The Amesbury Archer is an early Bronze Age man whose grave was discovered during excavations at the site of a new housing development in Amesbury near Stonehenge. The grave was uncovered in May 2002, and the man is believed to date from about 2300 BC. He is nicknamed the "archer" because of the many arrowheads that were among the artefacts buried with him.^[1] Had he lived near the Stones, the calibrated radiocarbon dates for his grave and dating of Stonehenge suggest the sarsens and trilithons at Stonehenge may have been raised by the time he was born,^[2] although a new bluestone circle may have been raised at the same time as his birth.^[3]

The burial[link]

His grave had the greatest number of artifacts ever found in a British Bronze Age burial. Among those discovered were: Five funerary pots of the type associated with the "Beaker culture"; three tiny copper knives; 16 barbed flint arrowheads; a kit of flint-knapping and metalworking tools, including cushion stones that functioned as a kind of portable anvil and that suggests he was a coppersmith; and some boar's tusks. On his forearm was a black Stone wrist-guard. A similar red wrist-guard was by his knees. With the second wrist-guard was a shale belt ring and a pair of gold hair ornaments (the earliest gold objects ever found in England).^[4]

Research using oxygen isotope analysis in his tooth enamel suggests that the man may have originated from an alpine region of central Europe. An eroded hole in his jaw showed that in life he had suffered from an abscess, and his missing left kneecap suggests that he had an injury that left him with a painful lingering bone infection.

His skeleton is now on display at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum in Salisbury.

Second burial[link]

A younger male believed to be related (they shared a rare hereditary anomaly, namely that both had calcaneonavicular coalition (fusing) of the calcaneus and of the navicular tarsal (foot bones) was interred nearby. This man however appears to have been raised in a more local climate.^[5] The former was estimated to be about 40 at the time of his death, while the latter was in his early twenties. The graves were discovered only a short distance from the Boscombe Bowmen who were excavated the following year.

The importance of the burials[link]

The Archer was quickly dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the British press due to the proximity of the famous monument ^[6] and some have even claimed he may have been involved in its construction.^[7] However, this cannot be known for sure^[8] and more recently archaeologists have reconsidered the idea.^[3][9] His is just one high profile burial that dates from the time of the stones' erection,^[10] but given the lavish nature of the grave his mourners clearly considered him important enough to be buried near to (if not in the immediate area of) Stonehenge.^[11] Tim Darvill regards the skeleton as possibly that of a pilgrim to Stonehenge to draw on the 'healing properties' of the bluestones^[12]

However his grave is of particular importance because of its connections with Continental Europe and early copper smelting technology. He is believed to have been one of the earliest metalworkers in Britain and his discovery supports interpreters who claim that the diffusion of Beaker Culture pottery was the result of population movement, rather than just the widespread adoption of an artefact 'package'.^[7]

See also[link]

• Boscombe Bowmen
• Stonehenge Archer

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Parker Pearson, Mike; Cleal. R, Marshall P, Needham. S, Pollard. J, Richards. C, Ruggles. C, Sheridan. A, Thomas. J, Tilley. C, Welham. K, Chamberlain. A, Chenery. C, Evans. J, Knusel. C, Linford. N, Martin. L, Montgomery. J, Payne. A, Richards. M (08 2007). "The Age of Stonehenge". Antiquity 81 (313): 617–639. 
• Parker Pearson, Mike (2005). Bronze Age Britain. London: English Heritage. ISBN 0-7134-8849-2. 
• Richards, Julian (2007). Stonehenge, The Story so Far. Swindon: English Heritage. ISBN 978-1-905624-00-3. 
• Taylor, Tim (2006). Time Team: What Happened When. London: 4 Books. ISBN 1-905026-09-9. 
• Fitzpatrick, A.P. 2003. "The Amesbury Archer" in Current Archaeology 184, pp 146–152
• Stone, R. 2005. "Mystery Man of Stonehenge" in Smithsonian Magazine August 2005, pp 62–7.
• Miles, D. 2005. The Tribes of Britain, pp 78–82

External links[link]

• Wessex Archaeology: The Amesbury Archer
• Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum page on the archer
• 24 Hour Museum - Amesbury Archer was an Alpine Settler Say Experts
• BBC Radio 4 programme on the Amesbury Archer

Coordinates: 51°10′00″N 1°47′00″W / 51.1667°N 1.7833°W / 51.1667; -1.7833

Amesbury
Cottages in Amesbury
Amesbury  Amesbury shown within Wiltshire
Population	8,907 (2001)
OS grid reference	SU1541
Civil parish	Amesbury
Unitary authority	Wiltshire
Ceremonial county	Wiltshire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SALISBURY
Postcode district	SP4
Dialling code	01980
Police	Wiltshire
Fire	Wiltshire
Ambulance	Great Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Salisbury
List of places: UK • England • Wiltshire

Amesbury is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish, and for the discovery of the Amesbury Archer—dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the press—in 2002. It has a population of 8,907.^[1]

Eleanor of Provence, queen of England, died in Amesbury on 24/25 June 1291, and was buried in Amesbury Abbey.

Geography[link]

Amesbury is located in southern Wiltshire, eight miles north of Salisbury. It sits in the River Avon valley on the southern fringes of Salisbury Plain and has historically been considered an important river crossing area on the road from London to Warminster and Exeter. This has continued into the present with the building of the A303 across the Avon next to the town. Originally the town developed around the water meadows next to several bends in the river, but in time has spread onto the valley hillsides and absorbed part of the military airfield at Boscombe Down.^[2]

The nearest railway station is located at nearby Grateley, on the London to Salisbury line.

