| Summary : West Kennet Long Barrow is a Neolithic chambered burial mound situated just below the crest of a north east facing slope overlooking Silbury Hill. Recent radiocarbon studies have dated it to the 37th century cal BC and it was in use for at least a thousand years. The mound is trapezoidal in plan and measures about 104 metres in length, 25 metres at the widest point and 3.2 metres at the highest point. The forecourt is situated at the eastern end of the mound. Beyond this is the entrance into the mound, which leads to a 12 metre central passage with five small sub-circular chambers opening off it; a pair to each side and an end chamber. The chambers vary in size from 2 to 4 metres across with a maximum height of 2.5 metres. The long barrow was excavated in 1859 by J. Thurnam and in 1955-6 by S. Piggott, which included re-erection of many of the stones. The chambers of the long barrow were constructed of large sarsen boulders with drystone walling and contained the remains of at least 46 individuals including both inhumations and cremations. Many of the burials were incomplete - some bones were missing, while others had been grouped together in particular parts of the barrow. For example long bones and a quantity of vertebrae had been placed by the rear wall of the north west chamber. Pottery from the excavations included Windmill Hill type, Peterborough, Grooved Ware and Beaker sherds. The mound consisted of a core of sarsen boulders capped with chalk rubble cleared from flanking quarry ditches. These ditches, about 100 metres long and 5 metres wide, are now infilled but remain visible as earthworks. Final 'blocking' of the burial mound took the form of chalk rubble and other debris (including pottery, animal bone, flint implements and other objects) which was used to infill the passage and chambers. The forecourt at the eastern end was blocked with sarsen boulders and a 'false entrance' of twin sarsen uprights constructed. |
More information : (SU 10466774) West Kennet Long Barrow (NR) (1)
Avebury 22 (see attached pamphlet). (2-3)
As described. The 104.0 metre long 3.2 metre high mound which shows much damage from previous excavations is now well preserved. There are no traces of the side ditches.
Resurveyed at 1:2500.
The accepted name of the tumulus is West Kennet Long Barrow.
(a) (4)
A stone chambered long barrow aligned roughly W-E. Excavated in 1859 (5-6) and 1955-6 (6). Internal features consist of a central passage with a pair of lateral chambers on each side and a single end (ie west) chamber. These were all constructed of large sarsen boulders with drystone walling. The chambers and passage were roofed with large sarsen capstones. The mound consisted of a core of sarsen
boulders capped with chalk rubble cleared from flanking quarry ditches. The chambers contained the remains of a minimum of 46 individuals and included both inhumations and cremations. Most burials were incomplete - some bones were missing, while others had been grouped together in particular parts of the barrow, eg long bones and a quantity of vertebrae had been placed by the rear wall of the NW chamber. Pottery from the 1955-6 excavations is described
as featuring Windmill Hill and similar wares in primary contexts, with later material including Peterborough, Grooved Ware and Beaker sherds from later deposits. The pottery from Thurnham's excavations in 1859 was published by Cunnington (7). Some of this material found its way to the Royal Society of South Wales, Swansea, Museum (ref no. A.907.1) (8). The majority of finds from Piggott's excavations are in Devizes Museum. (6)
Final 'blocking' of the tomb took the form of chalk rubble and other debris (including pottery, animal bone, flint implements and other objects) which was used to infill the passage and chambers. The forecourt at the eastern end was blocked with sarsen boulders and a 'False entrance' of twin sarsen uprights constructed. Finally, three massive sarsen blocking stones were erected, across the front (eastern end) of the tomb. Piggot (6) suggests final closure occurred during the early 2nd millennium bc, with the tomb having been in use for up to 1000 years. The 1955-6 excavations ended with
re-erection of most fallen stones.
Radiocarbon dates obtained from human bone from the tomb range from 4825 +/- 90 bp to 4700 +/- 90 bp. These dates are discussed by Piggott and Atkinson (9) in terms of their context and implications for the length of time between construction and blocking. (5-9)
Additional references, mostly general discussion concerning Neolithic funerary monuments. (10-16)
An RCHME 1:2500 scale, level 3 air photographic interpretation project (Event UID 936869) was carried out on this monument in January 1992. The feature remains an extant earthwork and no changes were made to the record. The archive created by this project (Collection UID 936807) is held by RCHME. (17)
West Kennet long barrow was surveyed by staff of the RCHME Salisbury Office at the request of English Heritage in order to complement a geophysical survey. The monument is 100m in length, trapezoidal in shape, and orientated E-W, the broader E end containing the burial chambers. The mound is accompanied by a pair of side ditches, now almost obliterated by ploughing. The RCHME survey suggests that the long barrow is of at least two constructional phases since there is a noticeable bulge halfway along the longitudinal axis. This is also accompanied by a subtle change in the direction of the mound.
The complex sarsen and chalk structure at the eastern end consists of five sub-circular burial chambers opening onto an internal axial passageway. The mouth of the tomb is lined to the north and south by a semicircular facade of sarsen and limestone walling. (18)
The phasing and function of the West kennet long barrow have been reconsidered and reinterpreted by Thomas and Whittle. (19)
West Kennet long barrow is a Neolithic chambered burial mound situated just below the crest of a north east facing slope with views towards Silbury Hill about one kilometre to the north west. The mound is trapezoidal in plan and measures about 104 metres in length, 25 metres at the widest point and 3.2 metres at the highest point. The forecourt is situated at the eastern end of the mound. Beyond this is the entrance into the mound, which leads to a 12 metre central passage with five chambers. The chambers vary in size from 2 to 4 metres across with a maximum height of 2.5 metres. (21)
It is believed to have been built in around 3400 BC and used for at least a thousand years. (22)
A magnetometer survey was carried out on land around West Kennet long barrow. The survey identified the barrow ditches, some possible pits in dispersed groups to the east of the mound, and a large anomaly c. 45m to the south. However, the relationship of these features to the barrow remains uncertain. (23)
31 radiocarbon results from the West Kennet long barrow are presented within an interpretive Bayesian statistical framework in this report. Two alternative archaeological interpretations of the sequence have been provided, each with their own Bayesian model.
The authors' preferred interpretation describes the barrow as a unitary construction with a later series of human remains deposits in the chambers. Primary deposition in the chambers is followed by additional secondary deposition of some human remains and layers of earth and chalk. The latest identifiable finds from these layers are sherds of Beaker pottery. The Bayesian model for this sequence dates the construction of the long barrow (from the primary mortuary deposits) to 3670-3635 cal. BC, probably in the middle decades of the thirty-seventh century cal. BC. The last interments of this initial phase of use of the chambers probably occurred in 3640-3610 cal. BC. This suggests that the primary mortuary activity probably continued for only ten to thirty years. There was a break for more than a century and then the chambers were infilled from 3620-3240 cal. BC and continued into the second half of the third millennium cal. BC.
The alternative interpretation, takes into consideration that not all the deceased, dated from the primary mortuary deposits, were buried in the barrow in a fleshed or partially articulated condition - i.e. they could have died before the barrow was built. The Bayesian model for this interpretation, dates the barrow to either the thirty-seventh century cal. BC or the mid-thirty-sixth century cal. BC. This model is however unstable.
The source also contains a discussion of these results within the setting of the local region. (24)
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