Stonehenge: Interim Report on the exploration By Lt.-Col. W. Hawley, F.S.A. 1921.

After the death of Sir Edmund Antrobus of Amesbury Abbey, certain properties, including Stonehenge, were in 1915 sold by his representatives. Fortunately for all students of archaeology, Stonehenge was purchased by Sir Cecil Chubb of Bemerton (age 44), who generously presented it, together with some thirty acres of adjoining land, to the nation. The acquisition of this additional land has made it possible to set back an unsightly fence and divert a cart-track some distance from the monument. It was at once recognized by H.M. Office of Works that the monument required immediate attention, and it was therefore decided, by the advice of the Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments and the Ancient Monuments Board for England, that a careful examination of it should be made, and work for its preservation taken in hand. It was decided that the stones which were in a dangerous state should receive attention first, and then that those which had fallen in recent times should be re-erected, care being taken that all appearances of restoration should be avoided. By the courtesy of the Office of Works, the Society of Antiquaries was given every facility for carrying out a scheme of archaeological research on the site during the progress of the work, and the writer was appointed the representative of the Society. Preparations were begun in September 191 9, but were much retarded owing to difficulties of transport and the delay in erecting two huts and the assembling of the large equipment necessary. It was not until the end of the year that work was actually begun.

In recording the finds made during the course of the exploration of the site, no account has been taken of the modern rubbish unless it has been of special interest or was found at an unusual depth, as it does not concern the ancient history of the monument. At one time coursing meetings were annually held near Stonehenge, and, before each meeting, glass and other noxious rubbish likely to hurt the animals' feet were collected and buried, which will partly account for some of the modern objects found.

As a preliminary, mention may be made of the excavation of some prop-holes beyond the outer circle, as they give an idea of the state of the soil about the monument. The first hole measured 2 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. 6 in. After removing a few inches of humus we passed through earthy chalk rubble until solid chalk was met with at a depth of 3 ft. The rubble was full of modern rubbish such as broken glass, crockery, pipe-stems, and other things, which decreased in number from the top. It also contained 75 sarsen chips, 70 of foreign stone (or bluestone), 9 fragments of bone, 7 of Bronze Age and 4 of Romano-British pottery, and 6 rough pieces of flint showing signs of working. The second hole was of the same area, and solid chalk was met with a foot below the surface. In addition to modern rubbish, it gave 5 sarsen chips and 18 of foreign stone. Two similar holes were dug in December 191 9, both 18 in. deep. In addition to modern rubbish the first yielded 5 sarsen chips and 28 of foreign stone; the second, 1 sarsen chip and 40 of foreign stone, 11 small pieces of Romano-British pottery, and a small third brass of Tetricus, almost illegible.

It was determined to begin work on stones nos. 6 and 7 on the south side of the outer circle, which had been propped up for a long time and appeared to be most in need of attention. No. 7 listed towards the south and no. 6 in the opposite direction ; and by their combined movements the lintel was forced out of position to such an extent that, at one end, only a small portion of it rested on the upright stone below (fig. 1). On 27th November this lintel, weighing between six and seven tons, was safely lifted off (pi. Ill), after having been encased in a timber cradle and protected with felt. We then had to wait until 3rd December, when the upright stone, no. 7, having been similarly encased, the removal of the surrounding soil was begun. Our measuring frame, though larger, was exactly on the same principle as that described by Mr. Gowland in his 1 90 1 report on Stonehenge, and proved a most useful and ready method of recording the position of things found in definite areas. We also used the same datum line as he did, in order that the past and present work might be uniform. Excavations were begun in front of the outside face of no. 7 stone, that is on its south side, in an area of about 7 ft. by 4 ft. 6 in. The soil was removed in layers according to datum level, usually 6 in. at a time.

The first layer of earthy chalk rubble, rather flinty, contained 26 sarsen fragments or chips, 40 of foreign stone, 8 roughly worked flints, 4 flint implements, 10 bone fragments, a piece of charred wood axe-marked, 5 fragments of Romano-British pottery, 1 piece of burnt clay and 1 of brick, and 1 piece of glazed earthenware.

