SARSEN STONES and THE POLISSOIR

Working with our wonderful, but also hardy volunteers, we have been searching the landscape around Tenants Hill for sarsen stones. The objective was to look at the natural distribution of the stones, and to look at this in relation to the prehistoric monuments that were built using sarsen. This led one of our volunteers to alert us to some sarsens that had been recently uncovered (from brambles and scrub) by Natural England and EuCan in the Valley of Stones, which is when the polissoir was spotted.

We have scanned and recorded the polissoir, and started an initial excavation of the area but we want to do much more. This is only the 2nd large polissoir that has been found in its original context in the UK, so this is a great opportunity to learn more about exactly when and how it was used. We cannot excavate further without ensuring first that all the analysis can be properly done and paid for. Volunteers are always involved in our projects as much possible, but we also ensure that our research is conducted to the highest standards. Therefore we are fund raising.

If you wish to help out by sponsoring a sarsen stone you will not only enable the project to continue on its research journey but your name will be enshrined in our reports as we produce detailed maps of the sarsen stones and name one after you! Go to our home page to find the links to donate.

For more information on the polissoir please also read our other blog entries.