English Heritage Report

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STANTON DREW

From Andrew David, Ancient Monuments Laboratory, PAST 28 (© The Prehistoric Society)

Although it received wide press coverage, the results of the new survey at Stanton Drew were far too interesting for PAST to leave them to Fleet Street so we persuaded Andrew David to write our front-page piece.

Despite the fact that the megalithic stone settings at Stanton Drew were commented upon by both Aubrey and Stukeley, and by many others thereafter, it is very remarkable that they

have remained so little explored. The stone circles are under the protection of English Heritage and, having recently come into new ownership, allowed the possibility of negotiating improved access and management. In order to undertake this from a more informed background a geophysical survey was commissioned from the Ancient Monuments Laboratory. The need for such a survey had already been highlighted by the Avon Archaeological Unit as part of a proposed project to re-evaluate the site. Currently, a Conservation Plan is being drafted by the Stanton Drew Steering Committee which comprises representatives from the local authority (Bath and NE Somerset), the University of Bristol, the Avon Archaeological Unit and English Heritage.

The startling outcome of the 1997 geophysical survey, reported below, has received wide attention and Stanton Drew has been billed in the press as 'rivalling' Stonehenge - a comparison not invited lightly.
The main discoveries relate to the largest feature of the megalithic complex - the Great Circle, which, at 113m in diameter, is the largest British stone circle after Avebury. Magnetometer survey using fluxgate instruments, adapted so that the sensors were carried as close to the ground as possible, revealed that the stone circle was but one element in a much more elaborate arrangement of concentric features (Fig 2). The stones themselves were found to be encircled by a 5-7m wide henge ditch with an unusually wide (50m) gap facing to the NE. Within the stone circle were the traces of concentric rings, with a cluster of magnetic anomalies at their centre.

Some 40m from the Great Circle, within the smaller NE stone circle, the magnetometer located four central anomalies arranged in a quadrilateral, the sides of which align with the four opposed pairs of stones that make up the circle. These anomalies might be responses to hearths but are more probably caused by pits - perhaps the remnants of a former stone or timber setting. Other anomalies seem to flank a passage or avenue leading from this central feature to the NE, a direction maintained by the megalithic avenue that extends outwards from the circle.

  In order to enhance the definition of the extremely weakly magnetised features within the Great Circle, the area was resurveyed using a more sensitive magnetometer of the optically pumped caesium variety. The results, illustrated here (Fig 3) confirm the presence of no less than nine concentric rings. The increased resolution of the survey data (collected at 0.5m x 0.12m intervals) provides the clear impression that the rings are each made up of a series of discrete positive magnetic anomalies. These are most obvious in the outer ring, less so in the others, although the eye has a knack of grasping the broader pattern despite the indistinctiveness of its parts. The rings seem to be composed of circles of pits of over a metre in diameter and separated from one another by gaps of about 1m.

Having set aside the outside possibilities that these patterns might be the result of cultivation or even the construction of a post-medieval maze, it becomes an irresistible assumption, fired by comparison with sites such as The Sanctuary, Woodhenge and Durrington Walls, that the pits are integral with the prehistoric site and once held timber uprights. Of course this cannot yet be proven nor is any relative constructional sequence apparent. The structure(s) at Stanton Drew stand apart on account of their colossal size (Fig 1): the diameters of the inner and outer circles are 23m and 95m respectively.

If not hearths, cremation pits, or some other type of pit (cf the Aubrey Holes at Stonehenge), the presence of locally increased magnetic susceptibility could be explained by the burning of posts in situ. More speculatively, we have suggested that the magnetic enhancement may be due instead to the accumulation of biogenic magnetite concentrated in the post pipes following the decay of the timbers. The subsoil, derived from Keuper Marl, is sandy and unconsolidated to a depth of at least 2 metres and the relative ease with which deep pits can be dug into this might at least be a partial explanation for the adoption of such a multitude of post settings.
At the centre of the circles is a cluster of several anomalies which is difficult to interpret. Whilst at least one of these is plausible as a prehistoric pit, a central setting perhaps, others may instead be evidence for unrecorded antiquarian digging.

These first results will be followed up by further survey which will aim, if possible, to provide more information from within the Great Circle. Here every attempt will be made to clarify the pattern of concentric circles and of their component pits, for instance in the southern area where they seem to be obscured by a former field boundary. Such work might allow a more confident appraisal of the possible presence of aisles or corridors within the circles. A detailed topographic survey will also be necessary for the geometry of the complex to be studied alongside the geophysical data. This will determine, for instance, whether or not the various concentric elements truly share a common geometric centre. The geophysical survey will also be extended further afield, at least to explore the SW stone circle and its environs. Resistivity survey at the site has so far not been very informative, but this and other methods will be persevered with.

From Andrew David, Ancient Monuments Laboratory, PAST 28 (© The Prehistoric Society)

The following text is from the Wikipedia entry for Stanton Drew Stone Circles.

The monument

The most famous feature is the Great Circle, a henge monument consisting of the second largest stone circle in Britain (after Avebury). The stone circle is 113 m in diameter and probably consisted of 30 stones, of which 27 survive today. It was recorded by both John Aubrey and William Stukeley. An avenue extends to the north east of the Great Circle towards the River Chew and a second avenue meets it from the north eastern stone circle.