The next layer in the same, but less flinty, soil gave a sarsen hammer-Stone, 19 sarsen fragments, 41 of foreign stone, 2 roughly worked flints, and 1 fragment of Romano-British pottery.

In the next layer, of earthy chalk-rubble, were a large block of sarsen, 2 sarsen hammer-stones, 13 sarsen chips, 17 of foreign stone, 7 roughly worked flints, 5 pieces of Romano-British pottery, 1 Romano-British boot-nail, 2 pieces of bone, and traces of burnt wood ashes.

Figure 1. Position of stones 6 and 7 and of lintel before work was begun.

In this layer were 4 pieces of hammer-stones, 53 sarsen chips, 31 of foreign stone, 1 roughly worked flint, 2 bone fragments, some burnt wood ashes, and 9 large sarsen blocks, used for packing the stone on that side, occupying a space of about 4 ft. along the face and extending 18 in. outward from it. We lifted out Four of these blocks.

In the fifth layer the sloping chalk rock ended in a well-defined line, and descended perpendicularly like a short wall from 1 ft. to 14 in. deep and 9 in. from the stone: a little loose rubble above the wall contained twelve sarsen chips. This we took out with the five remaining packing blocks. These and the four previously removed were surrounded with clayey rubble and placed against the stone in a line with the top of the chalk wall, their lower portions being wedged between it and the stone. All the blocks showed traces of fire and so did the stone-face opposite them. Clayey rubble mixed with a quantity of wood ash filled the remainder of the space down to bed-rock, in which we discovered a round hole, 4½ in. in diameter, descending into the chalk rock. Shordy afterwards we discovered four more holes, all more or less in a line and parallel to the low chalk wall ; and one, at the south corner of the stone's base, or what we have sometimes called its toe, was 6 in. in diameter and descended 2 ft. A small portion of the toe appeared to have been cut away to receive the side of a post. All of these were evidently post-holes, and the wood ash around seemed to signify that they had been burnt.

This state of things may perhaps be accounted for as follows. The stone in common with the rest in the outer circle was erected from the outside. It was slid down the incline we noticed until its base was just over the hole : it was then drawn upright against a prop behind and held by four guy-ropes.

The posts were then driven in to steady it in front, helped perhaps by wooden baulks at the side and back, where the chalk rock rose higher. The stone would perhaps be not far out of its required position, and the peculiar shape given to the foot would enable the workmen to adjust it inch by inch. Then the packing blocks would be securely wedged around it.

The protruding posts would then have to be dealt with. To extract them would shake and disturb the stone : to leave them would result in their rotting and leaving empty cavities, which would have loosened the soil later on ; so they were burnt and all interstices filled in with clayey rubble, over which came the other rubble we found, well rammed in.

The face of the stone was now exposed to view, its base being 5 ft. from ground-level. From just below ground-line on the right, the side of the stone took a curve downwards, its central axis being met by a lesser curve from the opposite direction. The lower front was a good deal undercut, and at the extreme left the base ended in a blunt point or toe : this toe was drawn off the ground, the tilt having produced a cavity below it (fig. 2).

As its stability was doubtful, two additional steel ropes were secured about the stone, and a portion of its weight was taken by the crane.

On 16th December an excavation was made on the west side of this stone in an area 4 ft. long by 3 ft. wide, and to a depth of about 22 ft., in order that wooden baulks might be inserted to overcome the pressure from the lower part of the stone in that direction, which prevented our going deeper at that time. In the first layer below humus we got 8 sarsen fragments, 96 of foreign stone, 6 of bones, a horn-core, 3 fragments of Romano-British pottery, part of an armlet of that period made of two-strand bronze wire, and a small hone of the same period.

The second layer gave 1 fragment of a sarsen hammer, 42 sarsen chips, 266 of foreign stone, 6 fragments of Romano-British pottery, 3 pieces of glazed earthenware, an iron nail and buckle, and one or two indefinite fragments of brass or bronze.

The third layer gave 2 small sarsen hammer-stones, 22 sarsen chips, 95 of foreign stone, 3 bone fragments, 4 roughly worked flints, and a piece of glauconite (green sandstone such as Old Sarum was built with, found locally).

