Thornborough Archaeology Group

The Thornborough Archaeology Group has an active research interest in the monuments, settlements, and landscapes of the Ure-Swale Catchment during the Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age. The following themes are especially of concern to us:

• Mesolithic-Neolithic transition
• Funerary practices and burial monuments of the Neolithic and Bronze Age
• Chronology, after-use, and biography of henges
• Symbolism, meaning, and the role of henges and their related monuments
• Chronology, use, and role of standing stones, stone rows, and pit alignments
• Archeoastronomy and Neolithic monumentality
• Implementing landscape clearance and monument building
• Use of gypsum in creating special places
• Settlement and landuse during the Mesolithic and Neolithic
• Utilization of lithics during the Mesolithic and Neolithic
• Agricultural practices, field systems, and settlement during the Bronze Age
• Exchange, inter-regional connectivity, and pathways
• Identity, regionality, and territory
• Natural places and the landscape setting of monuments
• Impact of ploughing and erosion of prehistoric monuments

We believe that the remarkable archaeology of the Ure-Swale Catchment can make an important contribution to our knowledge and understanding of each of these themes, and to our broader picture of the Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age.