The Early Field Systems of the Stonehenge Landscape

Recent archaeological research at Stonehenge, Avebury, and associated sites has uncovered evidence of early field systems or enclosures in the eastern part of the World Heritage Site (WHS), challenging previous assumptions about minimal Bronze Age agricultural activity. These features were later succeeded by a significant ditch system containing two buried individuals, an uncommon burial practice during this period. Concurrently, a perinatal infant was found deposited in a palisade ditch in the western WHS. The study integrates survey, excavation, and analysis data from 2015–2016 to demonstrate how these findings illuminate a transformative phase in the landscape, revealing complex interactions between natural features, ancestral monuments, and burial practices during the Middle Bronze Age.

Roberts, D., Last, J., Linford, N., Bedford, J., Bishop, B., Dobie, J., Dunbar, E., Forward, A., Linford, P., Marshall, P., Mays, S., Payne, A., Pelling, R., Reimer, P., Russell, M., Soutar, S., Valdez-Tullett, A., Vallender, J., & Worley, F. (2017). The Early Field Systems of the Stonehenge Landscape. Landscapes, 18(2), 120–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/14662035.2018.1429719