Figure 2. Section through stone 7 looking NE. Stone 6 in the background

The wooden baulks were then inserted, and we did not return to this spot until 20th January, after the stone had been made safe, when we removed the remaining soil down to the base of the stone on the west.

The fourth layer contained 9 sarsen fragments, 33 of foreign stone, 7 small pieces of glauconite, and 1 piece of Romano-British pottery.

The last layer contained 20 sarsen fragments, 65 of foreign stone, 3 rough flints, and 3 bone fragments. We also came upon the packing stones, five in number, three being large blocks of glauconite and two of sarsen : these were at 4 ft. 6 in. from the surface, and for another foot there was clayey rubble with nothing in it down to the chalk rock.

Nearly all our excavations were conducted in the manner just described. At first the stones, encased in cradles, had steel rope guys attached to them on all sides, anchored to the ground : but later iron girders were added to the cradles and placed longitudinally below the lowest timbers at their sides. The projecting ends of girders had jacks placed under them on thick iron plates, supported when necessary by concrete bases. This arrangement gave perfect security, besides being a ready means of moving the stone in any direction.

Up to this point I have given an inventory of objects found in each layer of our excavations. I shall now mention only the interesting finds, for there is a tedious recurrence of chips and other things, all the soil within the area of our frame having been sieved.

Our next excavation was one along and against the back of the stone on the north. In the upper soil a foot below the surface we came upon some rotted timber, evidently remains of a timber support between stones 6 and 7, existing in 1904. We found sarsen chips as usual, and foreign stones, greatly in excess of the sarsen, and on the north-east came upon a sarsen block at 17 in. from the surface, and afterwards two more 10 in. lower down, and still lower down, at 39 in., was a block much larger than the others, a litde to the right of those above and under the curve of the stone, wedged between it and the side of the hole it stood in.

About a foot from this block and near the stone was a farthing of George III. This coin, when lost, had probably fallen close to the stone. The stones become heated by the sun, causing the soil to recede sufficiently to allow small objects to drop a considerable distance. The recurrence of this year after year, assisted by long droughts and other factors of movement, causes small things to descend to low levels and shows what reliance can be placed on small metal finds.

We found other sarsen blocks placed nearly opposite the middle of the face : two at 15 in. from the surface, one at 19 in., and two at 41 in. ; and the remainder of the soil was chalk rubble to rock bottom, of much the same appearance as that on the other sides. In this excavation we only got two roughly worked flints and two small pieces of Bronze Age pottery, both about 30 in. from the surface.

Excavation on the remaining east side gave the usual débris and chips ; and at 1 5 in. below the surface we got seven small pieces of Romano-British pottery and a small fragment of Samian, also seven roughly worked flints : lower down, at 23 in. from the surface, we found two sarsen hammer-stones. Below this, and chiefly under the curve of the stone, were six packing blocks of sarsen ; three of them at 27 in. below the surface, and the others at 37 in., 39 in., and 50 in., distributed along the under side of the curve in chalk rubble. This completed the excavation of no. 7 stone (fig. 3).

Figure 3. Section through stones 6 and 7 after excavation, looking east : post hole on right.

We began work upon stone no. 6 by carrying an excavation along its north face down to the foot in order to ascertain the shape of the buried portion, which we found came to a pointed end at 4 ft. 6 in. from the ground level. Its east and west sides curved fairly equally to the axial line, the eastern curve being convex and the western concave. This excavation yielded little but a sixpence of Elizabeth at 25 in. Foreign stone chips were greatly in excess of sarsen (131 to 18). There were a few small pieces of Romano-British pottery at 1 5 in. below the surface, and there were no packing blocks, only chalk rubble all the way down.

The excavation on the south side was very diflrerent. In our upper layer from 12 in. to 15 in. below the surface were 2 pieces of Chilmark oolite (ragstone) about 5 in. or 6 in. wide, 1 4 roughly worked flints, 2 small pieces of Bronze Age pottery, 6 of Romano-British ware, and an oyster shell. At 18 in. below the surface we got a small sarsen hammer-stone. At 23 in. were two similar hammer-stones and one made of foreign stone. At 30 in. we came to packing stones ; three of them against the upright stone, two of which were braced from behind by large slabs of Chilmark ragstone set on end and at right angles to them. There were also two more ragstone slabs to the west of these, with edges towards stone no. 6, which had receded a little from them. These extended along nearly the entire front and were set in a mass of extremely hard earthy chalk, like concrete, extending down nearly to the base of the stone, around which was a mass of burnt wood ashes in fine earth (fig. 4).

