Durrington Walls and Woodhenge: A place for the living

For many centuries, scholars and enthusiasts have been fascinated by Stonehenge, the world’s most famous stone circle. In 2003 a team of archaeologists commenced a long-term fieldwork project for the first time in decades. The Stonehenge Riverside Project (2003-2009) aimed to investigate the purpose of this unique prehistoric monument by considering it within its wider archaeological context.

This is the third of five volumes which present the results of that campaign. It reports on surveys and excavations of the great henge of Durrington Walls and its satellite, Woodhenge. Excavations uncovered remains of houses protected beneath the henge bank of Durrington Walls. Together with their middens, containing large quantities of ceramics, lithics and faunal remains, these houses provide a remarkable insight into life at the time of Stonehenge’s second stage of construction around 2500 BC. Two of these houses were set within small henges, the Western Enclosures, at the centre of Durrington Walls. Timber monuments investigated include the Southern Circle, the large circle around the entire circuit of Durrington Walls, Woodhenge and three other small timber monuments south of Woodhenge. Excavations into the bank of Durrington Walls henge also provide insights on how and when this huge monument was constructed.