Synopsis
For many centuries, scholars and enthusiasts have been fascinated by Stonehenge, the world’s most famous stone circle. In 2003 a team of archaeologists commenced a long-term fieldwork project for the first time in decades. The Stonehenge Riverside Project (2003-2009) aimed to investigate the purpose of this unique prehistoric monument by considering it within its wider archaeological context. This is the first of four volumes which present the results of that campaign. It includes investigations of the monuments and landscape that pre-dated Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain as well as of excavation at Stonehenge itself. The main discovery at Stonehenge was of cremated human remains from many individuals, allowing their demography, health and dating to be established. With a revised radiocarbon-dated chronology for Stonehenge’s five stages of construction, these burials can now be considered within the context of the monument’s development. The different types of stone from which Stonehenge is formed – bluestones from Wales and sarsen silcretes from more local sources – are investigated both at Stonehenge and in its surroundings. These surrounding monuments include single standing stones, the Cuckoo Stone and the Tor Stone, as well as the newly discovered circle of Bluestonehenge at West Amesbury beside the River Avon. The ceremonial Stonehenge Avenue, linking Stonehenge to Bluestonehenge, is also included, based on a series of excavations along its length. The working hypothesis behind the Stonehenge Riverside Project links Stonehenge with a complex of timber monuments upstream at the great henge of Durrington Walls and neighbouring Woodhenge. Whilst these other sites are covered in a later volume (Volume 3), this volume explores the role of the River Avon and its topographic and environmental evidence. With contributions by: Umberto Albarella, Michael Allen, Olaf Bayer, Wayne Bennett, Richard Bevins, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Chris Casswell, Andrew Chamberlain, Benjamin Chan, Rosamund Cleal, Gordon Cook, Glyn Davies, David Field, Charles French, Robert Ixer, Neil Linford, Peter Marshall, Louise Martin, Claudia Minniti, Doug Mitcham, Bob Nunn, Andy Payne, Mike Pitts, Rebecca Pullen, Julian Richards, David Robinson, Clive Ruggles, Jim Rylatt, Rob Scaife, Ellen Simmons, Charlene Steele, James Sugrue, Anne Teather, Sarah Viner, Tony Waldron, Katy Whitaker and Christie Willis
About the Author
Mike Parker Pearson is Professor of British Later Prehistory at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. A distinguished prehistorian, he has been involved with many major projects, including leading the recent Stonehenge Riverside Project.
Joshua Pollard is a Professor of Archaeology at the University of Southampton. He has wide-ranging research interests in the Neolithic period and has directed and co-directed major fieldwork projects in the Avebury and Stonehenge landscapes.
Colin Richards is Professor of World Prehistory in the Deaprtment of Archaeology at the University of Manchester where he mainly specialises in Neolithic archaeology, architecture and monumentality and ethnoarchaeology, with specific interests in Orkney and Easter Island.
Julian Thomas is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Manchester. He is a leading expert on Neolithic Britain, and has directed excavations in many parts of Britain from Scotland to southern England. His books include Understanding the Neolithic, Time, Culture and Identity, and The Birth of Neolithic Britain.
Kate Welham is Professor of Archaeological Science at Bournemouth University. She has worked on projects in Britain, Kenya, Spain and Easter Island, and is a leading expert in geophysical survey as well as in archaeological materials. She is chair of the UK committee of archaeological heads of departments. She is co-author of Stonehenge: making sense of a prehistoric mystery.
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