The Stonehenge Riverside Project was a major
Arts and Humanities Research Council
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities.
History
The Arts an ...
-funded archaeological research study of the development of the
Stonehenge landscape
The Stonehenge Landscape is a property of The National Trust, located on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. The estate (formerly known as Stonehenge Historic Landscape and before that as Stonehenge Down) covers surrounding the neolithic mo ...
in Neolithic and
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain is an era of British history that spanned from until . Lasting for approximately 1,700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the period of Iron Age Britain. Being categorised as t ...
. In particular, the project examined the relationship between the Stones and surrounding monuments and features, including the
River Avon,
Durrington Walls
Durrington Walls is the site of a large Neolithic settlement and later henge enclosure located in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in England. It lies north-east of Stonehenge in the parish of Durrington, just north of Amesbury in Wiltshir ...
, the
Cursus
250px, Stonehenge Cursus, Wiltshire
250px, Dorset Cursus terminal on Thickthorn Down, Dorset
Cursuses are monumental Neolithic structures resembling ditches or trenches in the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Relics found within them in ...
, the
Avenue
Avenue or Avenues may refer to:
Roads
* Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees)
* Avenue Road, Bangalore
* Avenue Road, ...
,
Woodhenge
Woodhenge is a Neolithic Class II henge and timber circle monument within the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, England. It is north-east of Stonehenge, in Durrington parish, just north of the town of Amesbury.
Discovery
Woodheng ...
, burial mounds, and nearby standing stones. The project involved a substantial amount of fieldwork and ran from 2003 to 2009. It found that Stonehenge was built 500 years earlier than previously thought. The monument is believed to have been built to unify the peoples of Britain.
It also found a previously unknown stone circle,
Bluestonehenge
Bluestonehenge or Bluehenge (also known as West Amesbury Henge) is a prehistoric henge and stone circle monument that was discovered by the Stonehenge Riverside Project about south-east of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. All that remains of t ...
.
Background
The project was directed by
Mike Parker Pearson
Michael Parker Pearson, (born 26 June 1957) is an English archaeologist specialising in the study of the Neolithic British Isles, Madagascar and the archaeology of death and burial. A professor at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, he previous ...
(
Sheffield University
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
),
Julian Thomas
Julian Stewart Thomas (born 1959) is a British archaeologist, publishing on the Neolithic and Bronze Age prehistory of Britain and north-west Europe. Thomas has been vice president of the Royal Anthropological Institute since 2007, has been Prof ...
(
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
), Colin Richards (
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
),
Kate Welham Kate name may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
* Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer
* Lauren Kate (born 1981), American autho ...
(
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s.
The univer ...
),
Joshua Pollard
C. Joshua Pollard (born May 1968) is a British archaeologist who is a Professor of Archaeology at the University of Southampton. He gained his BA and PhD in Archaeology from the Cardiff University, and is a specialist in the archaeology of ...
(
University of Southampton
, mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour
, type = Public research university
, established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
), and
Chris Tilley
__NOTOC__
Chris Tilley is a British archaeologist known for his contributions to postprocessualist archaeological theory. He is currently a Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology at University College London.
Tilley obtained his PhD in An ...
(
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
). The main aims of the project were to test the hypotheses of earlier studies that Stonehenge was a monument dedicated to the dead, whilst Woodhenge and Durrington Walls, two miles away, were monuments to the living and more recently deceased.
Previous excavations
The area immediately inside Stonehenge Bowl has been excavated several times throughout history, but to the east around Durrington Walls, there have only been two major studies conducted within recent times. The first was between 1926 and 1929 when
Maud Cunnington
Maud Edith Cunnington (''née'' Pegge; 24 September 1869 – 28 February 1951) was a Welsh archaeologist, best known for her pioneering work on the some of the most important prehistoric sites of Salisbury Plain.
Early life, education, and m ...
excavated around Woodhenge, discovering several Neolithic and Bronze Age features to the south. Later, when the nearby A345 was improved and routed through Durrington Walls in 1967, two timber circles were discovered within the henge. Also discovered were quantities of animal bones and associated Neolithic pottery and tools.
Fieldwork
2003 surveys
2003 fieldwork involved sampling and geophysical surveys of the land around Durrington Walls in preparation for future study. This work helped identify two previously unrecognised entranceways to the henge, to the north and south.
2004 excavations
2004 marked the start of annual excavations in the Stonehenge landscape. Trenches were dug on the bank of the River Avon next to Durrington Walls, and at the eastern entrance to the henge. On this occasion various finds suggesting Neolithic occupation were found around the area.
