Lives before and after Stonehenge: An osteobiographical study of four prehistoric burials recently excavated from the Stonehenge World Heritage Site

A groundbreaking osteobiographical study of four prehistoric burials from the Stonehenge World Heritage Site reveals that the monument's landscape attracted people from beyond Britain both before and after its construction. The research, combining radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analyses, and dental calculus examination, identified an adult from the Middle Neolithic period—immediately preceding Stonehenge’s building—and two adults and a perinatal infant from the Middle Bronze Age, shortly after structural modifications ceased. Notably, the two Middle Bronze Age adults, though differing in ancestry and geographic origin, were buried similarly, suggesting shared lifestyle traits, possibly high mobility, outweighed ethnic differences in burial practices. One individual likely originated outside Britain, reinforcing the idea that Stonehenge’s allure extended beyond its construction phase.

Mays, S., Roberts, D., Marshall, P., Pike, A. W. G., van Heekeren, V., Bronk Ramsey, C., Dunbar, E., Reimer, P., Linscott, B., Radini, A., Lowe, A., Dowle, A., Speller, C., Vallender, J., & Bedford, J. (2018). Lives before and after Stonehenge: An osteobiographical study of four prehistoric burials recently excavated from the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 20, 692–710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.06.008