On the Road to Stonehenge: Report on Investigations beside the A344 in 1968, 1979 and 1980

Abstract

Salvage excavations on the verges of the A344 at Stonehenge resulted in the recovery of large, well stratified groups of prehistoric artefacts. In 1968, a complete section across the Avenue earthwork was recorded, and material obtained for a radiocarbon determination. In 1979 and 1980, the two ditches of the Avenue were again sectioned. Detailed recording of find provenances from both these and the Heelstone ditches permitted a fuller understanding of the erosion and filling processes. In 1979, part of a pit that had held a previously unknown standing stone was excavated. A geophysical survey of the Avenue suggests that further pits may be present along its course. A unique deposit of prehistoric stoneworking debitage was sectioned in 1980. It is suggested that this debitage, representing the opportunistic use of megalith shaping debris, accumulated within a structure inhabited at the time the major stone monument was being erected. The discovery of these rock fragments has prompted an important new study of the petrology at Stonehenge, and a discussion of stoneworking around the site is included. The paper concludes with an appraisal of the chronology of Stonehenge and an introduction to the comprehensive excavation archive.