Nash, DJ;
Ciborowski, TJR;
Ullyott, JS;
Pearson, MP;
Darvill, T;
Greaney, S;
Maniatis, G;
(2020)
Origins of the sarsen megaliths at Stonehenge.
Science Advances
, 6
(31)
, Article eabc0133. 10.1126/sciadv.abc0133.
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Abstract
The sources of the stone used to construct Stonehenge around 2500 BCE have been debated for over four centuries. The smaller “bluestones” near the center of the monument have been traced to Wales, but the origins of the sarsen (silcrete) megaliths that form the primary architecture of Stonehenge remain unknown. Here, we use geochemical data to show that 50 of the 52 sarsens at the monument share a consistent chemistry and, by inference, originated from a common source area. We then compare the geochemical signature of a core extracted from Stone 58 at Stonehenge with equivalent data for sarsens from across southern Britain. From this, we identify West Woods, Wiltshire, 25 km north of Stonehenge, as the most probable source area for the majority of sarsens at the monument.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Origins of the sarsen megaliths at Stonehenge |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1126/sciadv.abc0133 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abc0133 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.en |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Multidisciplinary Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics, EASTERN SOUTH DOWNS, STONES, GEOCHEMISTRY, MOBILITY, HILLS |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10109190 |
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