Overview
The Stonehenge landscape is one of the most famous prehistoric places in the world, but much about its origins remains a mystery and little attention has been paid to what preceded, and may have influenced, its later ritual character. The discovery of a uniquely long-lived Mesolithic site at Blick Mead, c. 2.5km from Stonehenge, is set to transform the situation. Blick Mead, the oldest occupation site in the Stonehenge area, was the likely place where the communities who built the first monuments at Stonehenge lived. The discoveries made there in recent years have contributed significantly to a new understanding of the initial settlement patterns and practices in the Stonehenge landscape. This talk will chart the story of the excavations.
Speaker
 field of research explores the use of the Stonehenge landscape in the Mesolithic and early Neolithic periods (8500BC-4000BC). Since 2005, he has been the Project Director of the Blick Mead archaeological site. In 2013 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of the Antiquaries (FSA) in recognition of the importance of the Blick Mead discoveries.
In 2010, he won an Open University Teaching Prize for his work and the ways he involved that with his students learning. His project at Stonehenge won Current Archaeology Magazine ‘Research Project of the Year 2018’. In 2023 he was awarded ‘Archaeologist of the Year’ by the same publication. The Blick Mead team’s work has featured in BBC and National Geographic documentaries, and has been extensively reported in the press.
In 1996-97 David was awarded a Fulbright Teaching Scholarship to Florida. In 1998-99 he studied Archaeology at Cambridge at Â鶹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çCollege. As a Fulbright alumnus, he has worked extensively to improve the education system of the Republic of Georgia, setting up and running a charity which stimulated an investment of $12 million into the Georgian education system between 2005-08. In 2011, he was chosen as one of two ‘Outstanding’ British Fulbright Teacher Program alumni of the past 60 years and invited to meet President Barack Obama during his State visit.
Details
This is a hybrid event, which will take place in-person in the Gatsby Room (Chancellor's Centre) and also on Zoom.
If you would like to attend online, please .
Refreshments will be available for the in-person audience.
The Humanities Society organises regular talks spanning a wide range of topics. Every Tuesday during term time.
Access
This event will take place in Gatsby Room on the first floor of the Chancellor's Centre. It has step-free access with a lift and there is an accessible toilet located each floor of the building.
For more details please view our .
