Archaeological research conducted on the prehistoric Dorset burial site known as Flagstones has revealed that it is the earliest known large circular enclosure in Britain.
The monument, located near Dorchester, has been redated to about 3,200 years BC – approximately two centuries earlier than previously thought – thanks to advanced radiocarbon analysis of some of the finds discovered there, including human remains, red deer antlers and charcoal.
The analysis suggests that Flagstones may have served as a model or inspiration for later monuments, including the most famous of all the stone circles at Stonehenge.
“A shift towards constructing large circular monuments, including henges, during the Middle Neolithic of Britain and Ireland is exemplified in the monumental landscape of south-west England,” the researchers involved in the new research wrote in an article published by Antiquity. “Comparison with similar sites demonstrates that Flagstones was part of a broader tradition of round enclosures but was also distinctly innovative, particularly in terms of its size.”
The new scientific dating program was completed by Dr Susan Greaney, a specialist in Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in the University of Exeter’s Department of Archaeology and History. and Dr Peter Marshall, formerly Scientific Dating Co-Ordinator at Historic England. It involved collaboration with laboratories at ETH Zürich and the University of Groningen, who provided 23 new radiocarbon measurements.
“Flagstones is an unusual monument; a perfectly circular ditched enclosure, with burials and cremations associated with it,” Dr. Greaney noted. “In some respects, it looks like monuments that come earlier, which we call causewayed enclosures, and in others, it looks a bit like things that come later that we call henges. But we didn’t know where it sat between these types of monuments – and the revised chronology places it in an earlier period than we expected.”
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The Discovery of Flagstones
Flagstones was discovered in the 1980s during the construction of the Dorchester bypass, with excavations revealing it was formed of a 100m (328.08 ft) diameter circular ditch made of intersecting pits, probably an earthwork bank. Today, half of the site lies beneath the bypass, with the remainder located beneath Max Gate, Thomas Hardy’s former home, now bequeathed to the National Trust. Flagstones is a scheduled monument with finds and excavation archives preserved at Dorset Museum.
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Aerial view of the Flagstones excavations in the 1980s. (Dorset Museum/ University of Exeter)
At least four burials were found to have been placed in the enclosure pits – a cremated adult and three children who had not been cremated – and there were three further partial cremations of adults elsewhere.
The similarity of this site to the first phase of Stonehenge, dated to around 2900 BC, led to the assumption that Flagstones must be of a similar date.
While Stonehenge's original purpose has been much debated, an important connection between the two sites is that they were both the sites of burials and cremations.
At Stonehenge, archaeologists have found 64 cremations in and around the earliest sections of the complex. Around 150 people are believed to have been buried at the site, making Stonehenge the largest late Neolithic cemetery in Britain.
But, just like Stonehenge, these burials were only one part of the site's original function. “'That properly wasn't the main purpose – the burials may have sanctified the enclosure,” Dr. Greanley explained in an interview with the Daily Mail. “The large circular enclosure was probably a sacred space, created for gatherings of people to conduct rituals – perhaps relating to burial but other things too.
Combining the radiocarbon dates with archaeological information revealed that early Neolithic activity, including the digging of pits, took place around 3650 BC. After a gap of many centuries, the circular ditched enclosure was created around 3200 BC, with burials placed within it immediately afterwards. Intriguingly, a later burial of a young adult male under a large sarsen stone at the center of the enclosure occurred around 1,000 years or so after its initial use.
“The chronology of Flagstones is essential for understanding the changing sequence of ceremonial and funeral monuments in Britain,” said Dr Greaney. “The ‘sister’ monument to Flagstones is Stonehenge, whose first phase is almost identical, but it dates to around 2900 BC. Could Stonehenge have been a copy of Flagstones? Or do these findings suggest our current dating of Stonehenge might need revision?”
Flagstones also reveals connections to other significant sites, including Llandygái ‘Henge’ A in Gwynedd, Wales, and even locations in Ireland, as implied by artifacts and burial practices.
Plan of the excavated western half of the Flagstones enclosure (adapted from Smith et al. 1997: fig. 22) (Susan Greaney/Antiquity)
Finding the True Prototype
Dr Greaney stressed the significance of the redated Flagstones monument as a prototype for what came after.
“This is a new type of site – an innovation, and suggests a change in the way that people are understanding the landscape and their beliefs,” he said. “It's probably the earliest large circular enclosure at the start of a sea-change or shift from linear or rectangular monuments to circular monuments.”
Whatever the ultimate truth about the sequencing of various monuments might turn out to be, these findings highlight the interconnectedness of Neolithic communities across Britain and beyond. There was clearly a common culture responsible for these incredible works of landscape art, although their true meanings and inspiration will always be a matter of speculation, as there are no written records available to solve that mystery.
Top image: The Flagstones monument (shown here) may be one of Britain’s earliest circular monuments.
Source: Jennie Anderson / University of Exeter
This is an edited version of a news release published by the University of Exeter, entitled ‘Innovative ancient burial site found to be older than Stonehenge.’
