Stonehenge, Durrington Walls and Woodhenge: the connections between them

Poppy G-C (L6)

Stonehenge, Durrington Walls and Woodhenge are sites that are all part of a large ‘Neolithic complex’1 centred around the nearby River Avon. They are now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites which also includes some of the oldest recorded settlements in Britain. There are multiple links between these sites as well as just the geography, and this article will explore their history and how this is true.

Stonehenge is one of the most famous Neolithic monuments in Britain. It consists of an outer ring of standing megaliths of sarsen stones connected by horizontal lintel stones and an inner ring of smaller bluestones within which are trilithons. The monument was built in alignment with the sunrise of summer solstice, but its purpose is ambiguous and the knowledge of the builders is uncertain. However, the most likely functions were as a burial site (as there is archaeological evidence for this) as well as a ceremonial site, a memorial or possibly the site of pilgrimage for religious reasons. Stonehenge’s structure is now in ruin and some of the sarsen stones are missing, possibly having been reused in later buildings and churches in the area, but it is still visited by millions each year.

Before Stonehenge was as we know it today, there was a Mesolithic monument of ‘totem-pole like’ logs from around 8500 to 7000 BC, which it is difficult to link to the current Stonehenge2. The monument we can see now was built in stages, with the oldest part being built between 3000 and 2935 BC. Initially this was a circular structure surrounded by a ditch and a corresponding higher and lower bank which was an example of an early henge monument. This structure also enclosed the 56 pits known as the Aubrey Holes, around most of which human remains from cremation burials were found from around the same time as this part of Stonehenge was being built.

The second stage of Stonehenge’s growth began around 2640 BC and included the addition of the sarsen stones having been brought from the Avebury area about 20 miles away, and bluestones were added in a double arc formation with some that may have come from Bluestonehenge. These trilithons of sarsen were arranged in a horseshoe formation within the existing circle and the giant trilithon (the only one which still stands) was placed centrally to form a circle. Other sarsen stones were also placed through the bank and ditch by the north-eastern entrance that formed a façade (of which only the ‘Slaughter Stone’ survives) and the ‘Heelstone’ beyond was set in the circular ditch at a similar time in the same layout as the wooden posts from the Mesolithic monument. In this period the four Station Stones (of which two have survived) were also placed in a rectangle formation along the same solstice alignment as the giant trilithon and the bluestone arc. The two missing Station Stones were subsequently covered by low mounds known as the North and South Burrows.

The third stage took place between 2470 and 2280 BC and in this period the banks and ditches of a ceremonial road from Stonehenge to a smaller henge near the Avon were built. Part of this road is also aligned with the sunrise of the summer solstice as well as the sunset of the winter solstice, but excavations have proven that the avenue also follows natural chalk ridges of the area that happen to share this alignment. This adds to the confusion relating to the purpose and builders of the monument. The fourth, fifth and sixth stages of Stonehenge’s construction were much less eventful in comparison to the first three. Between 2280 and 2030 BC, in the fourth stage, the bluestones were rearranged to form a circle and inner oval (which was at one point mistaken for a horseshoe arrangement due to possible stone removal by the Romans). During the fifth stage, at some point between 2030 and 1750 BC, the ring of ‘Z Holes’ were dug outside of the sarsen circle of the monument and during the final stage of building, at some point between 1640 and 1520 BC, a second ring of ‘Y Holes’ were created.

Along with the remains linked to the Aubrey Holes, Stonehenge was used as a burial ground for at least 500 years and is therefore the largest late Neolithic cemetery in Britain. This being a purpose of Stonehenge is supported by the second, smaller bluestone circle, known as Bluestonehenge, that was also built about a mile away at the same time as the first stage of Stonehenge’s construction and which might have been used for cremating and removing flesh from the bodies which had their remains scattered or buried at Stonehenge3. However, Bluestonehenge was later dismantled, but between the first and second stages of building there is no evidence of any activity apart from continuing burials. The focus on solstitial alignment of the monument also means that the ritualistic and ceremonial aspects of the monument are still debated by many experts today, as well as the possibility it was used to help with astronomy.

The builders of Stonehenge are also debated, with there being much confusion as to how the various monoliths were brought to the site and how the trilithons were constructed in such an early period. This uncertainty is added to by many myths existing about Stonehenge having a mystical source, such as being ordered to have been made by King Aurelius Ambrosias (King Arthur’s uncle) and the wizard Merlin as a memorial, leading to the legend that Ambrosias’ brother, King Arthur’s father, Uther being buried there. Other early ideas included the building of the monument being the work of the Saxons, the Romans or even the Egyptians. However, modern historians now believe that more than one tribe contributed to the monument’s construction with the site being started by Neolithic farmers and continued by their descendants4.