Bluestonehenge
Bluestonehenge digital reconstruction – oval configuration
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 Map showing Bluestonehenge's location
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| Alternate name | West Amesbury Henge |
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| Location | Wiltshire, England |
| Coordinates | 51°10′17″N 1°47′53″W / 51.1714°N 1.7980°WCoordinates: 51°10′17″N 1°47′53″W / 51.1714°N 1.7980°W |
"Bluestonehenge" or "Bluehenge" (also known as "West Amesbury Henge") is a prehistoric henge and stone circle monument that was discovered by the Stonehenge Riverside Project about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. All that currently remains of the site is the ditch of the henge and a series of stone settings, none of which is visible above ground.
The site was excavated in August 2008 and again in August 2009 and is considered to be an important find by archaeologists. Full details of the discovery were published in the 2010 January / February edition of British Archaeology.
Mike Parker Pearson and his team of researchers played a key role in the discovery of a new henge site along the River Avon that links to Stonehenge. This new site was uncovered through excavation during the Stonehenge Riverside Project and was given the name “Bluestonehenge” or “Bluehenge” because traces of bluestones were found during the excavation. The term “henge” is often incorrectly thought to mean a circular structure of stone. In fact, henge refers to an enclosed structure made of compressed earth containing a ditch on the inside of the bank, giving the perception of keeping something inside the enclosure, rather than keeping out others. This would imply that Stonehenge is actually improperly named, as its ditch is located on the outside of the bank which means that it is not really a henge by the original definition.
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