Robert Ixer

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Institute of Archaeology University College London

Understanding the provenance of megaliths used in the Neolithic stone circle at Stonehenge, southern England, gives insight into the culture and connectivity of prehistoric Britain. The source of the Altar Stone, the central recumbent sandstone megalith, has remained unknown, with recent work discounting an Anglo-Welsh Basin origin1,2. Here we pres...

Maceheads are distinctive perforated stone objects that occur in Neolithic and Bronze Age sites across Europe. Maceheads of different forms have been found across Britain, but with a marked concentration in Scotland and especially in Orkney. Widely regarded as ceremonial objects, they have been invariably interpreted as weapons, or symbols of power...

A battle-axe made of picrite from the Cwm Mawr rock source, near Hyssington, Powys, UK, was discovered during the archaeological excavation of two Early Bronze Age barrows at Church Lawton, near Alsager in Cheshire, UK, in 1982–3. It had been subjected to intense heat and then placed in a pit, next to the cremated remains of an adult, possibly a fe...

A rhyolite boulder collected by R. S. Newall in 1924 from an excavation at Stonehenge has been pivotal to arguments concerning glacial versus human transport of the bluestones to Stonehenge. Initial studies suggested that the boulder came from north Wales, and hence was a probable glacial erratic. New petrographic and geochemical analyses however s...

Studies of early fourth-millennium BC Britain have typically focused on the Early Neolithic sites of Wessex and Orkney; what can the investigation of sites located in areas beyond these core regions add? The authors report on excavations (2011–2019) at Dorstone Hill in Herefordshire, which have revealed a remarkable complex of Early Neolithic monum...

Excavations at two of the sources of Stonehenge’s bluestones in Mynydd Preseli, west Wales, have led to the discovery of stone tools associated with megalith quarrying in the final centuries of the fourth millennium BC, shortly before the suspected date of the bluestones’ erection at Stonehenge, 240 km away. Among the most plentiful of these tools...

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 c...

A Neolithic stone circle at Waun Mawn, in the Mynydd Preseli, west Wales, has been proposed as the original location of some dolerite megaliths at Stonehenge, including one known as Stone 62. To investigate this hypothesis, in-situ analyses, using a portable XRF, have been obtained for four extant non-spotted doleritic monoliths at Waun Mawn, along...

The doleritic bluestone monoliths at Stonehenge have long been known to have been sourced from the Mynydd Preseli area in west Wales, some 225 km away. On geochemical grounds, based on a range of major and trace elements determined by laboratory-based X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, they have been divided into three groups (Groups 1–3). Subsequent...

The Altar Stone at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, UK, is enigmatic in that it differs markedly from the other bluestones. It is a grey–green, micaceous sandstone and has been considered to be derived from the Old Red Sandstone sequences of South Wales. Previous studies, however, have been based on presumed derived fragments (debitage) that have been iden...

Little is known of the properties of the sarsen stones (or silcretes) that comprise the main architecture of Stonehenge. The only studies of rock struck from the monument date from the 19th century, while 20th century investigations have focussed on excavated debris without demonstrating a link to specific megaliths. Here, we present the first comp...

The doleritic bluestones of Stonehenge, sourced from the Mynydd Preseli in west Wales, have been previously classified into three geochemical groups on the basis of compatible element geochemistry (Bevins et al., 2014). The majority of Group 1 (spotted) dolerites were identified as coming from the outcrop of Carn Goedog, Group 3 (spotted) dolerites...

Provenancing the Stonehenge non-spotted dolerites on the basis of REE geochemistry

The discovery of a dismantled stone circle—close to Stonehenge's bluestone quarries in west Wales—raises the possibility that a 900-year-old legend about Stonehenge being built from an earlier stone circle contains a grain of truth. Radiocarbon and OSL dating of Waun Mawn indicate construction c. 3000 BC, shortly before the initial construction of...

Stonehenge is dominated by the large, locally derived sarsen stones which comprise the Outer Sarsen Circle and the Inner Sarsen Trilithon Circle. Lithologically they are a hard form of sandstone called silcrete. Less obvious are the smaller ‘bluestones’ which form the Outer Bluestone Circle and Inner Bluestone Horseshoe. The bluestone assemblage is...

The results and implications of the provenancing of the Stonehenge bluestones and the discovery of two bluestone quarries in west Wales

A review of the provenance of the Altar Stone from Stonehenge and implications for transport of the bluestones to Stonehenge

Geologists and archaeologists have long known that the bluestones of Stonehenge came from the Preseli Hills of west Wales, 230km away, but only recently have some of their exact geological sources been identified. Two of these quarries—Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin—have now been excavated to reveal evidence of megalith quarrying around 3000 BC...