History[link]

Stonehenge

Ancient and medieval history[link]

The land around Amesbury has been settled since prehistoric times, evidenced by the monument of Stonehenge. Other finds in the parish point to large scale prehistoric structures and settlements in the whole area, including the numerous monuments around Stonehenge, the discovery of a Neolithic village in the neighbouring parish of Durrington by the Stonehenge Riverside Project, and continuing excavations at Boscombe Down where Wessex Archaeology found the Amesbury Archer and Boscombe Bowmen.^[3]

During the Iron Age a large hill fort now known as Vespasian's Camp was built alongside the Avenue and overlooking the River Avon. The fort could easily have catered for up to 1000 people, and was probably surrounded by smaller settlements and farming communities.^[4]

Roman remains are poorly documented at Amesbury, but excavations have revealed Roman structures in the Stonehenge Landscape, and Wessex Archaeology have discovered a large Roman graveyard in the area of the Amesbury Archer burial.^[5] It is likely that there was a large Anglo Roman settlement overlooking the River Avon at this point.^[6]

It has been suggested that the name of Amesbury is derived from Ambrosius Aurelianus, leader of Romano British resistance to Saxon invasions in the 5th century. If this is the case he is likely to have used the hill fort as a stronghold. It is possible that an order of monks established a monastery in the area that was destroyed by the Saxons before they settled the area in the 7th century.^[7] Amesbury is also associated with the Arthurian legend: the convent to which Guinevere retired was said to have been the one at Amesbury.^[8]

In 979 AD a Benedictine abbey, the Abbey of St Mary and St Melor, was founded on what may have been the site of a previous monastery by Dowager Queen Ælfthryth.^[9] In 1177 the abbey was dissolved by Henry II^[10] and replaced with a double priory of the Fontevrault order.^[11] Eleanor of Provence was buried in the abbey on 11 September 1291. At some point in time it seems likely that the church became the parish church, and it is possible that this is why it was spared destruction in 1540 when, as part of the reformation, the priory and all other associated buildings were destroyed. Amesbury became an estate and was given to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford by the crown.^[12]

On John Speed's map of Wiltshire (1611), the town's name is spelt both Amesbury (for the hundred) and Ambersbury (for the town itself).

Modern history[link]

The Seymour family held Amesbury estate until 1675 and had several grand homes built, including Kent and Diana houses, and a new mansion in 1660. The estate subsequently passed to the Bruce family, and then to Lord Carleton, who bequeathed it to his nephew Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry. It remained in the Queensberry family until 1824. It is believed that at some point in the early 19th century, William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry planted the Nile Clumps to commemorate Admiral Nelson and had the hill fort landscaped as part of the grounds around the mansion. In 1824 the Antrobus family acquired the estate and it remained in their hands until 1915 when, after the last heir was killed in France, Lord Antrobus sold the grounds–-including Stonehenge-–to private bidders. The mansion remained in their hands until 1979.^[13]

Recent history[link]

The Greyhound Inn at Amesbury

With the establishment of the military Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down in 1939, Amesbury began to expand. As it sits on the A303 commuter belt, Amesbury has seen substantial developments on the land between the old town centre and Boscombe Down. Several new housing estates have been completed, and the most recent one – Archers Gate – has taken its name from the discovery of the Amesbury Archer. At the Boscombe Down junction of the A303 a new mixed business development known as Solstice Park has been built and plans have been submitted for a Regional Distribution Centre for a major retailer.^[14]

Economy[link]

Avient Aviation has its United Kingdom offices in the Minton Distribution Park in Amesbury.^[15][16]

Education[link]

Amesbury has 4 main schools:

• The Stonehenge School, a specialist maths and Computing comprehensive school
• Amesbury Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School^[17]
• Christ the King RC Primary School^[18]
• Amesbury Archer Primary School^[19]

Sport and leisure[link]

Amesbury has a Non-League football club Amesbury Town F.C., which plays at Bonnymead Park.

Amesbury in popular culture[link]

Although Stonehenge falls within the parish of Amesbury, the town does not directly benefit from the monument's fame.^[20] However Amesbury has appeared in the public eye on its own merits in the past.

In 2002, the discovery of the richest Bronze Age burial site yet found in Britain was made at Amesbury. The remains of two men of apparently aristocratic rank were accompanied by over 100 objects including arrowheads, copper knives and the earliest worked gold in the country. The occupant of the more richly furnished grave has become known as the "Amesbury Archer".^[3]

The town is linked to the Arthurian legend as it is popularly believed that Guinevere retired to the original convent at Amesbury after leaving Arthur. Legend holds that she is buried in the grounds of the former Abbey.^[21]

In 1965 The Beatles stayed at the Antrobus Arms Hotel during the filming of Help! on Salisbury Plain. The Antrobus Arms and the former Plaza Cinema were both used as locations for the filming of a BBC Miss Marple mystery.^[22]

See also[link]

Wiltshire portal

• Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites
• William Carpenter (Rhode Island) – An Amesbury resident who settled in America in the 1630s.

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Chandler, John and Goodhugh, Peter (1989) Amesbury: history and description of a south Wiltshire town. Amesbury Society ISBN 0-9506643-2-4
• Crowley, D. A.; Pugh and Stevenson (2003) A History of Amesbury, Bulford and Durrington. ISBN 0-86080-444-5
• "Wiltshire County Council Community History"
• Crowley, D. A. (ed.) (1995) A History of Wiltshire; vol. 15: Amesbury Hundred; Branch and Dole Hundred. Oxford: Oxford University Press

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amesbury

• Amesbury Town Council
• Amesbury at the Open Directory Project
• Amesbury in the Domesday Book