Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (690 page)

 
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A block of hard generally fine-grained stone fashioned by flaking and grinding into a roughly triangular or trapezoidal shape with an oval cross-section and a blade at the broader thicker end. Found widely throughout the world in essentially Neolithic contexts there are numerous typological and stylistic variations on this simple theme. In the European Neolithic many stone axes were probably used for felling trees and woodworking, although the term is generally applied to implements that on closer inspection turn out to have been wedges, adzes, chisels, and gouges. Some stone axes are so finely made, of such large size, or manufactured from such soft material that they must have had a ceremonial or symbolic function. Almost all stone axes would originally have been mounted in a wooded or bone haft.

 
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A place where the raw material for making stone axes was quarried and roughed out. Archaeologically such sites are represented by the remains of quarry pits, adits, and boulder reduction areas, together with abundant waste flakes and part-made broken implements. Several examples have been excavated in northwest Europe, including Langdale, England, and Plussulien, France.

 
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Spherical stone objects up to 10cm in diameter made by pecking and grinding blocks of stone or pebbles to achieve the desired shape and size. Some are faceted, and many carry decorative motifs similar to those found amongst British
ROCK ART
. They are believed to be of later Neolithic date, and the majority are found in eastern Scotland. Also known as
carved stone balls
.

 
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A setting of upright stone pillars forming a ring whose exact ground plan many vary between being almost exactly circular through to elliptical or egg-shaped. Upon excavation such circles are often found to be the final phase in the evolution of a monument that started as a
TIMBER CIRCLE
. Stone circles are widely scatted through the western parts of the British Isles, northern France, and parts of Scandinavia. They broadly date to the later Neolithic and early Bronze Age, but Aubrey Burl has identified three main phases to their construction. Early-period circles (3370–2670 bc) are moderately large, fairly regular in plan, have closely set stones, and a conspicuous entrance. Middle-period circles (2670–1975 bc) are generally very large, up to 100m across, occur in a range of sometimes elegant shapes, have widely spaced stones, and occur in groups. Late-period circles (1975–1200 bc) are generally small rings of varying shapes and sizes although ovals predominate. Regional types such as recumbent circles and four-posters proliferate.

 
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Probably the most famous prehistoric ceremonial monument in Europe, situated on the chalk downs of Salisbury Plain in central southern England. Extensively excavated by William Gowland in 1901, William Hawley in 1919 to 1926, and more recently by Richard
ATKINSON
, Stuart
PIGGOTT
, and J. F. S. Stone intermittently between 1951 and 1964, the site as visible today has three main phases to its construction.
Phase 1
comprises the circular earthwork enclosure constructed around 2950 bc. There were at least three entrances, the main one being to the northeast. Inside the bank was a circle of 56 postholes (Aubrey Holes) that originally held wooden posts.
Phase 2
dates to the period 2900–2400 bc, the late Neolithic, and sees the ditch filling in through a combination of human actions and natural processes. The posts in the Aubrey Holes decayed or were removed and a series of timber settings were constructed in the northeastern entrance and in the central area. Towards the end of Phase 2 the site was used as a cremation cemetery.
Phase 3
dates to the period 2550–1600 bc, the end of the late Neolithic and the early Bronze Age. It is subdivided into a number of subphases and these represent the evolution of the stone structures in the centre of the site. The first such structure comprised two concentric circles of bluestones imported from southwest Wales set up around 2500 bc. Round about were the four station stones and the heelstone and its twin outside the rings to the northeast to provide a sighting on the rising midsummer sun for those inside the circles. Beyond these stones was an embanked avenue leading across the landscape to the northeast. The bluestone circles were later removed and a new much larger set of circles constructed. Ultimately this comprised a series of four concentric rings of stones (from the centre out): a horseshoe of bluestones with the altar stone at its focus; a horseshoe setting of five trilithons; the circle of bluestones; and the outer sarsen circle with lintelled uprights. Observers standing at the site at sunrise on midsummer morning would have seen the light from the rising sun appear to shine up the avenue (which may also have had stones added to the bank at this time) and into the circles.
Altogether, the construction and use of Stonehenge spanned at least 1500 years, probably more. Stonehenge was not built primarily as an observatory or giant calculator but rather a place where people came to engage in ceremonies and events. The way they used the site, their movements within it, and the apparatus that controlled those movements changed from time to time while at the same time maintaining connections with the signals and celestial events that gave their actions meaning.
[Rep.: R. M. J. Cleal , K. Walker , and R. Montague , 1995,
Stonehenge in its landscape. Twentieth-century excavations
. London: English Heritage]