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Thanks Angie. I know about this, Rob Ixer sent me a press release under embargo, but OK to post now. It seems sound.
STONES IN AVEBURY WORLD HERITAGE FROM NORTH OF ENGLAND
· Lumps of granite at West Kennet, Avebury could have been carried south for twice as far as bluestones’ journey to Stonehenge
· Weathered granite known as grus found in remains of large timber structure and in grave, dating from time of Stonehenge
· Purpose of stones not known
· Research continues to identify exact source
It's long been known that some of the Stonehenge megaliths, known as bluestones, came from Wales, 150 miles away in a straight line (250 km). Archaeologists have now found stones in the Avebury World Heritage Site that could have come from as much as twice that distance (300 miles/450 km) – not from the west, but the north.
The stones consist of over 70 pieces of decayed granite, known as grus and in total weighing around 50 lbs (22 kg) – about the same as a bag of cement. They were found in deep post-holes of a large timber structure at West Kennet, which dates from around 2500BC, contemporary with nearby Silbury Hill and Stonehenge to the south. Some of the stones were arranged in a ring around a grave holding the remains of two people.
Archaeologists struggle to explain why the stones are there. They have no obvious use – they are broken lumps, not megaliths. It is also early days in determining exactly where they came from.
After sophisticated geological analysis, it is thought their ultimate source was the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland, near the border with Scotland. People could have collected the stones from there. Some of the granite was carried south by glaciers in the Ice Age, so people could also have found fragments along the east coast of England down to Norfolk. Further research is planned.
There were already signs that Neolithic people in Wessex had links with people in the the north and east, among them high quality flint used in arrowheads possibly from Norfolk, and distinctive Grooved Ware pottery of identical designs at West Kennett and Rudston in Yorkshire – close to where the newly announced carved chalk drum was found at Burton Agnes.
Rob Ixer, UCL Institute of Archaeology
Richard Bevins, Aberystwyth University/Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
Duncan Pirrie, University of South Wales
Mark Gillings, Bournemouth University
Joshua Pollard, University of Southampton
The find is described in British Archaeology magazine, out on February 16th
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