Avebury

The Wiltshire village of Avebury is setting for one of Europe's largest Neolithic monuments. The 5,000 year old stone circle is slighly older than Stonehenge and comprises a large ditch and external bank henge 421 metres (1,381 ft) in diameter and 1.35 kilometres (0.84 mi) in circumference. This is four times the diameter of Stonehenge. Within this is the Outer Circle with a diameter of 335 metres (1,099 ft). This originally comprised 98 sarsen standing stones, some of which weighed over 40 tonnes. They vary in height from 3.6 to 4.2 metres.

Closer to the centre of the monument are two separate stone circles. The Northern inner ring measures 98 metres (322 ft) in diameter, though only two of its standing stones remain, plus two fallen ones. A cove of three stones stood in the middle, its entrance pointing northeast. The Southern inner ring was 108 metres (354 ft) in diameter but has now largely disappeared, with much of its arc lying beneath the village buildings.

Finally there is an avenue of paired stones, the West Kennet Avenue, leading from the south eastern entrance of the henge and traces of a second, the Beckhampton Avenue lead out from the western one.

This monument is run by the National Trust and is a World Heritage Site.































© Christopher Seddon 2009

West Kennet Long Barrow

West Kennet Long Barrow is part of the Avebury complex of Neolithic monuments and is located on a chalk ridge 1 ½ miles south of the village (map reference SU105677).

It comprises a trapezoidal mound, 330ft (100m) long, which has a core of sarsen boulders topped out with chalk rubble from two ditches running parallel to the mound. At the eastern end of the mound are two facing pairs of burial chambers opening off from a central passage, which is terminated by a fifth chamber. At the entrance there is a 65ft (20m) semi-circular forecourt with a facade of large sarsen stones. Probably this area was used for ceremonies.

The monument was constructed around 3650 BC and is one of the largest barrows in Britain. It has been estimated that 15,700 man-hours went into its construction. Excavations carried out in 1859 and 1955-56 revealed the burials of 46 individuals of various ages. The barrow remained in use for around 1000 years, after which it was sealed up with massive flat sarcens being placed to block the entrance. The burial chambers were filled with chalk rubble.









Reference:

Pryor, F (2003): Britain BC, HarperCollinsPublishers, London.

© Christopher Seddon 2009

Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill is a conical, flat-topped Neolithic mound located a short distance from Beckhampton, Wilts (map reference SU100685). It is the largest man-made prehistoric mound in Europe and is 130ft (40m) high and 550ft (167m) in diameter, covering 5 acres (2.2 hectares).

Located in a region rich with Neolithic monuments, it is believed to be 4750 years old. Its purpose is unknown.

It is composed principally of chalk excavated locally. Some 8.75 million cubic feet (248,000 cubic metres) of material went into its construction. It has been calculated that it took 18 million man-hours to construct; the equivalent of 500 men working for 15 years. This suggests social complexity had evolved beyond the tribal level as only a powerful ruling elite could have mustered the resources for such a project.

© Christopher Seddon 2009

Wayland's Smithy

Wayland’s Smithy is a Neolithic burial chamber located near the village of Ashbury, Oxfordshire (map reference SU281854). It lies in a plantation of trees on the Ridgeway, not far from the Uffington White Horse and Uffington Castle.

It is named for Wayland (aka Weland, Volund or Volundr), the Saxon god of metalworking, who features in Old English and Norse mythology. Legend has it that a horse requiring a shoe may be left unattended at the site for a short while with a silver coin for payment. On return, the horse will be shod and the coin gone.

The monument does of course predate Saxon times. It was constructed in two phases: a timber chambered oval barrow built around 3700 BC and a trapezoidal stone chambered long barrow built around 3400 BC. The site is thus of particular interest as it illustrates the transition from timber chambered barrows to stone chamber barrows.

The remains of 14 bodies from the first period of construction were located during excavations in the 1960s. Previously, in 1919, the remains of seven adults and one child from the second phase were discovered.















© Christopher Seddon 2009