Outline of the main differences between the 1st edition of the English Heritage Stonehenge guidebook (2005, reprinted 2007) and the 2nd Edition (2011) Summary This document tries to highlight the main changes that have been made since the first edition to bring the guidebook up to date with the current state of knowledge and understanding about Stonehenge. Mostly these relate to the excavations and discoveries by the Stonehenge Riverside Project (Parker Pearson et al) at Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Durrington Walls, the Cursus, the Avenue and West Amesbury and those by the S.P.A.C.E.S. Project (Darvill and Wainwright) within the stone circle. There are changes of emphasis to reflect a different interpretation of the evidence from that previously published. The key changes relate to: i) The possibility that the Aubrey Holes originally held stone pillars rather than timber posts. ii) Redating of other monuments in the landscape (e.g. Cursus from 3000 to 3500 BC and the Avenue construction to being at the same time as or just after the erection of the larger sarsens instead of well afterwards in the "final phase"). iii) Revision of dates relating to Stonehenge's construction phases (e.g. narrowing of the range of dates for the erection of the sarsens to about 2500 BC). iv) The possibility of stone rearrangement and active use in the Roman period. v) The possibility that Stonehenge's location was chosen as a result of the coincidental alignment with the solstice axis of natural landscape features (periglacial stripes underlying the Avenue) coupled with the occurrence of a natural sarsen (the Heel Stone) at the end of that alignment. vi) The monument's use as a cremation cemetery as well as a possible healing centre and the near certainty that it was used as a temple to the Sun. vii) The de-emphasis of a "timber phase" pre-dating the arrival of any stones. viii) The possibility that bluestones remained on site throughout and that the bluestone Q&R settings may have been contemporary with the erection of the sarsens. Alterations to picture captions are also noted, but not the rearrangement of existing or the inclusion of new imagery except where the content of an illustration has been altered. Page-by-page details of notable revisions to the content p3: Reference to "a circle of upright timber posts" has been removed. Date of 'about 2400BC' has been added to the caption for the Amesbury Archer's gold hair ornaments. p4: Reference to Aubrey Hole timber posts has been removed. Emphasis changed to suggest Aubrey Holes may have held stone pillars instead. Remaining text adjusted to discuss when stones were first erected in the centre. p5: Changed "each of which" to "many of which" in discussion of the small holes under the grass around / within the monument, and whether they held upright timber posts. Aubrey Holes now stated to have held either upright timbers or small stones. Re-worded to clarify that the "pale concrete spots in the grass" indicate the Aubrey Holes which have been excavated. p6: Changed "constructed in 3000 to 2920 BC" to "constructed between 3000 and 2920 BC" for the dating of the first phase. Changed "several hundred years earlier" to "several hundred years older" when discussing the age of animal bones found in the bottom of the ditch. Date of the early sarsen stone settings changed from "between 2600 and 2200 BC" to "about 2500 BC". Date of the final bluestone settings changed from "2200 to 2000 BC" to "2300 to 2000 BC". Changed "between 3000 and 2920 BC" to "shortly after 3000 BC" in discussion of the construction date for the first Stonehenge. Added "smaller" to the description of the southern entrance to distinguish it from the larger northeastern one. Reference to red deer antler "rakes" has been added. Reference to shovels made of cattle shoulder blades has been removed. Emphasis changed to highlight that the older cattle bones themselves must have been very special to have been carefully placed in the ditch terminals. p7: Changed "One possibility" to "One strong possibility" for the Aubrey Holes to have been contemporary with the early enclosure. Emphasis significantly changed to remove the implication that the Aubrey Holes held upright timbers and that they were used for cremation burial only after the posts had rotted or been removed. New emphasis is that it is uncertain whether they held timber posts or stone pillars and that these settings were used for cremation burials throughout their existence. Reference to Dorchester-on-Thames cemetery has been removed. Reference to the 2008 excavation of reburied cremation remains placed in an Aubrey Hole in 1935, and the results of the analysis of them, has been added ("about 60 individuals, almost entirely young male adults"). p9: Cross-reference to Dorchester-on-Thames (p7) has been removed. Location of Preseli Hills has been changed from "west Wales" to just "Wales". Caption to the first map has been changed from "Map showing a likely route" to "Map showing one possible route" from the Preseli Hills to Stonehenge. p10: Discussion of the bluestones "original setting" of "an incomplete circle of paired stones", the dismantling of it prior to the inner sarsen structure's construction and the later reintroduction of the bluestones, has all been removed. This has been replaced by a paragraph noting that the sarsen structures do not appear to have been moved once erected whereas the bluestones have been rearranged more than once. It notes that the stone settings were built between about 2500 and 2000 BC. In the discussion of the gaps between sarsen uprights, mention is made of the slightly wider gap that exists between the uprights that directly face the northeastern entrance. The error "while only five of the lintels are still in place" hasn't been corrected (there are six lintels in place in the sarsen circle). p11: Changed "ring of stone suspended high above the ground" to "ring of stone suspended high and perfectly level above the ground". Removed "resembled a giant doorway" from and changed "huge uprights" to "closely spaced huge uprights" in the trilithon description. Reference has been added to the carvings of daggers and axes on some uprights, these decorations being made over 700 years after the trilithons were raised. Changed "prominent mortise" to "prominent tenon" in the first picture caption. p12: Changed "2000 BC" to "1800 BC" in second picture caption dating the carvings of daggers. The phrase "without the benefit of the wheel" has been removed from the discussion of how the stones were shaped. Changed "Several" to "Many" as being the number of sarsen mauls found. Reference is now made to the discovery of the main sarsen working area "just to the north of the enclosure, on the opposite side of the modern road". Discussion of the dating of the carvings has been changed from "earlier part of the Bronze Age, some time in about 2000 BC" to "later in the Bronze Age, about 1800 BC". p16: Added "just outside the main entrance to the earthwork enclosure" to the location description of the Heel Stone. Reference made to the possibility that the Heel Stone may not have been transported from the Marlborough Downs but may have been found close to where it now stands. Changed "The Avenue was constructed at the same time as the great stone structures were completed, some time shortly after 2300 BC" to "The Avenue was probably constructed at the same time, or just after the great stone structures were completed just before 2500 BC". p17: Added mention of the natural "visible stripes" that are Ice Age landscape features in the chalk parallel to the Avenue along the straight section leading up to the monument. Changed emphasis in discussing the solstice axis from "this cannot be a coincidence" to "this alignment is deliberate". p19: Extensive rewording of the section "Why was Stonehenge built?". Emphasis has shifted away from a description of the society and the requirement for co- operation between large groups of people in the early stages along with mention of the later development of metalworking and the rise of material wealth. The discussion of the importance of winter being the important turning point of the year has been retained, but now two additional potential reasons for its construction are also outlined. These are: its use as a cremation cemetery from the earliest monument coupled with the idea that the stones represent long dead ancestors compared to timber circles which represented the houses of the living; and, a possible belief in the healing powers of bluestones as a reason for going to the effort of transporting them from Preseli. Reference to the near certainty of Stonehenge having been built as a temple to the sun and the changing seasons has been replaced by its likening to the prehistoric equivalent of a great cathedral such as Salisbury - a place of worship, healing, and the burial of important people. The point has been retained that archaeology cannot ever answer the question of what form the special ceremonies during the year may have taken. p20: West Amesbury Henge has been added to the Landscape Tour map and key. Minor rewording of the text to create the space to say that "more recently, a major campaign of excavations across the landscape has revealed far more about how the landscape developed at the time Stonehenge was being built." p22: Causewayed enclosures' dating of "between 4000 and 3500 BC" has been changed to "in about 3600 BC", and the subsequent phase "but they were in use until about 3000 BC" has been changed to "but some may have remained in use for several centuries".