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The dead of Stonehenge

The dead of Stonehenge
The dead of Stonehenge
The assemblage of Neolithic cremated human remains from Stonehenge is the largest in Britain, and demonstrates that the monument was closely associated with the dead. New radiocarbon dates and Bayesian analysis indicate that cremated remains were deposited over a period of around five centuries from c. 3000–2500 BC. Earlier cremations were placed within or beside the Aubrey Holes that had held small bluestone standing stones during the first phase of the monument; later cremations were placed in the peripheral ditch, perhaps signifying the transition from a link between specific dead individuals and particular stones, to a more diffuse collectivity of increasingly long-dead ancestors.
0003-598X
337-356
Willis, Christie
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Marshall, Peter
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McKinley, Jacqueline
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Pitts, Mike
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Pollard, Joshua
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Richards, Colin
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Richards, Julian
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Thomas, Julian
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Waldron, Tony
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Welham, Kate
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Parker Pearson, Mike
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Willis, Christie
80f331f7-86a8-46a1-904b-d0d4884f5004
Marshall, Peter
72575212-6901-4ab8-87b4-1211db3e4ca7
McKinley, Jacqueline
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Pitts, Mike
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Pollard, Joshua
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Richards, Colin
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Richards, Julian
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Thomas, Julian
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Waldron, Tony
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Welham, Kate
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Parker Pearson, Mike
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Willis, Christie, Marshall, Peter, McKinley, Jacqueline, Pitts, Mike, Pollard, Joshua, Richards, Colin, Richards, Julian, Thomas, Julian, Waldron, Tony, Welham, Kate and Parker Pearson, Mike (2016) The dead of Stonehenge. Antiquity, 90 (2), 337-356. (doi:10.15184/aqy.2016.26).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The assemblage of Neolithic cremated human remains from Stonehenge is the largest in Britain, and demonstrates that the monument was closely associated with the dead. New radiocarbon dates and Bayesian analysis indicate that cremated remains were deposited over a period of around five centuries from c. 3000–2500 BC. Earlier cremations were placed within or beside the Aubrey Holes that had held small bluestone standing stones during the first phase of the monument; later cremations were placed in the peripheral ditch, perhaps signifying the transition from a link between specific dead individuals and particular stones, to a more diffuse collectivity of increasingly long-dead ancestors.

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Accepted/In Press date: 21 May 2015
e-pub ahead of print date: 6 April 2016
Published date: April 2016
Organisations: Archaeology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 392001
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/392001
ISSN: 0003-598X
PURE UUID: 60853e6d-b084-4a11-91b7-1c473e60f963
ORCID for Joshua Pollard: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8429-2009

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 13 Apr 2016 14:05
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:38

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Contributors

Author: Christie Willis
Author: Peter Marshall
Author: Jacqueline McKinley
Author: Mike Pitts
Author: Joshua Pollard ORCID iD
Author: Colin Richards
Author: Julian Richards
Author: Julian Thomas
Author: Tony Waldron
Author: Kate Welham
Author: Mike Parker Pearson

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