Revealed: Secrets of Stonehenge
Mystery solved thanks to core sample drilled from one of stones in 1950s and taken to US
HERITAGE: The mysteries of Stonehenge’s origins have baffled archaeologists throughout the centuries.
Now some of the clearest evidence yet about the huge ‘sarsen’ stones which create the world-famous stone circle’s distinctive profile has been revealed – with the help of a sample returned from the USA.
IT STANDS as a testament to engineering skills honed during the prehistoric era, but the mysteries of Stonehenge’s origins have baffled archaeologists throughout the centuries.
Now some of the clearest evidence yet about the huge ‘sarsen’ stones which create the worldfamous stone circle’s distinctive profile has been revealed – with the help of a sample returned from the USA.
Tests done on the core of one of the stones, which was drilled during repair work at the Neolithic site in the 1950s, indicates the 20-tonne, seven-metre high megaliths were brought from West Woods, near Marlborough.
Professor David Nash, from the University of Brighton, who led the research, said: “It has been really exciting to harness 21st century science to understand the Neolithic past, and finally answer a question that archaeologists have been debating for centuries.”
The core of the stone was removed by a Basingstoke diamond-cutting business as part of measures to use metal rods to reinforce one of the upright stones in 1958, and company employee Robert Phillips kept it in pride of place in his office. He took it with him when he emigrated to the USA and its existence remained largely unknown for six decades, until he expressed a wish for it to be returned on the eve of his 90th birthday.
His sons presented it in 2018 to English Heritage, which cares for the World Heritage site, and now it has helped solve the question of where the enormous stones of the world-famous monument originated. Research has shown the monument’s smaller bluestones come from specific spots in the Preseli Hills in Wales, but where the ancient people who constructed Stonehenge had quarried the sarsens from was unknown.
Prof Nash said it was the chance to analyse the returned core which had enabled the experts to determine the source area for the enormous stones.
He added: “We’re incredibly grateful to the Phillips family for returning the core to us.”
It has long been assumed they came from Marlborough Downs, but that has never been rigorously tested, according to a study by a team of researchers published in the journal Science Advances.
The team used a non-destructive X-ray technique to assess the make-up of all the remaining sarsen upright and lintel stones, which established that 50 of the 52 remaining megaliths shared a consistent chemistry. This led them to conclude they were sourced from a common area.
The core was cut up and sampled for its chemical composition, and compared with samples of sarsen boulders in 20 areas stretching from Devon to Norfolk, including six in the Marlborough Downs to the north of Stonehenge.
The analysis concludes that stone 58 – which the core was taken from – and therefore the majority of the sarsens were mostly likely from West Woods, about 15 miles north of the stone circle on the edge of the downs.
The experts said archaeological investigations and more detailed sampling of sarsens from West Woods and the surrounding areas are needed to more pinpoint the prehistoric quarries.
We’re grateful to the Phillips family for returning the core to us. Professor David Nash, from the University of Brighton.