More information : TQ 0545 7431 to TQ 0448 7782. Trial trenching was carried out in 1977, at this point the ditches were assumed to be part of a Roman Road. Excavations were carried out, between 1979-1985, in advance of gravel extraction, pipe laying and road construction. The excavations revealed flat bottomed 'U'-shaped profiles for the two parrellel ditches. The two ditches were approximately 20m apart, with each ditch being a maximum of 3.60m wide and 1.18m deep. The two ditches have very similar fill and neolthic pottery has been found in both the east and west ditches.
The ditches have been interpreted as a cursus the extent of which exceeds 3.60km. The cursus runs from Stanwell at its southern end to near the south ditch of Bigley Ditch at its northern end. For a third of the known extent of the cursus (TQ 0545 7431 to TQ 0516 7534) the alignment of the ditches appear to be remarkably straight with only a slight deviation to the west.
The initial excavations took place in a large field north of Park Road, Stanwell, further excavations took place in 1982 at Moor Lane, Harmondsworth (centred at TQ 0475 7735), which is 2.75km to the north west of the Park Road site. The ditches at the Moor Lane site vary slightly from Park Road with the Eastern ditch being 1.90m wide and 0.60m deep and the West ditch being 1.20m wide and 0.45m. The ditches are 20.80m apart with similar profiles and types of fill. (1-3)
Additional references. (4-5)
The area was mapped as part of a 1:10000 scale level 3 photogrammetric survey of an area of 12km sqaure situated on the western edge of Heathrow Airport. The survey was carried out on behalf of the Museum of London by the RCHME Aerial Survey between the 14th February and 6th April 1995. The survey identified a number of archaeological features including the fragmented remains of parallel ditches of the feature identified as the Stanwell cursus. This can be seen extending NNW-SSE for 3630m straddling several small brooks and rivers. Excavation has indicated that the feature could be a Neolithic Cursus, but on one set of oblique photographs taken in 1977 there is an indication of a compacted area between the two ditches for some length consistent with a feature such as a road.
Photogrammetric plans were prepared with the aid of the AERIAL 4.20 rectification software published by the University of Bradford. The resultant plan, report and digital files are held by the RCHME. (Collection UID: 1057209) (6)
Between 1996 and 2000 Framework Archaeology undertook extensive excavations at the Perry Oaks sludge works, Heathrow. Further work took place from 2002 onwards in advance of the Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.
These archaeological investigations revealed an important extensive prehistoric and Roman landscape which included the Stanwell Cursus (labelled as C1 in the publication).
Crop marks indicated that the monument ran for at least 3.6 km from the Colne valley in the N-W to Stanwell in the S-E. Exacvations from 1996-1999 confirmed that the Cursus consisted of two parallel ditches between 20.5 and 22 m apart and the spoil from which was used to construct a single central bank. The C1 cursus was built some time between 3600 and 3300 BC based on pottery and flint work finds from the fill. It is argued that the construction of the cursus took place as relatively short connected lengths, possibly each having been excavated by a different team or kin-group.
A second Cursus, or C2, was constructed and differed in form to the Stanwell monument. It was created from two parallel, widely spaced discontinuous ditches undated, but possibly Neolithic. The distance between the ditches of C2 was 80-90 m. The southern terminal of the C2 Cursus was formed by the Stanwell (C1) bank and ditches. The northern most C2 pit cut the C1 ditch, which may suggest C2 was constructed after C1, however it is possible that C2 predated the C1 monument and the pits are a later addition. The C2 cursus runs at least 430 m before a lagoon associated with the former sludge processing works completely destroyed the land surface. It was not identified as part of the excavations north of the lagoon and therefore it is probable it terminated in that area.
C3 cursus is considered to be the first of the 4 excavated monuments to be constructed. It was detected from aerial photographs and confirmed during excavation. C3 cursus did not have a straight alignment and had two roughly parallel ditches (approx. 19 m apart). The total length from the NNE terminal to the central bank of the C1 is approximately 205 m. Only 91 m was exposed of the NNE end as the remainder was probably destroyed during the extension of the southern runway in the late 1960s. The runway also destroyed the C5 cursus, the evidence for which only survives as a transcribed crop mark which ran approx. 230 m long and 19 m wide. The evidence suggests it was originally a separate entity, but was subsequently joined onto the C3 Cursus prior to the construction of the C1 monument.
C4 cursus, the majority of this monument was destroyed by the construction of a large sludge lagoon in 1980. It was orientated at right angles to C2 cursus. The surviving remains form the north-western terminus of a rectangular enclosure, approx 21 m wide and 19 m surviving length. It has been contended that the C4 monument is in fact a later addition to the terminus of C2 cursus. A precise date for C4 has not been ascertained although flints found from deposits post-dating the ditch collapse place it sometime during the 3rd millennium BC. (7a and b)
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