Excavations at Stonehenge
Records of archaeological excavations at the Stonehenge site date back to the early 17th century.
Early research
The first known excavations at Stonehenge were undertaken by Dr William Harvey and Gilbert North in the early 17th century. Both Inigo Jones and the Duke of Buckingham also dug there shortly afterwards. In 1666 the antiquarian John Aubrey could still see the central sunken hollow where the Duke of Buckingham's pit had been filled.[1] A few minor investigations followed.
Further excavations at Stonehenge were carried out by
Modern studies
On New Year's Eve 1900, Stone 22 of the Sarsen Circle fell over, taking with it a lintel. Following public pressure and a letter to
The largest series of excavations at Stonehenge were undertaken by Colonel William Hawley and his assistant Robert Newall after the site came into state hands. Stonehenge and 30 acres (120,000 m2) of land was purchased by Mr. Cecil Chubb for £6,600 on September 21, 1915 for his wife — she donated the land to the British government three years later. Their work began in 1919 following the transfer of land, funded by the Office of Works, and continued until 1926. Hawley and Newall excavated portions of most of the features at Stonehenge and were the first to establish that it was a multi-phase site.
In 1950 the
As part of service trenching in 1979 and 1980, Mike Pitts led two smaller investigations close by the Heelstone, finding the evidence for its neighbour. More recent excavations have been held to mitigate the effects of electrical cables, sewage pipes, and a footpath through the site.
Since 2003, Mike Parker Pearson has led investigations in the stones area as part of the
From 2005 excavation of the area around a spring pool known as Blick Mead about a mile from Stonehenge, have taken place under the direction of Professor David Jacques of the University of Buckingham. These have revealed the earliest settlement in the area dating to the period 7900 BC to 4050 BC.[3][4]
Britain's
See also
- Stonehenge
- Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge
- Battle of the Beanfield
- Theories about Stonehenge
- Stonehenge replicas and derivatives
- Stone circle
- Cultural depictions of Stonehenge
- Stonehenge road tunnel
- Stonehenge Riverside Project
References
- ^ Aubrey, John, Monumenta Britannica. (Published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1980 (John Fowles ed.))
- British Broadcasting Corporation. 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ "The New Discoveries at Blick Mead: the Key to the Stonehenge Landscape". www.buckingham.ac.uk. University of Buckingham. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
- ^ Professor David Jacques FSA (21 September 2016). "'The Cradle of Stonehenge'? Blick Mead - a Mesolithic Site in the Stonehenge Landscape -Lecture Transcript". www.gresham.ac.uk. Gresham College. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
- ^ uk.reuters.com, Stonehenge may have been pilgrimage site for sick
- ^ news.yahoo.com, UK experts say Stonehenge was place of healing
- ^ guardian.co.uk, The magic of Stonehenge: new dig finds clues to power of bluestones