TY - JOUR
T1 - Reconstructing extraction techniques at Stonehenge's bluestone megalith quarries in the Preseli hills of west Wales
AU - Parker Pearson, Mike
AU - Bevins, Richard
AU - Pearce, Nick
AU - Ixer, Rob
AU - Pollard, Josh
AU - Richards, Colin
AU - Welham, Kate
N1 - Funding Information:
The excavations at Craig Rhos-y-felin were made possible by the kind permission of Dilys Davies and the late Huw Davies who have provided every assistance over many years of our research in the Preselis. Alexander Hawkesworth and the Barony of Cemaes’ land agents gave permission for excavation at Carn Goedog, together with Natural Resources Wales. We also thank staff of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park for their help during the investigation of both sites. MPP thanks Chris Scarre and especially Emmanuel Mens for their help and advice concerning French megalith quarries. We also thank the two anonymous referees and the editor for improving this contribution. Whilst the archaeological excavations were funded by numerous bodies, this research on the stone wedges did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/11/6
Y1 - 2022/11/6
N2 - Excavations at two of the sources of Stonehenge's bluestones in Mynydd Preseli, west Wales, have led to the discovery of stone tools associated with megalith quarrying in the final centuries of the fourth millennium BC, shortly before the suspected date of the bluestones’ erection at Stonehenge, 240 km away. Among the most plentiful of these tools are stone wedges, three of which were found in situ at the rhyolite bluestone quarry of Craig Rhos-y-felin. Two of these were positioned in the joints of a rhyolite pillar adjacent to a recess left by a removed pillar. Geochemical analysis reveals that these and the third wedge are of compositions different to the rock on either side of the cracks into which they had been driven, confirming their identification as quarrying tools. This research sheds new light on the methods used to extract the stones for Stonehenge.
AB - Excavations at two of the sources of Stonehenge's bluestones in Mynydd Preseli, west Wales, have led to the discovery of stone tools associated with megalith quarrying in the final centuries of the fourth millennium BC, shortly before the suspected date of the bluestones’ erection at Stonehenge, 240 km away. Among the most plentiful of these tools are stone wedges, three of which were found in situ at the rhyolite bluestone quarry of Craig Rhos-y-felin. Two of these were positioned in the joints of a rhyolite pillar adjacent to a recess left by a removed pillar. Geochemical analysis reveals that these and the third wedge are of compositions different to the rock on either side of the cracks into which they had been driven, confirming their identification as quarrying tools. This research sheds new light on the methods used to extract the stones for Stonehenge.
KW - Dolerite
KW - Megalith quarries
KW - Mynydd Preseli
KW - Neolithic
KW - Rhyolite
KW - Stonehenge
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103697
DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103697
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85141259084
SN - 2352-409X
VL - 46
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
M1 - 103697
ER -