The Riverside Project at Stonehenge
During the last couple of seasons this project has
uncovered the village at Durrington Walls which probably
housed the builders (and the subsequent users) of
Stonehenge.
“The winner may re-ignite public interest in
archaeology.”
Professor Mike Parker Pearson of Sheffield University
heads a team from a variety of academic institutions
and local helpers. Next year they will be starting
work again – this time to excavate some areas
of Stonehenge itself, the so-called
“Avenue” which is interpreted as the
ceremonial approach to the monument, the Stonehenge
cursus (a long, narrow
banked area, so-called because earlier excavators
thought it resembled a Roman cursus, or race track) and the
Stonehenge palisade, together with a thorough
investigation of one long barrow and one round
barrow. They will also be re-examining the enigmatic
10,000 year-old postholes which formed one of the
world’s oldest complexes, built many thousand
of years before the stones of Stonehenge were
erected. Andante will visit the project in
late August, as part of our Bare Bones Wessex
tour, and hopefully see some of the new discoveries
as they come to light.
Was the Avenue originally lined with standing stones?
Mike’s team will also be trying to ascertain
through further excavation whether the Avenue was
once lined with standing stones, or whether there was
a stone alignment preceding it, and whether the line
of 10,000 year-old Mesolithic posts extended this far
eastwards from what is now the visitors’ car
park.
This may have been an area where the Stonehenge sarsens and bluestones were
dressed before erection and it may be possible to
discover much about the way in which this was carried
out, and whether there
were workshops or other buildings associated with the
work.
Andante’s
contribution is earmarked for excavations in this
area, and will contribute to a site supervisor, van
hire and basic equipment. We may be helping to find
out whether the Avenue was once lined with standing
stones! A very exciting prospect…
Stonehenge is likely to be visited by over 70,000
people during the excavation season and many of these
will take the opportunity to visit the excavations
and learn more about one of the most extraordinary
and amazing sites in the world. We hope that these
excavations may excite journalists and the media, and
lead to the public becoming intrigued about the
meaning of what is happening here.
We are privileged and feel delighted to be involved
and helping such a worthwhile project.
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