sea, near Hunstanton, in 1999 after being uncovered by storms the previous winter.
Analysis of the timbers and the axe marks left by those who shaped them showed the circle was built in the summer of 2049BC and more than 50 people were involved in its construction.
While that in turn meant society was more advanced than had previously been believed it did not solve the riddle that remains to this day of why the ancients built their circles on what is now the shore.
READ MORE: Will we ever know why Seahenge was built?
Some believe they were used for sky burials, where the dead would be placed inside to be pecked and carried away by carrion-eating birds.
Archaeoptics' laser scans were made after the timbers were excavated from the beach and taken to Flag Fen, near Peterborough, amid protests from Druids and villagers, who believed that they should have been left in place.
They were later taken to the Mary Rose Trust in Portsmouth, which had previously restored Henry VIII's flagship after it was salvaged from the sea, to be preserved for posterity using special waxes.
Parts of the circle and the central tree stump went on display at Lynn Museum, in nearby King's Lynn, in 2008.
Last year, some of the timbers were loaned to the British Museum in London to form part of an exhibition about the world of Stonehenge.
Dr Jennifer Wexler, project curator at the British Museum, said: “If Stonehenge is one of the world’s most remarkable surviving ancient stone circles, then Seahenge is the equivalent in timber.
“We know about some aspects of the monument, including that it was constructed in the spring and summer of 2049 BC, from mighty oaks. But there’s much that still eludes us, including exactly what it was used for.
“Perhaps the central upturned trunk was used in funerary rituals to support a dead body. Perhaps entering the circular shrine brought worshippers closer to the otherworld.
"By displaying Seahenge in this exhibition, it provides an unparalleled opportunity to time travel back to the moment when circles of stone and timber were at the heart of people’s beliefs.”
Whatever those who built it held in their hearts and beliefs may never be known.
Other wooden structures which appeared on the same beach, including what appeared to be a walkway and another larger circle have emerged since the discovery of Seahenge.
The second circle was also dated to 2049BC, showing it was almost certainly built by the same group of people on what would then have been salt marsh.
But it was not excavated and the sea was left to claim it.
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