Stonehenge Riverside Project

Author: Mike Parker Pearson (with Joshua Pollard, Colin Richards, et al.)
Year: 2006–ongoing
Source type: Peer-reviewed journal articles + monograph

Core Argument

Stonehenge was a site of periodic ritual gathering and ceremony, not a permanent settlement. The monument complex served as venue for large gatherings of people at solstice times, integrating distant communities. Data: faunal remains, pottery distributions, timber circles at Durrington Walls show ceremonial occupation patterns.

Relationship to Kelly's Work

Kelly's reading does NOT contradict Parker Pearson. Kelly reframes: ritual performance is the knowledge transmission mechanism. Gatherings documented by Parker Pearson were occasions when knowledge was performed and verified ceremonially. The sites were memory theatres; the ceremonies were knowledge rehearsals.

Key Evidence

• Ash from cremations and feasting at Stonehenge complex
• Durrington Walls ceremonial timber circles aligned with solstices
• Movement of people across landscape in seasonal patterns
• Artifact distribution showing multi-seasonal use