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How Waun Mawn stone circle was designed and built, and when the Bluestones arrived at Stonehenge: a response to Darvill

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2022

Mike Parker Pearson ,
Josh Pollard ,
Colin Richards ,
Kate Welham ,
Timothy Kinnaird Open the ORCID record for Timothy Kinnaird [Opens in a new window] ,
Aayush Srivastava ,
Chris Casswell ,
Dave Shaw ,
Ellen Simmons  and
Adam Stanford
...Show all authors
Mike Parker Pearson*
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, UK
Josh Pollard
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, UK
Colin Richards
Affiliation:
Archaeology Institute, University of the Highlands & Islands, Orkney, UK
Kate Welham
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, Bournemouth University, UK
Timothy Kinnaird
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, UK
Aayush Srivastava
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, UK
Chris Casswell
Affiliation:
Reclaim Heritage, Spalding, UK
Dave Shaw
Affiliation:
Allen Archaeology Ltd, Lincoln, UK
Ellen Simmons
Affiliation:
Sheffield Archaeobotanical Consultancy, University of Sheffield, UK
Adam Stanford
Affiliation:
Aerial-Cam Ltd, Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire, UK
Richard Bevins
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Sciences, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK Department of Geography & Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, UK
Rob Ixer
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, UK
Clive Ruggles
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology & Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK
Jim Rylatt
Affiliation:
Past Participate, Sheffield, UK
Kevan Edinborough
Affiliation:
Ecology and Heritage Partners Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia
*
*Author for correspondence ✉ m.parker-pearson@ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

In response to Timothy Darvill's article, ‘Mythical rings?’ (this issue), which argues for an alternative interpretation of Waun Mawn circle and its relationship with Stonehenge, Parker Pearson and colleagues report new evidence from the Welsh site and elaborate on aspects of their original argument. The discovery of a hearth at the centre of the circle, as well as further features around its circumference, reinforces the authors’ original interpretation. The authors explore the evidence for the construction sequence, which was abandoned before the completion of the monument. Contesting Darvill's argument that the Aubrey Holes at Stonehenge originally held posts, the authors reassert their interpretation of this circle of cut features as Bluestone settings.

Keywords

UKWaun MawnStonehengestone circles
Type
Debate
Information
Antiquity , Volume 96 , Issue 390 , December 2022 , pp. 1530 - 1537
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd.

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