page_title: Y and Z Holes
hierarchical_section_title: Y and Z Holes
caption_attribution_description: English: Plan of the Y and Z holes at Stonehenge showing their relationship with the stone structure.
context_page_description: The Y and Z Holes are two rings of concentric circuits of 30 and 29 near identical pits cut around the outside of the Sarsen Circle at Stonehenge. The current view is that both circuits are contemporary. Radiocarbon dating of antlers deliberately placed in hole Y 30 provided a date of around 1600 BCE, a slightly earlier date was determined for material retrieved from Z 29. These dates make the Y and Z holes the last known structural activity at Stonehenge.
  The holes were discovered in 1923 by William Hawley, who, on removing the topsoil over a wide area noted them as clearly visible patches of ‘humus’ against the chalk substrate. Hawley named them the ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ because for a short time he had earlier labeled the recently discovered Aubrey Holes the ‘X’ holes. 18 of the Y Holes have been excavated and 16 of the Z Holes. Further evidence of the Y and Z Holes being late in the sequence of events at Stonehenge is demonstrated by the fact that hole Z 7 was found to cut into the backfill of the construction ramp for stone 7 of the Sarsen Circle.
context_section_description: The Y and Z Holes are two rings of concentric (though irregular) circuits of 30 and 29 near identical pits cut around the outside of the Sarsen Circle at Stonehenge. The current view is that both circuits are contemporary. Radiocarbon dating of antlers deliberately placed in hole Y 30 provided a date of around 1600 BCE, a slightly earlier date was determined for material retrieved from Z 29. These dates make the Y and Z holes  the last known structural activity at Stonehenge.
  The holes were discovered in 1923 by William Hawley, who, on removing the topsoil over a wide area noted them as clearly visible patches of ‘humus’ against the chalk substrate. Hawley named them the ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ because for a short time he had earlier labeled the recently discovered Aubrey Holes the ‘X’ holes. 18 of the Y Holes have been excavated and 16 of the Z Holes. Further evidence of the Y and Z Holes being late in the sequence of events at Stonehenge is demonstrated by the fact that hole Z 7 was found to cut into the backfill of the construction ramp for stone 7 of the Sarsen Circle.
caption: A plan of the Y and Z Hole circuits at Stonehenge in relation to the central stone structure
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