2005 excavations
More fieldwork was carried out in the summer of 2005. Excavations were made around the land east of Durrington Walls near the river, and north west outside the west gate. A large amount of digging was done on the eastern banks of the henge, and inside the walls to expose the southernmost timber circle discovered in 1967. A great deal of work was also carried out 2 miles east, around a fallen
sarsen
Sarsen stones are silicified sandstone blocks found in quantity in Southern England on Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire; in Kent; and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset, and Hampshire.
Geology ...
stone known locally as the Bulford Stone. Channel 4's archaeological television programme
''Time Team'' attended and built a temporary reconstruction of the timber circle in the nearby village of
Upavon
Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...
.
2006
Over 20 researchers and 170 students and volunteers were involved in excavations around Durrington Walls and investigations into the Stonehenge landscape. Among other things, new dating suggested that the sarsen phase of Stonehenge was contemporary with Durrington Walls at around 2640–2480 BC.
2007 excavations
In late summer of 2007, four weeks of fieldwork was carried out by several hundred students and volunteers. Excavations were carried out at the western end of the Cursus; around the southern, western and eastern gates of Durrington Walls; at the site of Cunnington's digs immediately south of Woodhenge; and around another nearby fallen sarsen stone, known locally as the
Cuckoo Stone
The Cuckoo Stone is a Neolithic or Bronze Age standing stone. The stone, which is now fallen, is in a field near to Woodhenge and Durrington Walls in Wiltshire, England (). It is part of the wider Stonehenge Landscape.
Description
The Cucko ...
. Geophysical surveys were also carried out across much of the surrounding area and around Stonehenge Bowl. Residencies for six artists and two graduate art student placements were arranged by Artists in Archaeology to record the processes of uncovering and interpreting this location.
2008 excavations
In the late summer of 2008, a further four weeks of excavations were carried out. The year's excavation focused largely upon the
Avenue
Avenue or Avenues may refer to:
Roads
* Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees)
* Avenue Road, Bangalore
* Avenue Road, ...
, largely re-excavating work by
Richard Atkinson. More work was carried out upon the eastern end of the
Stonehenge Cursus
The Stonehenge Cursus (sometimes known as the Greater Cursus) is a large Neolithic cursus monument on Salisbury plain, near to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. It is roughly long and between and wide. Excavations in 2007 dated the construct ...
, Long Barrow 42 at the eastern terminal of the Cursus, the field to the west of Stonehenge, and a re-excavation of one of the
Aubrey
Aubrey is traditionally a male English given name. The name is from the French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich, which consists of the elements ALF "elf" and RIK "king", from Proto-Germani ...
Holes within the Stonehenge bowl. The excavation was
covered by ''Time Team'' but was also covered by ''
Nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
'' and ''
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
''. Residencies for six visual artists were arranged by Artists in Archaeology, to explore connections between archaeological processes and artistic practices.
In 2008, and again in 2009, the team excavated the remains of a henge beside the river, about south-east of Stonehenge. The discovery attracted media coverage and the name "Bluehenge" or "
Bluestonehenge
Bluestonehenge or Bluehenge (also known as West Amesbury Henge) is a prehistoric henge and stone circle monument that was discovered by the Stonehenge Riverside Project about south-east of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. All that remains of t ...
".
Stonehenge as a cemetery
Stonehenge is effectively Britain's largest third millennium BC cemetery, containing 52 cremation burials and many other fragments of both burnt and unburnt bone. Many of the cremation deposits contained more than one individual, so that an estimate of the number of people buried here during that period may be between 150 and 240. In 2007 the Stonehenge Riverside Project and the Beaker People Project jointly embarked upon a radiocarbon dating programme of the surviving skeletal remains to establish when Stonehenge was used as a burial space. As a result of this, it is argued that the site began as a cremation cemetery in the early third millennium BC.
Conclusion
The research concluded that Stonehenge was built to unify the people of Stone Age Britain.
The results were published in a 2012 book ''Stonehenge, Exploring the Greatest Stone Age Mystery'' by Mike Parker Pearson.
References
External links
"Stonehenge Riverside Project" The University of Sheffield
''Time Team'' Special
English Heritage – Interactive Map of Stonehenge Landscape Audio interview with the archaeologists
''Stonehenge Decoded'' Nat Geo Channel, documentary on Parker Pearson's theories
Artists in ArchaeologyArtists in Archaeology organises art residencies, exhibitions, lectures, workshops and events. It aims to research and enhance the connections between artistic and archaeological practice.
Bill Bevan's photodocumentary work on the Project.
{{Stonehenge
Archaeological organizations
Archaeology of England
Sites associated with Stonehenge
Archaeological projects