Figure 4. Section through stone 6, looking NE.

We next investigated the east side of stone no. 6, and found the interval between it and the side of the hole was narrow and filled with chalk rubble all the way down. In the upper layer we got three small pieces of Romano-British pottery, and lower, at 27 in,, was a sarsen implement, and still lower, at 3 ft. from the surface, were three blocks of packing stone tightly wedged with rubble between the stone and chalk rock. One of the blocks was a very large flint, the other two sarsen ; and they extended north to south under the curved bottom.

Our last excavation of stone no. 6 on its west side was very much the same as that on the east, except that there were only two packing blocks, one at 26 in. below the surface and the other immediately under it, at 36. in. In the upper soil was one piece of Romano-British pottery and four roughly worked flints. The little soil remaining between the two stones was removed, but did not reveal much of importance. On the top was a long baulk of rotted timber, a portion of which we had already met with on the north side. Chalk rock was found rising between the stones at 3 ft. from the surface, and in it midway between the Stones was a bowl-shaped cavity, which might have been made when originally erecting the stones, or be merely a result of modern propping (fig. 5).

Figure 5. Stones 6 and 7, showing packing blocks and post-holes

Some of the areas excavated within our frame, apart from those around the stones, are worthy of mention. On the south side of no. 7 there appeared to be an incline towards the stone, cut in chalk rock, intended no doubt for moving the stone down to its site for erection ; and it is possible we may have the same arrangement in front of no. 6. With this exception the chalk j-ubble was more or less at its normal level over the solid. The area within our frame close to the north side was remarkable for the great quantity of foreign stone chips in it, especially the northeast corner, where an area 10 ft. by 5 ft. produced 700 of them to only 85 of sarsen ; and an area a little west of it yielded 182 of them to 2 of sarsen, perhaps the trimmings of no. 33 of the inner circle which was close at hand.

The shallow area along the south side of the frame contained a number of objects of the Romano-British period, and produced 92 sherds of that date, an iron awl, a small long hammer-head of iron resembling those used by jewellers or clockmakers at the present day, a turned bronze ring, part of a shale bangle, and part of an iron knife and of a sickle : these two, although doubtful, resemble those found in British villages of the Roman period.

When our excavations were completed steps were taken to secure the stones permanently. The jacks had already been placed under the girders, but before they could be used it was necessary to prevent the stones slipping down in their cradles, so two steel ropes were passed under each stone and secured by eye-bolts to the lowest timbers. The stones were then practically slung upon the girders, the steel slings taking the weight (pl. IV). First of all it was necessary to make a firm bed to sustain the weight of the stones, as it was found that the chalk rock below them was very loose as a result of their gradual displacement.

Whilst the stones were held on the jacks the crumbled chalk was removed and replaced by a 3 ft. bed of reinforced concrete up to the original level, carefully calculated previously. Sufficient time having been given for the concrete to harden, the stones were lowered to it, and then came the most important and tedious part of all, namely, to get the stones into their correct positions. The lintel was slung up and lowered upon them. So carefully had all measurements been made that the lintel needed very little adjustment. A quantity of reinforced concrete was placed on all sides of the stones in a long and broad continuous trench and brought nearly to ground-level, allowing sufficient depth for turf and a bed of humus below it. When all was set firm, the lintel was again raised so that the dowels could receive leaden caps, which had been cast in plaster moulds.

The stones were then stripped of their timber, and the grass is already green around them. They have no appearance of repair, and are so natural that visitors frequently ask to be shown the stones that have been dealt with, as they cannot find them.

Antiquity 2022 Volume 96.2: References. Hawley, W. 1921. Stonehenge: interim report on the exploration. Antiquaries Journal 1: 19–41. Website