A Comprehensive Review of the Research Framework for Stonehenge and Avebury

Key Points

• Research suggests Stonehenge and Avebury's prehistoric significance can be explored through existing data and new fieldwork over 20 years.
• Three-year goals focus on re-analyzing bone collections and artifact chronologies, with initial surveys for early Neolithic presence.
• Five-year goals include studying Neolithic settlements and monument chronologies, requiring targeted excavations.
• Ten-year goals involve detailed chronologies of megalithic settings and exploring settlement-monument relationships, needing significant resources.
• The evidence leans toward a progressive approach, starting with short-term achievable goals and building to long-term projects.

Background

Stonehenge and Avebury, located in Wiltshire, England, are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for their prehistoric monuments, including stone circles, henges, and burial mounds, dating back to the Neolithic and Bronze Age. These sites are internationally significant for their archaeological richness, with over 700 features identified, offering insights into ancient ceremonial and mortuary practices. The research framework aims to address outstanding questions about their construction, use, and cultural context over the next 20 years.

Three-Year Goals

In the first three years, the focus is on leveraging existing data to build a foundation for future research. This includes re-analyzing bone collections to enhance understanding of mortuary rites associated with long barrows and refining chronologies of key artifacts like Peterborough Ware and polished axes using existing collections. Initial fieldwork will involve targeted surveys to characterize the earliest Neolithic presence (pre-3650 cal BC) and preliminary studies to source lithic materials, shedding light on exchange networks.

Five-Year Goals

By the five-year mark, the research will expand to include more in-depth analysis and targeted fieldwork. This involves developing a better understanding of Neolithic settlement areas through systematic surveys and excavations, focusing on flint scatters and cut features, and gathering evidence for subsistence practices across different Neolithic phases. Additionally, obtaining more precise dates for long barrows and investigating the continuity of monument building during 2900–2400 cal BC will provide crucial chronological insights.

Ten-Year Goals

Over the next ten years, the framework aims for larger, resource-intensive projects. This includes establishing detailed chronologies for megalithic settings at Avebury and Stonehenge, such as the Stonehenge Avenue and West Kennet Avenue, and investigating the locations and maintenance of monument construction, including vegetational recolonization. Exploring the relationship between settlements and monuments, including how settlement architecture might have influenced monumental structures, and studying the economic implications of monument construction will require significant interdisciplinary collaboration.

Unexpected Detail

An unexpected aspect is the potential economic impact of monument construction, such as whether it required an up-scaling in food production, which could reveal new insights into ancient societal organization and resource management, beyond the typical focus on ceremonial and mortuary practices.

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A Comprehensive Review of the Research Framework for Stonehenge and Avebury

This report provides a detailed examination of the proposed research framework for the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site, spanning the next twenty years, with goals broken down into three, five, and ten-year increments. The framework is designed to address outstanding scientific and archaeological questions, leveraging existing knowledge and advancing through progressive stages of investigation. The analysis is grounded in the "Stonehenge and Avebury Research Framework" and related documents, ensuring a thorough and evidence-based approach.

Historical and Archaeological Context

Stonehenge and Avebury, located in Wiltshire, England, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, recognized for their outstanding prehistoric monuments from the Neolithic and Bronze Age, spanning over 5,000 years. The site includes Stonehenge, the most architecturally sophisticated stone circle in the world, and Avebury, the largest, along with over 700 archaeological features, including henges, long barrows, and round barrows. These landscapes are managed by a partnership of organizations, including English Heritage, the National Trust, and Wiltshire Council, reflecting their global significance.

The research framework builds on previous efforts, such as the Archaeological Research Agenda for the Avebury World Heritage Site (2001) and the Stonehenge World Heritage Site: An Archaeological Research Framework (2005), which have guided numerous projects, including excavations at Silbury Hill and the SPACES project. The combined framework, published in 2016, integrates these efforts, aiming to revise and update assessments, incorporate 2008 boundary changes, and expand focus to the wider historic environment.

Methodology and Sources

The framework is derived from extensive consultation, including workshops, online surveys, and input from the Avebury and Stonehenge Archaeological and Historical Research Group (ASAHRG), formed in 2014. Key sources include the online research framework at Stonehenge and Avebury Research Framework, the World Heritage Site management page at World Heritage Site Research Framework, and the detailed Research Agenda and Strategy document available as a PDF at Research Agenda and Strategy PDF. These documents outline specific research questions across periods from the Palaeolithic to the medieval, categorized by themes such as settlement, monumentality, and daily life.

Detailed Research Questions and Goals

The Research Agenda articulates significant gaps in understanding, posing questions relevant to chronological periods and thematic subjects. Below is a table summarizing key research questions, organized by period and theme, as extracted from the framework:

