Wednesday 28 August 2013

Archaeology Under The Road At Stonehenge

As others (Mike Pitts and Aerial Cam) have published some thoughts on what was under the A344 I thought it might be interesting to put up some of my snaps, click any to embiggen.









And a fantastic shot from Aerial Cam:





7 comments:

  1. Thank you for the pictures tim.

    There seems to be no sign of those periglacial stripes in the photos - did you see any when you was there?

    RJL

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    1. Yes - look at the fourth photo down and you will see them aligning with the heelstone.

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  2. Thanks Tim

    Looking at the Ariel-Cam shot they look as if they are to the Centre and Left (looking towards Stonehenge) but little or non-existant to the right hand ditch.

    Could you comfirm?

    RJL

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  3. There's pretty much been a Road there for over 400 years.
    It's little surprise that most of the 'surface stuff' is long gone. Notice that there's no trace of the Banks?
    It's in the ditch-remnants where the Flint, et.al. is being found. That there's any trace of the Stripes is a bonus, and one that surprises me - in that I thought they ended before this point.
    Neil

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  4. Your quite right Neil, if stripes survived they must be very deep! that's why I asked about the edges of the avenue as they seem to be missing any stripes, which shouldn't be the case if they are periglacial!

    The previous dig across the Avenue by MPP showed raised banks from the ditches on the inside of the Avenue also WITH these lines - lack of stripes on this excavation under the removed banks will confirm the lines are in fact man-made.

    RJL

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    1. https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1185917_10151748421963022_1410985395_n.jpg seems to show stripes under the banks...

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  5. Well spotted Tim!

    They are possible very faint lines very much like the ones recently found at West Kennet Avenue - but they are not of the depth of the ones found in the previous excavation by MPP. That could be due to the building work in the construction of the road - even so the ones in the centre of your photos are clearly deeper than the edges.

    This should not be a surprise as re-reading Stukeleys account of Stonehenge he states that the Avenue was almost obscured by cart tracks and his map shows the only road into Stonehenge entered in the south west and exited through the Avenue to Stonehenge bottom where it headed either north and north west. Consequently, as the top soil is so shallow, one would imagine, it would be almost impossible not to have some of these tracks surviving under the soil today!

    RJL

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