Bulford: Pits, Double Henges and a Claimed Solstice Alignment — Some Sceptical Notes

18 June 2026

News reports this week described two large post pits at Bulford, roughly 120 m apart and aligned on the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset around 2950 BC. A finely worked disc-shaped flint knife, placed upright in a smaller pit on the same line, was presented as possible supporting evidence for deliberate solar symbolism.

The discovery has been described as a possible early “prototype” for solar marking in the Stonehenge landscape. Before accepting that interpretation at face value, however, it is worth pausing to consider some basic questions about context, numbers, and coincidence.

The clearest published plan of the surrounding archaeology is Figure 10 below. It shows a noticeable scatter of Late Neolithic pits across the hilltop, with the densest concentration lying southwest of two conjoining segmented ring ditches (the double henges). Some pits occur inside or immediately adjacent to the henges. A smaller, more isolated group appears in the inset.

Figure 10: Woodlands pits at Bulford.

Reproduced from Leivers, M. 2022. The Army Basing Programme, Stonehenge and the Emergence of the Sacred Landscape. Internet Archaeology 56. https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue56/2/full-text.html (Figure 10). Used under the journal’s licensing terms.

What the Plan Actually Shows

Dozens of pits are visible on this single plan (easily 30–50+ black dots across the main area and insets). The whole site is not randomly scattered; it occupies a ridge with particular views and topography. The double henges have northern entrances. In such a setting, features aligned roughly on the solstices are more likely to occur than they would on completely flat or randomly oriented ground.

The Structural Reality: Credit to the Excavators

Phil Harding did not simply draw a line across a map and hunt for pits to match it. That is bad archaeology, and Harding is far too experienced for that. What actually happened is much more structurally sound: out of 48 pits excavated across the site, Harding noticed that two were morphologically and functionally exceptional. While 46 were typical shallow scrape-holes, these two measured roughly a metre across and 30 inches deep, with steep sides and environmental traces of ash wood. They were engineered structural postholes dug to support massive timber uprights. Because they are the only two massive structural post pits on the 30-acre site, drawing a line between them isn't arbitrary. Harding identified the structural anomaly first, and then checked the alignment. He noted it sat about 50 degrees off direct north—matching the midsummer sunrise.

The Upright Knife and Structured Deposition

Work on the site has produced several pits with clear structured deposits. At least three contain discoidal flint knives:

• Pit 5008 — discoidal knife in a rich flint assemblage with Grooved Ware and animal bone (~3100–2900 cal BC).
• Pit 8050 — polished discoidal knife with paired antlers, a small spherical chalk ball, Grooved Ware and other finds (~3020–2900 cal BC).
• Pit 8331 — discoidal knife with ball flints, greenstone axe fragment, worked chalk and tools (~3020–2890 cal BC).

These are genuine special deposits. The question is whether the upright “star find” knife highlighted in the news comes from one of these known pits, from another pit in the same cluster, or from a feature more directly associated with the two large post pits. Until the exact context number and its position on a plan like Figure 10 are published, we cannot tell whether the knife strengthens the case for deliberate solar symbolism or simply adds to the general pattern of careful deposition already visible across many pits.

What We Can Reasonably Say

Bulford contains a genuine concentration of Late Neolithic pits with structured deposits, including multiple discoidal knives, set around and near a pair of segmented ring ditches. The 2026 reports add two large post pits and an upright knife on a claimed solstitial line. That combination is interesting and worth serious attention.

However, with dozens of pits visible on the published plan, a general topographic grain that favours certain orientations, and no detailed statistical assessment or precise overlay of the new features yet available, it remains possible that the alignment is at least partly coincidental. Distinguishing deliberate solar marking from the background pattern of pit digging and deposition will require the original context plans, the exact numbers and positions of all features, and a transparent statistical approach.

Figure 10 remains the best publicly available overview of the pit-and-henge complex. It provides the essential framework for asking these questions, even if it cannot yet answer them definitively.

Further detailed plans and analysis from the excavation archive would allow a more robust evaluation. Until then, a degree of scepticism is warranted alongside interest in the new evidence.

Example pit alignment

On the published plan of the Bulford pits (Figure 10), one possible northeast–southwest line can be drawn that passes through several black dots representing pits, including what appears to be one of the larger features. At least three, and possibly more, pits lie on or close to this line, with spacing between some of them roughly consistent with the 120 m distance given in the news reports for the two large post pits. The news coverage states that the line through the two post pits has an azimuth of 48°. This raises the possibility that the two post pits may form part of a longer linear arrangement rather than standing as an isolated pair. This is only one visual example and remains a guess until the exact positions of the reported post pits are plotted on the plan.

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References

• Greaney, S.E. 2022. The Archaeology of Power: Understanding the Emergence and Development of Neolithic Monument Complexes in Britain and Ireland. Volume 2: Appendices. PhD thesis, Cardiff University / University of Southampton.
• Leivers, M. 2022. The Army Basing Programme, Stonehenge and the Emergence of the Sacred Landscape. Internet Archaeology 56. https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue56/2/full-text.html
• Wessex Archaeology grey literature reports (2014–2020) on the Bulford Army Basing Programme excavations (synthesised in the above sources).
• News reports published 18 June 2026 (e.g. The Guardian, BBC) on the Bulford solstice post pits and associated finds.