A Structural Perspective on Neolithic Monuments

The Neolithic period in Britain is distinctive. On one hand, it has left behind countless examples of megalithic activity—structures that are now recognised as major cultural landmarks. On the other hand, these societies had no writing system, and visual representations, common in other ancient cultures such as those of the Near East or Egypt, are extremely rare. As a result, despite the scale of archaeological work conducted over the years, knowledge about these societies remains limited.

Even in the case of the period’s most iconic monument—Stonehenge—its original appearance and purpose are still uncertain.

Some structures show evidence of deliberate engineering. From such features, it may be possible to infer their intended function. Yet structural or architectural analyses are almost entirely absent from the archaeological literature. This represents a missed opportunity to integrate engineering insights into interpretations grounded in archaeological research.

The website Solving Stonehenge has been created to address this gap. It aims to gradually present a construction-based perspective on some of the unresolved questions surrounding Neolithic monuments.