Geologists and archaeologists have long known that the bluestones of Stonehenge came from the Preseli Hills of west Wales, 230km away, but only recently have some of their exact geological sources been identified. Two of these quarries—Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin—have now been excavated to reveal evidence of megalith quarrying around 3000 BC...

Prehistoric, Roman and Early Medieval Pembrokeshire (Pembrokeshire County History, vol i). By Timothy Darvill, Heather James, Kenneth Murphy, Geoffrey Wainwright and Elizabeth Walker. 247mm. Pp 552, ills, maps (many col). Pembrokeshire County History Trust, Haverfordwest, 2016. ISBN 0903771160. £35 (hbk). - Rob Ixer

The long-distance transport of the Stonehenge bluestones from the Mynydd Preseli area of north Pembrokeshire was first proposed by geologist H.H. Thomas in 1923. For over 80 years, his work on the provenancing of the Stonehenge bluestones from locations in Mynydd Preseli in south Wales has been accepted at face value. New analytical techniques, alo...

These three books range from the clinical (Hunt) to the folksy (Woodward and Hill), and might be seen as a progression. One travelling from the Hunt-edited encyclopaedia with its emphasis on new and exotic scientific analytical techniques, rigorous theoretical approaches and data analysis, through the Integrative approaches book using techniques an...

Presentation of bluestone provenancing research

How and why the bluestones arrived at Stonehenge, the UK's most revered ancient monument, has long held people's imagination. The key to understanding these questions relies heavily on the location of their sources. Following early studies in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, which proposed various places but in particular south-w...

Exploring Avebury: the essential guide. By Steve Marshall . 248mm. Pp 144, 400 col ills. The History Press, Stroud, 2016. isbn 9780750967662. £14.99 (pbk). - Volume 97 - Robert Ixer

The Later Prehistory of North-West Europe: the evidence of development-led fieldwork. By Richard Bradley , Colin Haselgrove , Marc Vander Linden and Leo Webley . 240mm. Pp xviv+456, many b&w ills, maps, tables. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2016. isbn 9780199659777. £90 (hbk). - Volume 97 - Robert Ixer

The three major groups of debitage found in the Stonehenge Landscape are dolerites, rhyolitic tuffs (almost exclusivelyfrom Craig Rhosyfelin, now designated as Rhyolite Group A–C) and ‘volcanics with sub-planar texture’ now designatedas Volcanic Group A and Volcanic Group B. The only other significant debitage group, but only accounting for about5%...

New U–Pb zircon ages from rhyolite samples of the Fishguard Volcanic Group, SW Wales, confirm a Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian) age for the group. One of the samples is from Craig Rhos-y-felin, which has recently been identified on petrological and geochemical grounds as the source of much of the debitage (struck flakes) at Stonehenge. Analysis of...

- The Stone of Life: querns, mills and flour production in Europe up to c AD 500. By Peacock David . 244mm. Pp xvi + 220, 100 col and b&w ills. Southampton Monogr Archaeol new ser 1, The Highfield Press, Southampton, 2013. isbn 9780992633608. £45 (hbk). - Volume 96 - Robert Ixer

Devonshire Marbles: their geology, history and uses (2 vols). By Walkden Gordon . 210mm. Pp 232, 484, many ills (chiefly col). Geologists’ Association Guide 72, London, 2015. isbns 9780900717765; 9780900717819. £12 per vol (pbk). - Volume 96 - Robert Ixer

The high Andes is one of the world’s great metallogenic provinces having produced and still providing very significant amounts of copper, silver, tin and historically, of course, gold. The Andean pre-Colombian metal mining tradition, clearly isolated from that of Eurasia, provides independent alternative examples of early, non-mechanised mining and...

Details of analytical methods

Details of analytical methods

The long-distance transport of the bluestones from south Wales to Stonehenge is one of the most remarkable achievements of Neolithic societies in north-west Europe. Where precisely these stones were quarried, when they were extracted and how they were transported has long been a subject of speculation, experiment and controversy. The discovery of a...

The discovery of Neolithic houses at Durrington Walls that are contemporary with the main construction phase of Stonehenge raised questions as to their interrelationship. Was Durrington Walls the residence of the builders of Stonehenge? Were the activities there more significant than simply domestic subsistence? Using lipid residue analysis, this p...

[nicht vorhanden / not available]

High quality polychrome ceramics are an iconic aspect of Inca material culture. This ‘Cuzco Inca’ pottery appears suddenly in the archaeological record: but it draws upon technological and stylistic aspects of earlier local pottery and we discuss the specifics of how these pre-Inca traits were combined to form the distinctive new state ceramics. Us...

Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain is one of the most impressive British prehistoric (c. 3000–1500 BC) monuments. It is dominated by large upright sarsen stones, some of which are joined by lintels. While these stones are of relatively local derivation, some of the stone settings, termed bluestones, are composed of igneous and minor sedimentary rocks wh...

The Stonehenge bluestones were first sourced to outcrops in the high parts of the eastern Mynydd Preseli in SW Wales by H.H. Thomas in the early 1920s. He recognised the distinctive ‘spotted dolerite’ from his fieldwork in that area and suggested that the tors of Carn Meini (also known as Carn Menyn) and Cerrigmarchogion were the most likely source...

The Stonehenge bluestones were first sourced to outcrops in the high parts of the eastern Mynydd Preseli in SW Wales by H.H. Thomas in the early 1920s. He recognised the distinctive ?spotted dolerite? from his fieldwork in that area and suggested that the tors of Carn Meini (also known as Carn Menyn) and Cerrigmarchogion were the most likely source...

THIS REPORT PRESENTS the results of analyses carried out following the discovery and excavation of a medieval pottery kiln in Pontefract, a discovery which featured in the ‘Fieldwork Highlights’ section of Medieval Archaeology 53 (2009). The kiln is remarkable for having produced vessels previously only associated with the Stamford ware industry of...

The source of the Stonehenge bluestones was first determined in the early 1920s by H.H. Thomas who was an officer with the Geological Survey of England and Wales. He determined that the so-called ‘spotted dolerites’ could be petrographically matched to a small number of outcrops in the Mynydd Preseli district in south-west Wales. The bluestones, ho...

The prehistoric sequence recorded during the English Heritage archaeological investigations is described here, providing a fresh interpretation of the various phases of construction. The basis of this is the information obtained from the stra-tigraphy recorded in the sections of the tunnel, the results of a watching brief on the surface of the sout...

Roman Quarrying and Stone Supply on the Periphery – Southern England: a geological study of first-century funerary monuments and monumental architecture. By Hayward Kevin M J . 295mm. Pp 190, 25 col pls, many figs, maps, cd-rom. BAR Brit Ser 500, Oxford: Archaeopress, 2009. ISBN 9781407306179. £52 (pbk). - Volume 92 - Rob Ixer

Provenancing the source of the Stonehenge bluestones

The source of the bluestone component found in the Stonehenge landscape has long been the subject of great interest and considerable debate. The bluestones are a mix of lithologies, the standing orthostats being predominantly dolerites, variably ‘spotted’, with only four of them being of dacitic and rhyolitic composition and the Altar Stone being s...

The source of the bluestones at Stonehenge has long been debated, and while there is general consensus that the so-called spotted dolerites are derived from a relatively small number of outcrops exposed in the highest parts of Mynydd Preseli, in southwest Wales the source of the rhyolitic component has attracted relatively little detailed attention...

Interpreting Silent Artefacts: petrographic approaches to archaeological ceramics. Edited by Quinn Patrick Sean. Pp viii+295, b&w figs, tables, ills. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2010. ISBN 9781905739295. £24.95 (pbk). - Volume 90 - Rob Ixer

Synopsis Vein mineralization hosted by NW-trending joints at Tombuie near Loch Tay, Central Grampians contains base metal sulphides with Au, Bi, Ag and Te bearing phases associated with relatively late stage galena-dominated mineralization. Minerals present include mercurian electrum, tetradymite, altaite, rucklidegeite, hessite and argentian tetra...

During the 1960s and 1970s, aerial reconnaissance on the northern side of the confluence of the Rivers Trent, Tame, and Mease in Staffordshire revealed a cluster of features indicative of prehistoric ceremonial activity. Some of the features within the cluster are morphologically unique, but a lack of previous investigation meant that their dating,...

The Wong Tei Tung archaeological site was discovered in 2003. Two periods have been proposed: an earlier period dating to around 40,000 years bp, and a later period dating to around 7000 years bp, but these dates should be treated cautiously. Initially, reported research found a few traits of the Wong Tei Tung assemblage to be similar to South-east...

We carried out a palaeomagnetic study in the Al-Huqf region (Sultanate of Oman) on rocks that belong to different units of the Cambrian - Ordovician Mahatta Humaid Group. Thirty-nine samples were systematically collected from a succession ca. 520-495 Ma old. Seventeen samples showed characteristic remanent magnetization components with two antipoda...

Authigenic iron and titanium oxides occur in three main textural varieties in the St. Bees Sandstone, a Triassic red bed succession in Cumbria. These are: (a) overgrowths of haematite, titaniferous haematite, anatase, and rutile which generally occur on detrital host grains of similar compositions. The overgrowths may occur as syntaxial rim cements...