Everything about The West Kennet Long Barrow totally explained
The
West Kennet Long Barrow is a
Neolithic tomb or
barrow, situated on a prominent chalk ridge, near
Silbury Hill, one-and-a-half miles south of
Avebury in
Wiltshire. The site was recorded by
John Aubrey in the 17th century and by
William Stukeley in the 18th century.
Archaeologists classify it as a
chambered long barrow and one of the
Severn-Cotswold tombs. It has two pairs of opposing transept chambers and a single terminal chamber used for burial. The stone burial chambers are located at one end of one of the longest
barrows in Britain at 100 m: in total it's estimated that 15,700 manhours were expended in its construction. The entrance consists of a concave
forecourt with a facade made from large slabs of
sarsen stones which were placed to seal entry.
The construction of the West Kennet Long Barrow commenced about 3600 BC, which is some 400 years before the first stage of
Stonehenge, and it was in use until around 2500 BC. The mound has been damaged by indiscriminate digging, but archaeological excavations in
1859 and
1955-
56 found at least 46 burials, ranging from babies to elderly persons. The bones were disarticulated with some of the skulls and long bones missing. It has been suggested that the bones were removed periodically for display or transported elsewhere with the blocking facade being removed and replaced each time.
The latest excavations also revealed that the side chambers occur inside an exact
isosceles triangle, whose height is twice the length of its base.
Artefacts associated with the burials include Neolithic
Grooved ware similar to that found at nearby
Windmill Hill.
It is thought that this tomb was in use for as long as 1,000 years and at the end of this period the passage and chamber were filled to the roof by the
Beaker people with earth and stones, among which were found pieces of Grooved ware,
Peterborough ware and Beaker pottery, charcoal, bone tools, and beads.
Stuart Piggott, who excavated this mixture of secondary material, suggested that it had been collected from a nearby 'mortuary temple' showing that the site had been used for
ritual activity long after it was used for burial.
Michael Dames (see
References) put forward a composite theory of seasonal rituals, in an attempt to explain the Long Barrow and its associated sites (the
Avebury henge,
Silbury Hill,
The Sanctuary and
Windmill Hill).
A local legend tells how this tomb is visited on
Midsummer Day by a ghostly priest and a large white hound.
Location
The West Kennet Long Barrow is located at
Ordnance Survey mapping six-figure grid reference
SU 104677.
Gallery
Image:WKLB_Diagramm_db.jpg|Diagram of the tomb
Image:WKLB_Eingang_DB.jpg|Entrance to tomb
Image:WKLB_Schlusstein_DB.jpg|Final stone in front of entrance (more than 2m high)
Image:WKLB_Mittelgang_DB.jpg|Middle aisle
Image:WKLB_Nordkammer_DB.jpg|One of the north chambers
Image:WKLB_Suedkammer_DB.jpg|One of the south chambers
Image:WKLB West chamber.jpg|West chamber
Image:WKLB_Eingang_Detail_DB.jpg|detail of the entrance
Image:WKLB kleinerer Stein db.jpg|"Smaller" stone in the row of stones in front of entrance
Image:WKLB_Schlussstein_und_Eingang_DB.jpg|entrance to the tomb with final stone
Image:Blick_von_WKLB_auf_Silbury_Hill_db.jpg|View from WKLB to Silbury Hill
Image:Westkennet.jpg|View of the outside of West Kennet Long Barrow
Image:Westkennetinside.jpg|View of the inside of West Kennet Long Barrow
Further Information
Get more info on 'West Kennet Long Barrow'.
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