What if none of the Building Stones at Stonehenge Came from Wiltshire?

Abstract

Summary The sarsen and bluestone stones at Stonehenge (Wiltshire, UK) have played a significant role in the development of twentieth‐century ideas about Neolithic and early Bronze Age social structure. Sarsen and bluestone are not, however, the only rock types used at Stonehenge. The varied stones present at the monument include previously under‐studied material, such as the normally unseen, and largely forgotten, packing stones for Stonehenge's famous settings. By reflecting on more recently developed theoretical frameworks to interpret this variety, this paper exposes the possibility that an alternative to the dominant discourse, in which Stonehenge represents the culmination of Neolithic social evolution, is possible.

‘Connoisseurs of Stone’: Everyday Sarsen Stone in Neolithic Britain

“…Later Neolithic examples include the use of triboluminescent quartz at the Hendraburnick propped stone in Cornwall, sourced from the nearby River Camel streambed (Jones & Goskar 2017). The importance of collages of multiple stone types, shapes, and sizes drawn from varied sources is evident at sites including the Ring of Brodgar, Orkney (Downes et al 2013, 105-7), the burial mound complex at Knowth, Ireland (Corcoran & Sevastopulo 2017), and indeed Stonehenge (Whitaker 2019).…”

Origins of the sarsen megaliths at Stonehenge

“…However, given that sarsen was used to construct megalithic monuments in Kent, Dorset, and Oxfordshire [e.g., ( 18 )], it is not impossible that these regions could also have supplied stones for Stonehenge. Furthermore, as the distant sources of the bluestones attest, the choice of stone used to construct Stonehenge was far from pragmatic or based simply on local availability ( 14 , 19 ).…”