Missing piece of Stonehenge recovered after 61 years
Heather Sebire, English Heritages curator for Stonehenge, said: "The last thing we ever expected was to get a call from someone in America telling us they had a piece of Stonehenge.
(Web Desk) - A missing piece of one of the huge stones at Stonehenge which was removed 60 years ago has been returned, English Heritage has said.
The stone "core" was removed during archaeological excavations in 1958 and largely forgotten about.
Six decades on, it will join English Heritage’s collection of more than 500,000 artefacts and could help uncover the source of the stones according to the MSN.
The stone was removed during the raising of a fallen trilithon, which is the name for two upright stones and a third across the top.
Three 32mm holes were drilled into the metre-thick stone it as part of a plan to use metal rods to reinforce one of the vertical stones, which had cracked.
The three cores have since been lost - or so it was thought.
Basingstoke diamond-cutting business Van Moppes conducted the drilling and employee Robert Phillips kept one of the Stonehenge cores removed during the process.
Mr Phillips gave the artefact pride of place to in his office and took it with him when he left the firm and emigrated to America where it stayed with him.
It was only on the eve of his 90th birthday when he said he wanted it to return to England.
English Heritage, who look after the ancient stone circle, does not know if the other two Stonehenge cores survived and is urging anyone who has any information to get in touch.
Heather Sebire, English Heritage’s curator for Stonehenge, said: "The last thing we ever expected was to get a call from someone in America telling us they had a piece of Stonehenge.
"We are very grateful to the Phillips family for bringing this intriguing piece of Stonehenge back home.
"Studying the Stonehenge core’s ‘DNA’ could tell us more about where those enormous sarsen stones originated."
The returned core has been protected from the elements unlike the weathered stones and so could yield new information for researchers.
Lewis Phillips said: "Our father has always been interested in archaeology and he recognised the huge importance of the piece of the monument in his care. It was his wish that it be returned to Stonehenge."
