Sarsen mania continues

A spectacular image showing an extremely lumpy and pitted sarsen lying in the woodland of West Woods.  This one would be more appropriate at Avebury rather than Stonehenge, where it's claimed that the stones required were "rectilinear" and suitable for use as pillars and lintels.

This is the cover of the latest issue of BA, which features an "exclusive" article from the research team led by Prof David Nash whose recent big paper has caused such fun and games.  I haven't seen this glossy article yet -- too risky to go all the way to the nearest branch of WHS to pick one up. No doubt the article will find its way to me in due course.   It will be interesting to see whether the article will be a classic piece of "interpretative inflation" in which (for the edification of readers of "pop science" mags) caution is thrown to the winds and all sorts of modest statements are simply sexed up in line with the demands of the editor......

Actually this puff for the article is not too bad -- it does use the phrases "claims to have shown" and "the likely source".  So that's a promising start....

STONEHENGE SARSENS SOURCED

A pioneering study claims to have shown that the sarsens, all the large stones at Stonehenge, were brought by the monument’s builders from the Marlborough Downs 20 miles to the north, identifying an area at West Woods, not proposed before, as the likely source. In an exclusive feature for British Archaeology, the research team explain how they did it.