School of Conservation Sciences

Bluestonehenge: A new stone circle near Stonehenge

The Stonehenge Riverside Project

Archaeologists from the AHRC funded Stonehenge Riverside Project have discovered a lost stone circle a mile from Stonehenge, on the west bank of the River Avon.

The stones were removed thousands of years ago but the sizes of the holes in which they stood indicate that this was a circle of bluestones, brought from the Preseli mountains of Wales, 150 miles away. Excavations in August-September 2009 by the Stonehenge Riverside Project uncovered nine stone holes, part of a circle of probably 25 standing stones. (Most of the circle remains unexcavated, preserved for future research, whilst the 2009 excavation has been filled back in.)

This video podcast was filmed in September this year on site in Wiltshire. Filming took place at the main excavation site on the banks of the Avon a mile from Stonehenge where Professor Mike Parker Pearson and Dr Kate Welham were interviewed. In addition there is footage of a geophysical survey taking place a quarter of a mile North of Stonehenge as well as footage of Stonehenge itself.

You can read more about the discoveries of the team at the Arts & Humanities Research Council website External Link .

The Stonehenge Riverside Project is run by a consortium of university teams. It is directed by Prof. Mike Parker Pearson of Sheffield University, with co-directors Dr Josh Pollard (Bristol University), Prof. Julian Thomas (Manchester University), Dr Kate Welham (Bournemouth University) and Dr Colin Richards (Manchester University). The 2009 excavation was funded by the National Geographic Society, Google, the Society of Antiquaries of London, and the Society of Northern Antiquaries. The overall project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Royal Archaeological Institute.