The date of the greater stonehenge cursus

Julian Thomas, Peter Marshall, Mike Parker Pearson, Joshua Pollard, Colin Richards, Chris Tilley, Kate Welham

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Greater Cursus-3km long and just north of Stonehenge-had been dated by a red deer antler found in its ditch in the 1940s to 2890-2460 BC. New excavations by the authors found another antler in a much tighter context, and dating a millennium earlier. It appears that the colossal cursus had already marked out the landscape before Stonehenge was erected. At that time or soon after, its lines were re-emphasised, perhaps with a row of posts in pits. So grows the subtlety of the discourse of monuments in this world heritage site.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)40-53
Number of pages14
JournalAntiquity
Volume83
Issue number319
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Mar 2009

Keywords

  • Cursus
  • England
  • Excavation
  • Neolithic
  • Radiocarbon dating
  • Stonehenge

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