136 



THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 









Stonehenge 



p R_Combine 4.10.4 (df=1 T= 



=3.4(5% 



3.8)) 



OxA-9361 



1359±38BP 







OxA-9921 



1490±60BP 







R_Combin 

 i i i i i 



e 4.10.4 





-A 



i i i i i 



i i i 



.iiii i i i i iiii^iiii 



300calAD 400cal AD 500cal AD 600cal AD 700cal AD 800cal AD 



Calibrated date 



Fig. 3. Probability distribution for date of Stonehenge skeleton 4.10.4. 



THE SKELETON 



by Jacqueline I. McKinley and 

 Anthea Boylston 



The initial identification of the traumatic spinal 

 lesions was made by Jacqueline McKinley during 

 informal examination of the skeletal remains, a full 

 examination later being undertaken by Anthea 

 Boylston (see above). The results presented here 

 were compiled by the former from the data collected 

 by the latter and observations made by both writers. 



Methods 



Age was assessed from the stage of skeletal and tooth 

 development (Beek 1983; McMinn and Hutchings 

 1985) and the general degree of age-related changes 

 to the bone (Brooks and Suchey 1990; Buikstra and 

 Ubelaker 1994). Sex was ascertained from the 

 sexually dimorphic traits of the skeleton (Buikstra 

 and Ubelaker 1994). Cranial index was calculated 

 according to Brofhwell (1972), stature estimations 

 according to Trotter and Gleser (1952; 1958). 



Results 



The bone was in good condition, though there had 

 been some damage - with subsequent recon- 

 struction - to the skull and the pelvic bones, and 

 all the bone had been coated with some form of 

 varnish. The mid-shaft region of the right tibia and 

 left femur had been removed for radiocarbon dating 

 in 1975 and replaced by plaster casts. 



About 90% of the skeleton was present for 

 examination (hand and foot bones, and the ribs 

 were missing), the remains representing those of 

 an adult male of about 28-32 years. The stature of 

 the individual was estimated at 1.65m (c. 5ft 4 1/2 

 inches). This places him within the range, but below 

 the average, observed within a number of Romano- 

 British and Early Anglo-Saxon phase cemeteries in 

 the south-west region: averages include 1.66m at 

 Poundbury (Molleson 1993, 167-168), 1.69 at 

 Tolpuddle Ball (McKinley 1999) and 1.71 atUlwell 

 (Waldron 1988) all in Dorset, and 1.67 at 

 Boscombe Down, Wiltshire (McKinley 

 forthcoming). The cranial index is 72.7, which is 

 within the dolichocranial (long-headed) range. 

 Whilst it has been observed that there was an 

 increasing trend towards long-headedness within 

 the Anglo-Saxon period (Marlow 1992); c. 42% of 

 the individuals from the Romano-British cemetery 

 at Boscombe Down, Amesbury, about 2km to the 

 east, also fell within this range, though the mean 

 index was higher at 76. 



The man had slight osteophytes (marginal new 

 bone) in the 7th- 10th thoracic vertebrae and 

 Schmorl's nodes (defects in the vertebral body 

 surface resulting from disc damage) in the 8th-9th 

 thoracic, a not unusual observation at a time when 

 most individuals endured physically active lives. The 

 muscle insertions for upper limb - pectoralis major, 

 latissimus dorsi - indicate strong attachments and 

 possible minor strains, again suggestive of strong 

 physical activity involving the upper body. There is 

 anterior curvature in the right femur and both 

 fibulae have curved medial shafts with flattened 

 distal ends at different angle to shafts. Slight 