Period/Theme	Question ID	Research Question	Example Goals
Neolithic - Settlement	C1	Can we better characterize an earliest Neolithic (pre-3650 cal BC) presence?	Initial surveys (3-year goal)
Neolithic - Settlement	C2	Understand scale, tempo, and composition of Neolithic settlement areas	Systematic surveys (5-year goal)
Neolithic - Settlement	C3	What was the relationship between settlement and monuments?	Integrated studies (10-year goal)
Neolithic - Things	C6	Refine chronologies of key artifact types (e.g., Peterborough Ware, polished axes)	Re-analysis of collections (3-year)
Neolithic - Monumentality	C8	Obtain better dates for long barrows, especially in Stonehenge landscape	Targeted dating (5-year goal)
Neolithic - Monumentality	C12	Establish chronology for megalithic settings at Avebury and Stonehenge	Detailed chronologies (10-year goal)
Beaker and Early Bronze Age	J.1	Refine chronology of round barrows and Beaker burials	Excavation and dating (5-year goal)
Middle and Late Bronze Age	K.5	Chronology of field systems, especially Fyfield Down	Landscape studies (10-year goal)
Iron Age	L.4	Relationships between Iron Age activity and earlier ceremonial centers	Comparative studies (5-year goal)
Romano-British	M.1	Was later activity around monuments a particular response to them?	Analysis of finds (3-year goal)
Post-Roman and Early Saxon	N.1	Evidence for Avebury area as a political frontier between Britons and Saxons	Historical analysis (5-year goal)
Mid–Late Saxon and Medieval	O.1	Patterns in settlement locations relative to prehistoric monuments	Landscape mapping (10-year goal)

This table illustrates the breadth of inquiry, with questions ranging from early Neolithic settlement patterns to medieval perceptions of monuments, providing a basis for the proposed goals.

Three-Year Goals: Foundation Building

The three-year goals focus on leveraging existing data and conducting preliminary fieldwork to establish a foundation for future research. This includes:

• Re-analyzing existing bone collections to enhance knowledge of mortuary rites associated with long barrows (question C9), a task feasible with current museum archives.
• Refining chronologies of key artifact types, such as Peterborough Ware and polished axes, using existing collections (question C6), which can be achieved through laboratory analysis.
• Conducting targeted surveys to better characterize the earliest Neolithic presence (pre-3650 cal BC) and its relation to Late Mesolithic inhabitation (question C1), requiring initial geophysical surveys.
• Beginning preliminary studies to source lithic materials and understand exchange networks (question C7), involving isotopic and petrographic analysis.

These goals are designed to be achievable within three years, utilizing existing resources and minimal invasive fieldwork, aligning with the framework's emphasis on best practice and sustainability.

Five-Year Goals: Targeted Investigations

By the five-year mark, the research will expand to include more in-depth analysis and targeted fieldwork, building on the initial findings. Key objectives include:

• Developing a better understanding of Neolithic settlement areas through systematic survey and excavation, focusing on flint scatters and cut feature signatures (question C2), which may involve geophysical surveys and small-scale excavations.
• Gathering evidence for subsistence practices across different Neolithic phases, particularly for the Middle and Late Neolithic (question C4), through analysis of faunal and plant assemblages from key sites like Windmill Hill and Durrington Walls.
• Obtaining more precise dates for long barrows and other early monuments, especially in the Stonehenge landscape (question C8), using radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modeling.
• Investigating the continuity of monument building during 2900–2400 cal BC (question C11), which may require targeted excavations at sites like Avebury and the Sanctuary.

These goals require moderate resources but are expected to yield significant insights into settlement patterns, subsistence, and monument chronology, aligning with the framework's innovation principle.

Ten-Year Goals: Ambitious Projects

Over the next ten years, the framework aims for larger, resource-intensive projects that require significant interdisciplinary collaboration. These include:

• Establishing detailed chronologies for megalithic settings at Avebury and Stonehenge, including the Stonehenge Avenue, West Kennet Avenue, and the Sanctuary (question C12), involving extensive dating programs and laser scanning for carvings (e.g., Abbott and Anderson-Whymark 2012).
• Investigating the locations and maintenance of monument construction, including vegetational recolonization (question C10), which may involve paleoecological studies and landscape archaeology.
• Exploring the relationship between settlement and monuments, including how settlement architecture might have influenced monumental structures (question C3), requiring integrated geophysical and excavation work.
• Studying the economic implications of monument construction, including whether it required an up-scaling in food production (question C5), which could involve isotopic analysis of human remains and comparative studies with other regions.

These long-term goals address complex questions that may require significant funding and collaboration, aligning with the framework's sustainability and communication principles, and potentially revealing new insights into ancient societal organization.

Unexpected Detail: Economic Implications

An unexpected aspect of the framework is the focus on the economic implications of monument construction, such as whether it required an up-scaling in food production (question C5). This goes beyond typical archaeological inquiries into ceremonial and mortuary practices, offering potential insights into ancient resource management and societal organization, which could have broader implications for understanding prehistoric economies.

Implementation and Review

The framework is designed to be reviewed and updated every 5 to 10 years, with the next version planned as a web-based resource, possibly a wiki with limited-write access, to facilitate ongoing updates. The Avebury and Stonehenge Archaeological and Historical Research Group (ASAHRG) will monitor progress, ensuring alignment with the core principles of best practice, sustainability, innovation, and communication. Stakeholder organizations, including Wiltshire Council Archaeology Service (WCAS), Historic England, and the National Trust, will play key roles in coordination and funding.

Conclusion

This research framework provides a structured, progressive approach to investigating Stonehenge and Avebury over the next twenty years, addressing outstanding questions through a combination of short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. By starting with achievable objectives like re-analysis of existing data and building to ambitious projects like detailed chronologies and economic studies, the framework ensures a comprehensive understanding of these iconic prehistoric landscapes, contributing to global archaeological knowledge.

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Key Citations

• Stonehenge and Avebury Research Framework introduction
• Stonehenge and Avebury Research Strategy
• Stonehenge and Avebury Abstract
• World Heritage Site Research Framework management
• Research Agenda and Strategy PDF for Stonehenge and Avebury
• Review authored by Grok-3 Beta