In 1982, Robin Holgate published a paper in "Archaeologia Cantiana" in which he reassessed the stones in the context of contemporary thought as to megalithic archaeology in Britain. He noted that sample excavation at each site would be necessary in order to develop a "chronological and structural framework" for the tradition. From October 1998 to March 1999, the company Oxford Archaeological Unit excavated the site around the White Horse Stone at the behest of Union Railways (South) (URS) in advance of the construction of the nearby Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The excavations were directed by Richard Brown.