A (now recumbent) standing stone called Hautville's Quoit lies across the river to the north on an alignment with the centres of the Great Circle and the southern circle. A large stone close to Hautville Quoit Farm, recumbent since at least the mid 17th century but assumed to have originally been upright. Described by Stukeley in 1723 as being 13 feet long, it is now about half that length, Grinsell suggesting that fragments have occasionally been broken off for mending the roads. Stukeley also referred to the presence of a second stone.

Further to the west is a cove of two standing stones with a recumbent slab between them, which can be found in the garden of the Druid's Arms public house. All are of different heights, the back stone being 4.4 metres, the south western 3.1 metres, and the north eastern 1.4 metres. The stones of the cove are mineralogically different from those in the nearby stone circles.

Excavations

In the mid 17th century, after one of the stones had fallen, human bones and an object described as a "round bell, like a large horse-bell" were found. While human burial at the foot of a standing stone is by no means unknown, the "bell", whatever it is, suggests some caution over assigning a date to the burial. A 'bronze serpent ring' has also been found here.

A surface collection of Neolithic implements found in a field about a quarter of a mile from the Stanton Drew monument complex. The flints were given to Taunton Museum in 1920-21, but only a single petit-tranchet derivative arrowhead seems to survive from the collection.

Geophysical survey

Geophysical work by English Heritage in 1997 revealed a surrounding ditch and nine concentric rings of postholes within the stone circle. More than 400 pits, 1 m across and at 2.5 m intervals, stood in rings at the site. The ditch is 135 m in diameter and about 7 m wide. A 40 m wide entrance was visible on the north east side. No surrounding bank has been identified although the site awaits excavation.[1]

The geophysical work transformed the traditional view of Stanton Drew as being a surface monument and the Great Circle is now seen as being one of the largest and most impressive Neolithic monuments to have been built. Analogous with the circles of postholes at sites at Woodhenge, Durrington Walls and The Sanctuary, it is thought that the pits would have held posts which would have either been freestanding or lintelled as they could not have supported a roof at that size.

Nearby and to the north east is a smaller ring of 8 stones in the centre of which the geophysical work identified four further pits. A third ring of 12 stones, measuring 43 m wide, stands to the south west.

Theories about Stanton Drew

Theories suggest the site was dedicated to funerary ritual. There are several local traditional stories about the megalithic complex. The best known tells how a wedding party was turned to stone: the party was held throughout Saturday, but a man clothed in black (the Devil in disguise) came and started to play his violin for the merrymakers after midnight, continuing into holy Sunday morning. When dawn broke, everybody had been turned to stone by the Demon: so the stone circles are the dancers, the avenues are the fiddlers and the Cove is the bride and the groom with the drunken churchman at their feet. They are still awaiting the Devil who promised to come back someday and play again for them.[2]

Wade and Wade in their 1929 book "Somerset" suggest;

"One of the curiosities of the place is Hautville's Quoit, which, to save time, should also be looked for on approaching the village. (Enter iron gate on L. a few hundred yards before reaching tollhouse, and search backwards along the hedge bordering road.) It is a large stone, which legend says was hurled by Sir J. Hautville (whose effigy is in Chew Magna Church) from the top of Maes Knoll. The famous "druidical remains" will be found near the church. About 50 yards from the entrance to the churchyard take a lane to the L. leading to an orchard: the stones will be observed in the field beyond (admission free, but field closed on Sundays). The "remains" consist of three contiguous circles. The first is of considerable area, and is marked out by twelve large stones, only three of which remain upright; a smaller circle of eight stones lies just beyond; and a third circle of eight will be found farther away in an orchard on the R. The two larger circles have each a few scattered stones thrown off as a kind of avenue.

Standing apart from the circles is a curious group of three stones huddled together in a garden abutting on the churchyard, from which they can be easily seen by looking over the W. boundary wall. These mystic rings probably had the same origin (whatever that may have been) as that of the more famous circle at Avebury in Wiltshire, with which they should be compared. The proximity of Maes Knoll is comparable with that of Silbury Hill. A ridiculous theory suggests that the monoliths were erected as a trophy after one of Arthur's victories. The country story is that a local wedding once took place on a Sunday, when the frivolous guests would insist on winding up with a dance. The penalty for a "Sabbath" thus "profaned" was the prompt transformation of the bridal party into stone. Hence the local appellation of "The fiddlers and the maids."

Bibliograpy

Dymond, C.W. (1896). Ancient remains at Stanton Drew in the county of Somerset.. Oakmagic Publications. ISBN 1-904330-07-X. 

Grinsell, Leslie Valentine (1956). Stanton Drew stone circles : [M.O.W. official guide]. ASIN B0000CJGPA. 

Grinsell, Leslie Valentine (1973). The folklore of Stanton Drew. St. Peter Port, Guernsey, C.I.: Toucan Press,. ISBN 0-85694-041-0. 

Grinsell, Leslie Valentine (1994). Megalithic Monuments of Stanton Drew. LV Grinsell. ISBN 0-9523020-0-4. 

Legg, Rodney. Stanton Drew: Great Western Temple. Dorset Publishing Company. ISBN 0-948699-64-7. 

Morgan, LLoyd C.. The stones of Stanton Drew : their source and origin. 

Sibree, Ernest (1919). The Stanton Drew stones.