Aubrey Holes - Theories About The Holes

Theories About The Holes

Many interpretations prefer an astronomical explanation for the purpose of the holes although this is by no means proved. It was thought that when the Aubrey holes were first dug, the only standing feature at Stonehenge was the Heelstone, which marked the point of the midsummer sunrise, viewed from the centre of the henge. The Heel Stone is now attributed to Stonehenge 3 and was therefore not contemporary with the holes.

It has been suggested that the Aubrey holes were originally intended to be postholes containing timbers or stones but this is uncertain. Analogous timber circles at sites such as Woodhenge have influenced this interpretation; the positioning of the Aubrey Hole circle relative to the earth bank and ditch at Stonehenge is reproduced at similar sites with rings of timber postholes. That the holes appear to have been filled soon after excavation and then possibly redug does not exclude the possibility that they held timber posts which were replaced intermittently. No evidence of postpipes has been recovered with the holes although modern archaeological excavation techniques have not been applied to the pits. If the putative timbers were purposefully removed when they fell out of use, then even this evidence would be difficult to spot however. The lack of full documentation from the early Stonehenge digs in the twentieth century and the disturbance caused by the insertion of the later cremations during Stonehenge 2 have also added to the uncertainty over the function of the holes.

In a survey of twentieth-century excavations at Stonehenge, English Heritage's Stonehenge in its landscape, archaeologist Karen Walker collated and studied the surviving records from all the earlier work on the holes and concluded that "Although the evidence is inconclusive, and will no doubt be the subject of continued debate, the authors are inclined to support the view that the Aubrey Holes held posts, which were removed, rather than burnt in situ or left to decay."

In August 2008, further excavation of Aubrey Hole 7 by Mike Parker-Pearson, Mike Pitts and Julian Richards led the archaeologists to suggest that the 56 holes held Welsh bluestones. Professor Parker-Pearson said: "It's very exciting that we have evidence for stones right from its beginnings around 3000 BC. That's almost 500 years earlier than anyone had thought."