Scientists unlock the secret of the Stonehenge stones
Scientists have unravelled the centuries old mystery of where the sarsen stones used to build Stonehenge came from.
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Stonehenge in the Wiltshire landscape [Credit: Andre Pattenden/English Heritage] |
The research, published in the journal Science Advances, used geochemical data to show that 50 of the 52 sarsen stones at Stonehenge share a consistent chemistry and, by inference, originated from a common source area.
They then compared the geochemical signature of small fragments of a core extracted from one of these sarsens – Stone 58 – with equivalent data for sarsens from across southern Britain.
This information was used to identify that most of the sarsen stones at Stonehenge originated from West Woods, located around 15 miles to the north of Stonehenge, on the edge of the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire.
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Jake Ciborowski (University of Brighton) analysing the sarsen core extracted from Stone 58 at Stonehenge using a portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometer [Credit: Sam Frost/English Heritage] |
Professor of Archaeology at Bournemouth University Timothy Darvill OBE was one of the research team.
He said: “Pinpointing the source of the iconic sarsens is such an achievement. Knowing that almost all of the uprights and lintels came from the same place in West Woods really takes one closer to the builders of Stonehenge.
“Now we can better appreciate their efforts moving them 30km across the undulating landscape of Salisbury Plain. We can feel their pain, and think again about what the best route might have been and how they managed such a Herculean task.”
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Plan of Stonehenge using the numbering system devised by W.M. Flinders Petrie in the late 19th century [Credit: David Nash/University of Brighton] |
Susan Greaney, Senior Properties Historian for English Heritage, the charity that cares for Stonehenge, said: “This research provides a fantastic leap forward in our knowledge about Stonehenge, as we can finally answer the question of where the iconic sarsen stones were brought from.
“We’re so pleased that the core from Stone 58, which the Phillips family returned to Stonehenge last year, has enabled the team to undertake a small amount of destructive sampling, adding a crucial piece of evidence to the jigsaw.”
The research was led by Professor David Nash, Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Brighton.
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Map showing the locations of Stonehenge and West Woods, together with possible routeways over which sarsen stones might have been transported to the monument [Credit: David Nash/University of Brighton] |
Partners in the project included Susan Greaney (English Heritage), Katy Whitaker (University of Reading/ The South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership) Professor Timothy Darvill (Bournemouth University) and Professor Mike Parker Pearson (University College London).
Professor Nash said: “Archaeologists and geologists have been debating where the sarsen stones used to build Stonehenge came from for more than four centuries. This significant new data will help explain more of how the monument was constructed and, perhaps, offer insights into the routes by which the 20 to 30 tonne stones were transported.”
Source: Bournemouth University [July 30, 2020]
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