The Land of Sarsen Stones

Sarsen stones are sedimentary rocks mostly made up of quartz sand cemented by silica. The stones are found mostly across England, being Wiltshire the county with the largest amount of these stones. It's believed that they were moved to the area through glacial action during the ice age, around 5 to 10 million years ago. Sarsen stones were used in the construction of ancient monument such as Stonehenge and Avebury Stone Circles. But they can also be found scattered naturally across fields. In this post we list 5 places with large amounts of sarsen stones that can be visited in the county of Wiltshire.

PIGGLEDENE

Piggledene is probably the most famous site of its kind, containing a large amount of sarsen stones scattered across a field. This site is a remnant of a much larger landscape of sandstone periglacial deposits. Many of the stones have been removed in the past to provide building materials in the area. It's possible to see where the stones were worked, split and cut. It's believed that this is one of the sites from which the stones at Avebury were obtained.


LOCKERIDGE DENE

Lockeridge Dene is another site with a fair amount of sarsen stones scattered across two fields close to each other. This site is not very far from Piggledene.


VALLEY OF STONES

The Valley of Stones at Fyfield Down has definitely the best assemblage of sarsen stones in England. The stones are scattered in a field not very far from the Devil's Den dolmen.


OVERTON DOWN

Overton Down is an area on Overton Hill with a fair amount of sarsen stones. Evidence suggests that the stones covering much of the area have been actively quarried from the medieval period until World War II. Some extraction pits are still visible across the northern ridge.


WEST WOODS

West Woods is a former ancient woodland site that once contained a large amount of sarsen stones. Most of these stones have been broken up and removed. The remaining stones are scattered across the woodland but most of them are not impressive in size. It's believed that the sarsen stones used in the construction of Stonehenge could have come from this area.


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