Overview

For more than 4,500 years people have been drawn to a windswept plain at the heart of southern England where a circle of vast upright stones topped with massive lintels stands. Yet Stonehenge – probably the most famous prehistoric monument in the world – remains mysterious. Today, nearly one and a half million people a year come from across the world to see for themselves this silent icon of the ancient past. But what do we really know about the people who built it, why they did so, and what they did here among the stones? In the 18th century stories of Druids, of sacrifices and pagan worship emerged in the silence. How has our understanding of this complex site changed since then? Through spectacular new photography, historic images, artworks and a remarkable new reconstruction drawing, Susan Greaney tells the story of Stonehenge, its builders and the people whose lives have been touched by this awe-inspiring monument from earliest times to the present day.

Full Product Details

Author:   Susan Greaney
Publisher:   English Heritage
Imprint:   English Heritage
ISBN:  

9781917564014

ISBN 10:   1917564015
Pages:   160
Publication Date:   01 May 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

PREFACE INTRODUCTION BEFORE STONEHENGE THE MESOLITHIC LANDSCAPE (9700–4000 BC) THE EARLY NEOLITHIC LANDSCAPE (4000–3200 BC) Stonehenge in its Global Context AT THE TIME OF STONEHENGE THE EARLY MONUMENT (3000–2600 BC) A Place of Burial A TEMPLE OF STONE (2600–2400 BC) Moving and Raising the Stones The Missing Stones The Power of the Sun THE WORLD OF STONEHENGE (3200–2400 BC) Durrington Walls A Monument Complex THE CHALCOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE NEW PEOPLE, NEW IDEAS (2400–2200 BC) Beaker Burials The Stonehenge Archer Parallel Populations? EARLY BRONZE AGE (2200–1500 BC) ‘Wessex Culture’ Burials (1950–1500 BC) Bronze Age Carvings (1750–1580 BC) AFTER STONEHENGE AN ABANDONED RUIN (1500 BC–AD 1200) Myths and Legends ANTIQUARIAN INTEREST (1650–1740) Druids The Barrow Explorers Early Visitors Artistic Responses EARLY RESTORATION AND EXCAVATION (1900–1926) Rising Tourism Military Connections MODERN STONEHENGE (1926–TODAY) The Stonehenge Free Festival World Heritage Site Conservation and Nature Local Connections SUMMARY TIMELINE BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Author Information

Susan Greaney is Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Exeter, where she teaches a range of topics including prehistoric Europe, heritage, museums, public engagement and archaeological theory. Susan's research focuses on monuments, landscapes and societies of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain and Ireland, with a particular interest in monument complexes and radiocarbon chronologies. Previously, Susan worked for English Heritage as Senior Properties Historian, researching and delivering major public interpretation projects, including the visitor centre and temporary exhibitions at Stonehenge.

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