Stonehenge Riverside Project
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The Stonehenge Riverside Project is a major AHRC-funded archaeological research study interested in the development of the Stonehenge landscape in Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain. In particular, the project is interested in the relationship between the Stones and surrounding monuments and features including; The River Avon, Durrington Walls, the Cursus, the Avenue, Woodhenge, burial mounds, and nearby standing stones. The project involves a substantial amount of fieldwork, the initial phase being a 5 year project from 2003-2008, which will then be extended, reliant on funding.
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[edit] Background
The project is directed by Mike Parker Pearson (Sheffield University), Julian Thomas (Manchester University), Colin Richards (Manchester University), Kate Welham (Bournemouth University) , Joshua Pollard (Bristol University) and Chris Tilley (UCL). The main aims of the project are to test the hypotheses of earlier studies that Stonehenge was a monument dedicated to the dead, whilst Woodhenge & Durrington Walls 2 miles away, were monuments to the living & more recently deceased.
[edit] 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 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 along with vast amounts of animal bones and associated Neolithic pottery and tools.
[edit] Fieldwork
[edit] 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.
[edit] 2004 Excavations
2004 marked the start of annual excavations in the Stonehenge landscape. Trenches were dug on the riverbank 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.
[edit] 2005 Excavations
The largest amount of fieldwork yet 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 stone known locally as the Bulford stone. Channel 4's history show Time Team also attended and built a temporary reconstruction of the timber circle in the nearby village of Upavon.
[edit] 2006
[edit] 2007 Excavations
In late summer of 2007, 4 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 Maud Cunningtons digs immediately south of Woodhenge, and around another nearby fallen sarsen stone known locally as the Cuckoo stone. Geophysical surveys were also carried out across much of the surrounding area and around Stonehenge Bowl.
