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Circle henge
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Stanton Harcourt is an ancient village 8 miles west of Oxford on the B4449. It got the 'Harcourt' part of it's name from a Norman family who settled here in the 15th century, I believe. The Harcourt family still live in the manor house.
'Stanton', of course means 'place of the stones' - as indeed it has - the magnificent rebuilt henge, the Devil's Quoits. But other rich archaeological finds in the river gravels have been made round the village and have been explored in C4s “Time Team” programme.
The quarrying of river gravels have revealed incredible finds of more than 900 bones and teeth of animals including mammoth, elephant, horse, bison, bear, lion and hyena, many in almost perfect condition.
There is evidence that climactic change 200,000 years ago forced the shift of the position of the River Thames, leaving rich fertile grasslands and big prey animals for early human settlers to exploit.
Excavations by various agencies during the past 15 years have revealed stone- and bronze-age tools. burials, beaker peoples settlements and more. Some seriously important finds were made during the excavation of Gravelly Guy.
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Posted by Jane
16th April 2003ce
Edited 11th November 2015ce
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