Prehistoric people brought animals to Stonehenge from as far afield as north-east Scotland, more than 500 miles away, to feed the engineers who built the monument and to take part in lavish midwinter feasts, an exhibition has claimed.
Examination of animal teeth and bones found close to the great stone circle in Wiltshire suggests cows and pigs were herded hundreds of miles along ancient byways and may even have been brought by boat to southern England.
The findings could mean that in 2500BC Stonehenge was known across Britain – from west Wales to the uplands of north England and the Scottish coast – as a place of pilgrimage and celebration.
Teams from UCL and the universities of York, Cardiff and Sheffield have been working on a decade-long project being showcased in an exhibition called Feast! Food at Stonehenge, which opens on Friday at the site’s visitor centre.
Visual highlights include the skull of an aurochs, the now-extinct wild cattle with huge curved horns that used to roam Britain, and a bronze cauldron dating from 700BC found at the bottom of a lake in south Wales.
But the most intriguing revelations stem from the examination of some of the 38,000 bones and teeth (90% of them pig; 10% cattle) discovered at the site of a neolithic village called Durrington Walls, which lies about a mile and a half north-east of the main stone ring.
Durrington Walls was only settled for between 50 and 100 years but it is believed to have housed the temple’s builders and the first visitors after the iconic sarsen stones were put in place.
Scientists have been examining elements including strontium in the pig teeth found at Durrington Walls. Because isotopes of strontium differ chemically according to the geology of the place where the young animal fed, it is possible to discover where individual creatures came from.
A map at the exhibition suggests that animals whose remains were found at Durrington Walls had almost certainly been herded or transported from across the British mainland.
An English Heritage historian, Susan Greaney, says the theory is that people were arriving with their animals to help build the monument and take part in feasts during the construction and afterwards.
“This research shows people were raising cattle and pigs all around Britain and bringing them to Stonehenge. That means people were probably aware of Stonehenge all around the country,” she said.
“It’s incredible to think how big the catchment of Stonehenge was. The ones who came from north-east Scotland probably arrived by boat. Perhaps each community had to bring their own pig.”
The age of the pigs when they were killed can be deduced by looking at how worn down the teeth are. “They were mostly being killed when they were nine months old,” Greaney said.
“Normally they were born in spring so it makes sense to suggest they were being killed in midwinter. The midwinter solstice is enshrined in the layout of Stonehenge, so perhaps people were coming for solstice celebrations. That would also make sense because it is a time of year when they would have been less busy raising animals and so on.”
Some of the pig teeth were found to have decayed, suggesting the animals were fattened with honey or cereal mash. Their feet and lower legs had scorch marks, probably a sign they were roasted over open fires. Beef had been cut into chunks and may have been cooked in stews.
The fact that many bones were found “in articulation” – still connected to other bones in their anatomically correct positions – suggests these prehistoric consumers were not intent on squeezing every bit of nourishment from the meat but discarding the food carelessly.
“They weren’t living hand to mouth. This was gluttonous excess,” Greaney said. The findings suggest that as well as being brilliant architects, these ancient people also realised how important it was to keep the troops well-fed and content.
“Raising the ancient stones was an incredible feat but so too was feeding the army of builders,” she added.
Feast! Food at Stonehenge opens on 20 October until September 2018. Admission is included in the Stonehenge ticket price.
