2026-10-14T10:20:09Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33895480 2026-09-29T14:41:27Z portal_1197 item_type_8 month_year_09_2026

SedaDNA analysis of Durrington Walls : a new class of Neolithic monument Teri Hansford (25027108) DNA, Fossil Sediments (Geology) -- Analysis Durrington (Wiltshire, England) Neolithic period -- Great Britain Megalithic monuments -- England -- Wiltshire Paleoecology Migrated from ePrints Durrington Walls is a Neolithic superhenge monument located 3km Northeast of Stonehenge. The surrounding landscape has been the subject of numerous surveys, revealing a series of large magnetic anomalies surrounding the monument. These anomalies were revealed to be pits, forming a partial ring around the Durrington monument that measures over 2km in diameter. This thesis utilises sedimentary ancient DNA analysis of cores taken from these pits in order to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of Durrington Walls. We also explore the effects of terrestrial taphonomy on terrestrial sediments, using novel analyses, an area of sedaDNA research that is thus far poorly understood. We find that the area surrounding Durrington Walls was likely an open meadow landscape, with pastoral agricultural uses. Damage signatures obtained reveal a generally stratified pattern of damage, with ancient signals concentrated to the lower strata of these pits. We detected a large presence of mammal species within the lower strata that were found to be overwhelmingly sheep and cow DNA. Interestingly, we see minimal deer and pig presence within these pits. We find the deposition of these animals is unlikely to be random, with sheep concentrated to the south of the monument, and cows dispersed to the north and south. This project presents a detailed insight into the taphonomic processes effecting terrestrial sediments revealing a general pattern of stratification in these cores, and no evidence of post-depositional DNA leaching. Further taphonomic analyses revealed that most of the sedaDNA present is associated with the influxing sediments, the driving factor of which is the amount of clay present in the sediment. Combined with other proxies, our analysis provides a detailed insight into the Neolithic paleoenvironment of Durrington Walls. 2026-09-29T14:41:27Z Text Thesis 10.82444/warw.33895480 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/SedaDNA_analysis_of_Durrington_Walls_a_new_class_of_Neolithic_monument/33895480 CC BY 4.0