Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 95 (2002), pp. 131-46 



An Anglo-Saxon Decapitation and Burial at 

 Stonehenge 



by Mike Pitts 1 , Alex Bayliss 2 , Jacqueline McKinley 3 , Anthea 

 Boylston 4 , Paul Budd 5 , Jane Evans 6 , Carolyn Chenery 6 , Andrew 

 Reynolds 7 and Sarah Semple 8 



Most of a human skeleton excavated at Stonehenge in 1923, believed destroyed in the London bombing of 

 1941, was re-located in 1999. New study of the bones shows them to represent a man of Anglo-Saxon era 

 (not Neolithic or Roman as previously suggested) aged 28-32, born in central southern England. He had 

 been beheaded, probably with a sword. The historical context for this incident is discussed. 



The re-discovery in 1999 and preliminary ex- 

 amination of a human skeleton from Stonehenge 

 were reported widely in the media, following a press 

 conference at English Heritage's London 

 headquarters on 9th June 2000, and a further press 

 release (at which the first of two radiocarbon dates 

 was announced) on 1 4th July. The background to 

 these events, and the making of a television film, 

 are described elsewhere (Pitts 2001). Here we put 

 on record full details of the research. 



ARCHAEOLOGY 



by Mike Pitts 



Skeleton 4.10.4 (the number allocated in 1938 by 

 the Royal College of Surgeons of England) was 

 recovered by William Hawley. He came across the 

 grave by chance during the course of the largest 

 excavation programme at Stonehenge, conducted 

 between 1919 and 1926 (Cleal et al. 1995). It is 

 one of three more or less complete human skeletons 

 found by Hawley at Stonehenge (Figure 1). All three 



were thought lost. The first (found March 1922 in 

 the ring ditch) was discarded by the excavator, who 

 felt (on debatable evidence) that 'obviously it was a 

 modern interment' (Hawley 1923, 18). 4.10.4, 

 found November 1923 and the third, inside the 

 stone circles on the central axis, in August 1926, 

 were taken to the Royal College of Surgeons, 

 London. The College was bombed in 1941, and its 

 contents, including many human remains recovered 

 in British excavations, were believed (at least by 

 archaeologists) totally destroyed (Pitts 1999). 



Human remains are common at Stonehenge: 

 77 find contexts are definitely prehistoric (Phases 

 1-3); 67 may be more recent ('Phase 3 or later' or 

 unphased) (McKinley 1995, Tables 57-8). In 

 addition, a human tarsal was found near the 

 Heelstone in a context containing a medieval sherd 

 (Pitts 1982, 90) . Many prehistoric cremation burials 

 have also been excavated, mostly in or close to the 

 ring ditch. Perhaps as many as 50 of these are now 

 reburied in Aubrey Hole 7 (Pitts 2001, xiii and 

 chapter 15). 



But only one other articulated skeleton has been 

 found, in the ditch in 1978 (Figure 1). The man 



' 125 High St, Marlborough, SN8 1LU; 2 English Heritage, 23 Savile Row, London,WlX 2HE; ' Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, 

 Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, SP4 6EB; * Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, BD7 1 DP; 5 Department 

 of Archaeology, University of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE; " NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological 

 Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG; 7 Department of Archaeology, King Alfred's College, Winchester, S022 4NR; 8 Institute of 

 Archaeology, University of Oxford, 36 Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2PG 



