Field Reports & Chronology
Summaries of recent excavations and carbon-dating chronologies that build the timeline of Neolithic Britain.
Recent Excavation Summaries
Reports from current archaeological work, reviewed and summarized for researchers.
Durrington Walls 2024: Southern Circle Re-analysis
Principal Investigator: Dr. Sarah Coleman, University of Winchester
Excavation Period: June-September 2024
Grid Reference: SU 151 437
Key Findings:
Re-excavating the Southern Circle post-holes shows a complex history of building, taking down, and rebuilding over 300 years (2550-2400 BCE). Twenty-three post-holes were reused, with some rebuilt up to four times.
Sample DW-2024-23: Charcoal from primary post-hole fill, post position 18. Quercus (oak) dated to 2470-2350 cal BCE (95% probability, Oxford Radiocarbon Laboratory OxA-42178).
Grooved Ware Assemblage: 847 sherds recovered from structured deposits, including a complete vessel (DW-2024-V7) with unique chevron motifs not previously recorded from Wessex sites. Lipid residue analysis indicates contents of honey-based fermented beverage with traces of meadowsweet and small-leaved lime flowers.
Significance: Confirms the site's role as a gathering place for Stonehenge's builders, with evidence for large-scale feasting and multi-generational monument maintenance.
Orkney Heart Landscape Survey 2023-24
Principal Investigator: Prof. Mark Edmonds, University of York
Survey Period: May 2023 - October 2024
Area Covered: 45 square kilometres, Mainland Orkney
Key Discoveries:
A LiDAR survey and ground check found 23 previously unknown Neolithic monuments in Orkney. These include 8 small stone circles, 12 burial cairns, and 3 possible cursus monuments, extending the known sacred territory further east.
Ring of Bookan (ORK-2024-SC3): Newly discovered stone circle, 18m diameter, with 12 surviving stones. Test excavation produced radiocarbon date of 3040-2890 cal BCE from cremated bone deposit in central cist.
Environmental Evidence: Palynological analysis from cores through ancient peat deposits reveals landscape management through controlled burning, creating pastoral clearings around monuments. Cereal pollen indicates small-scale cultivation from 3200 BCE onwards.
Implications: Demonstrates the Orkney landscape was more intensively managed and densely occupied than previously understood, with monument construction integrated into sophisticated agricultural systems.
Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery Digital Mapping Project
Principal Investigator: Dr. Muiris O'Sullivan, University College Dublin
Project Duration: 2022-2024
Location: County Sligo, Ireland
Technical Innovation:
Using photogrammetry and 3D modelling to record all 30 surviving passage tombs at Carrowmore. High-resolution recording found new architectural details, like evidence for timber parts and clear patterns in how tombs were oriented.
Chronological Revision: New radiocarbon dating programme has pushed back the cemetery's origins to 3800 BCE, making it among the earliest megalithic cemeteries in Western Europe. The dating sequence reveals continuous use over 1,200 years.
Landscape Context:
Viewshed analysis shows tomb entrances were aimed at specific landscape features, especially Knocknarea mountain. The cemetery seems arranged as an observatory for tracking the moon.
Cultural Connections: Pottery analysis reveals connections to contemporary monuments in Orkney and Brittany, indicating far-reaching cultural networks in the 4th millennium BCE.
Interactive Neolithic Chronology
Explore how megalithic monuments developed across Britain over time. Move the slider to see different periods.
Radiocarbon Dating Database
Comprehensive compilation of carbon-14 determinations from megalithic sites across the British Isles, providing the chronological framework for Neolithic studies.
Stonehenge Complex Dating Evidence
| Sample | Context | Date (cal BCE) |
|---|---|---|
| OxA-4920 | Aubrey Hole cremation | 3030-2880 |
| OxA-4839 | Sarsen trilithon | 2580-2470 |
| OxA-4842 | Bluestone setting | 2470-2290 |
| UB-3821 | Avenue construction | 2340-2140 |
| OxA-5482 | Y Holes | 1740-1530 |
All dates calibrated using OxCal 4.4 and IntCal20 curve. Ranges quoted at 95% probability.
Avebury Landscape Chronology
| Sample | Context | Date (cal BCE) |
|---|---|---|
| BM-1617 | Windmill Hill enclosure | 3650-3520 |
| HAR-10384 | West Kennet long barrow | 3670-3630 |
| OxA-1401 | Avebury henge ditch | 2880-2580 |
| OxA-1402 | Stone circle erection | 2620-2470 |
| UB-6067 | Silbury Hill construction | 2490-2340 |
Bayesian modelling of the Avebury sequence suggests monument construction occurred in three main phases spanning 1,000 years.
Database Summary
Total Radiocarbon Dates
From 847 megalithic sites
Dating Programmes
Peer-reviewed excavations
Multi-sample Sites
Complex chronological sequences
Average Precision
Years at 1-sigma confidence
Essential Bibliography
Key publications for researchers investigating Neolithic Britain's megalithic monuments and landscapes.
Primary Sources
Atkinson, R.J.C. (1956). Stonehenge. London: Hamish Hamilton.
Burl, A. (2000). The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Bradley, R. (2007). The Prehistory of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pearson, M.P. (2012). Stonehenge: Exploring the Greatest Stone Age Mystery. London: Simon & Schuster.
Edmonds, M. (1999). Ancestral Geographies of the Neolithic: Landscapes, Monuments and Memory. London: Routledge.
Whittle, A., Healy, F. & Bayliss, A. (2011). Gathering Time: Dating the Early Neolithic Enclosures of Southern Britain and Ireland. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
Recent Research
Nash, D.J., Ciborowski, T.J.R., et al. (2020). Origins of the sarsen megaliths at Stonehenge. Science Advances, 6(31), eabc0133.
Bevins, R.E., Ixer, R.A., et al. (2021). Constraining the provenance of the Stonehenge bluestones. Journal of Archaeological Science, 126, 105295.
Gaffney, C., Neubauer, W., et al. (2018). The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project. Archaeological Prospection, 25(3), 255-269.
Marshall, P., Bronk Ramsey, C., et al. (2013). The chronology of Stonehenge. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 79, 1-30.
Richards, C., Jones, A.M., et al. (2016). The Development of Neolithic House Societies in Orkney. Oxford: Windgather Press.