David Jacques, an OU tutor, directed ten small excavations, with over 100 of his students at Amesbury, Wiltshire, 2005 – 2011.
The discovery of a site, situated about a mile from Stonehenge, has been described as being “potentially one of the pivotal places in the history of the Stonehenge landscape” by an inspection team from English Heritage.
The fact that the site also provides evidence for ritual activity in the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Romano-British periods, and possibly beyond, means that a rare and special ‘multi phase’ site has been discovered.
Read more about the discovery http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/classical-studies/amesbury/ and about the current investigations of the ancient spring Blick Mead. David Jacques is a tutor on Culture, Identity and Power in the Roman Empire (AA309) and U211.
Other related stories:
- YouTube: Unearthing the secrets of Stonehenge
- OU students help in quest to uncover origins of Stonehenge
- Open University student discovery changes understanding of Stonehenge
- The discoveries
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On a lighter side to heritage – a Stonehenge you can bounce on
A bouncy scale model of Stonehenge, specially commissioned to mark the Olympics, has been unveiled.
It was created by Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller, who said it represented Britain’s history, culture and sense of humour: View the podcast with the BBC’s David Sillito reporting