Our latest paper on sources of sarsen stones at Stonehenge is out today. For this one we have been analysing sarsen fragments excavated at the monument to understand their source. It’s a long paper so I’ll summarise the key findings. 1/8doi.org/10.1016/j.jasr…
First, we analysed 1,028 sarsen fragments from 3 trenches dug at Stonehenge in 2008 using pXRF to see if there were differences within and between the trenches. In short, there weren't, due to subsoil weathering effects. Morale: don't bother using pXRF for this sort of thing. 2/8
Second, we analysed 54 sarsen fragments from the 3 trenches using ICP-MS. This is where it gets interesting. Comparison of the geochemistry of fragments against data for 20 sarsen outcrop areas across southern Britain shows that 15 fragments can be linked to specific areas. 3/8
Eleven sarsen fragments were likely sourced from Monkton Down, Totterdown Wood and West Woods on the Marlborough Downs (25–33 km N of Stonehenge). Three fragments likely came from Bramdean, Hampshire (51 km SE of Stonehenge), and one from Stoney Wish, East Sussex (123 km SE). 4/8
You might be thinking "Wow, Neolithic people dragged sarsen boulders all the way from Hampshire, East Sussex and other sites on the Marlborough Downs to build Stonehenge, not just from West Woods!" Not quite. Calm down, calm down. 5/8
We cannot tell if the fragments are from extant megaliths, or from stones from earlier phases of Stonehenge, or stones that have been removed. It is also possible the fragments were from saccharoidal sarsen hammerstones, or stone brought to Stonehenge for some other reason. 6/8
There is one exception - a sarsen fragment sourced from Monkton Down that we know (thanks to expert refitting by Ben Chan) was part of a 25.7 × 17.9 cm flake removed from the outer surface of a large sarsen boulder, most probably during on-site dressing. 7/8
We're pretty sure this boulder isn't on site today, unless it is stone 26 or 160, which have a different chemistry to the other extant sarsens. However, it adds a second likely source for the Stonehenge megaliths in addition to West Woods. I'll leave it there. Happy reading! 8/8
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