Stonehenge Riverside Project

Led by Professor Mike Parker Pearson, the Stonehenge Riverside Project brought together academics from around the globe in a large field archaeology research study, funded by a four-year grant (2006-2010) from the AHRC and a Small Research Grant (2004-2005) from The British Academy.

The Stonehenge Riverside project aimed to unravel the prehistoric development of the Stonehenge landscape and resulted in a better understanding of the development of the prehistoric monumental complex and its relationship to developing residential and subsistence practices. The work program consisted of targeted archaeological excavations of the major monuments, including Durrington Walls, Woodhenge, Cursus, and the environs around Stonehenge and its Avenue, based on extensive geophysical surveys and supported by a wider landscape study region.

The Digimap data was a fundamental part of the project's Geographic Information System (ESRI ArcGIS). It was a vital pre-excavation planning tool and provided a framework to display archaeological information. The Digital Terrain Models derived from Ordnance Survey PROFILE and PANORAMA datasets support the landscape study's phenomenological research. Without access to EDINA Digimap Data, considering the project's remit and size, commercial sources would have cost in the region of £100,000.

Datasets obtained via Digimap included:

• Pearson, M.P., Pollard, J., Richards, C., Thomas, J., Tilley, C. and Welham, K., 2008. The Stonehenge riverside project: exploring the Neolithic landscape of Stonehenge. Documenta Praehistorica, 35, pp.153-166.

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