Stonehenge for the Ancestors. Part 2: Synthesis (The Stonehenge Riverside Project)

For many centuries, scholars and enthusiasts have been fascinated by Stonehenge, the world’s most famous stone circle. In 2003 a team of archaeologists commenced a long-term fieldwork project for the first time in decades. The Stonehenge Riverside Project (2003-2009) aimed to investigate the purpose of this unique prehistoric monument by considering it within its wider archaeological context.

This is the second of four volumes which present the results of that campaign. It includes studies of the lithics from excavations, both from topsoil sampling and from excavated features, as well as of the petrography of the famous bluestones, as identified from chippings recovered during excavations. Other specialist syntheses are those of the land mollusca. The volume provides an overview of Stonehenge in its landscape over millennia from before the monument was built to the last of its five constructional stages. It concludes with a chapter placing Stonehenge in its full context within Britain and western Europe during the third millennium BC.

With contributions by:
Umberto Albarella, Michael Allen, Richard Bevins, Benjamin Chan, Robert Ixer, Claudia Minniti, Doug Mitcham and Sarah Viner-Daniels

Table of Contents

LIST OF FIGURESLIST OF TABLESCONTRIBUTORSPREFACEACKNOWLEDGEMENTS1. IntroductionM. Parker Pearson et al.2. Lithic scatters in ploughsoil from the Stonehenge landscapeD. Mitcham3. Investigating traditions of stone working and inhabitation in the Stonehenge landscape: the lithics assemblages of the Stonehenge Riverside ProjectB. Chan4. Petrography of bluestones and other lithicsR. Ixer and R. Bevins5. The lived-in landscape – environment, landscape and land-use: the land snail evidenceM. Allen6. Before StonehengeM. Parker Pearson et al.7. Stonehenge Stage 1M. Parker Pearson et al.8. Stonehenge Stage 2M. Parker Pearson et al.9. Stonehenge Stage 3M. Parker Pearson et al.10. Stonehenge Stages 4 and 5M. Parker Pearson et al.11. Stonehenge in its contextM. Parker Pearson et al.

Mike Parker Pearson is Professor of British Later Prehistory at University College London. A distinguished prehistorian he has been involved with many major projects, including leading the recent Stonehenge Riverside Project. His many publications include Stonehenge: Exploring the Greatest Stone Age Mystery (2012) and From Machair to Mountains: archaeological survey and excavation in Uist (2012).



Colin Richards is Professor of Archaeology at the University of the Highlands and Islands. His research covers Neolithic Britain and north-west Europe, and Polynesian archaeology. His books include Monuments in the Making: Raising the Great Dolmens in Early Neolithic Northern Europe (Windgather Press, 2021), and Stone Circles: A Field Guide (2024), both with Vicki Cummings.