<< Our Photo Pages >> Marden Henge - Henge in England in Wiltshire

Submitted by Andy B on Thursday, 30 July 2015  Page Views: 36750

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Marden Henge Alternative Name: Hatfield Earthworks
Country: England County: Wiltshire Type: Henge
Nearest Town: Devizes  Nearest Village: Marden
Map Ref: SU09085820  Landranger Map Number: 173
Latitude: 51.322833N  Longitude: 1.871082W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

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Marden Henge
Marden Henge submitted by Jansold : View of excavations during summer 2015. Marden Henge is the biggest henge in England but because it did not have a stone circle associated with it, has tended to be overlooked. A huge mound, like a smaller version of Silbury Hill, named Hatfield Barrow, once existed within the henge, but it was levelled in the 19th C. Foundations have been excavated within the henge that could have been a N... (Vote or comment on this photo)
Marden Henge is the largest henge in Britain enclosing 14 hectares (Avebury encloses 11.5 and Durrington Walls encloses 12). It was dug by the Vale of Pewsey University of Reading field school in summer 2015.

Also known as Hatfield Earthworks, there is not much to see but bank and ditch. Plenty of atmosphere though.

Note: The 4000-year-old remains of a building unearthed at Marden Henge, also the skeleton of a Bronze Age teenager of the same approximate date at nearby Wilsford Henge. See the latest comments on our page
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Marden Henge
Marden Henge submitted by Bladup : Marden Henge lidar image (Vote or comment on this photo)

Marden Henge
Marden Henge submitted by johnstone : First information panel at the fence, we were not allowed to visit, the excavations had begun, June 29, 2010 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Marden Henge
Marden Henge submitted by johnstone : Second information panel, June 29, 2010 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Marden Henge
Marden Henge submitted by Thorgrim : Marden Henge at SU091584 is the largest henge in Britain enclosing 14 hectares (Avebury encloses 11.5 and DurringtonWalls encloses 12) Also known as Hatfield Earthworks, there is not much to see but bank and ditch. Plenty of atmosphere though. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Marden Henge
Marden Henge submitted by vicky : The surviving earthworks of Marden Henge in Wiltshire.

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 128m NW 322° Marden Timber Circle Timber Circle (SU090583)
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 6.2km N 349° Tan Hill Stone Circle* Modern Stone Circle etc (SU079643)
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 6.4km N 359° Tan Hill Cross Dyke* Misc. Earthwork (SU0900364643)
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Re: Marden Henge by drolaf on Sunday, 06 December 2020
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There's another short video by Jim Leary that is part of the free online course at futurelearn 'from dig to lab and beyond'

https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/archaeology/0/steps/15259
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Lost, But Not Forgotten: The Giant of Marden by Helen Winton & Edward Carpenter by Andy B on Friday, 20 July 2018
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LOST, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: THE GIANT OF MARDEN By Helen Winton & Edward Carpenter, with a note on the geophysical survey by Louise Martin
Marden village lies close to the source of the river Avon, on the southern edge of the Valeof Pewsey in the county of Wiltshire. The monuments at Marden include a large henge enclosure, within which is a saucer or disc barrow and the site of what Colt Hoare said was known “vulgarly as the Hatfield Barrow”. Silbury Hill and the Avebury complex of monuments lie about 12km to the north, and reaching them from Marden involves a journey up and over the chalk escarpment to the Kennet Valley. Arguably, the16km south from Marden – down the River Avon – to Durrington Walls and the associated monuments of the Stonehenge landscape would be the easier journey.

More:
Barber, M, H Winton, C Stoertz, E Carpenter, L Martin (2010) The Brood of Silbury? A remote look at some other sizeable Wessex mounds; in J Leary & D Field (eds) Round Mounds and Monumentality in the British Neolithic and Beyond, 153-173 (Oxbow Books: Oxford)
https://www.academia.edu/2653565/
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Marden Henge Dig 2017 by Andy B on Wednesday, 12 July 2017
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University of Reading Archaeology Field School write:

As the third week of our excavations at Marden Henge begins, newly-arrived students and volunteers have been introduced to the extended trenches at the inner henge, with potentially prehistoric levels recently exposed!

There has been a tide of optimism as there have already been significant finds, including pig bone, pottery and worked flint, with metres of the inner ditch fill still left to explore. Also on the agenda this season is finding the relationship this feature had to the rest of the henge, and determining the sort of activities that could have taken place here over 4000 years ago!

Stay tuned for future updates, and be sure to visit us on our third and final season.

https://twitter.com/uor_fieldschool

For more information, visit our website:
https://www.reading.ac.uk/archaeology/undergraduate-degrees/field-school-visit.aspx
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Video: The House As Old As Stonehenge by Andy B on Thursday, 30 July 2015
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Dr Jim Leary from the University of Reading has uncovered the remains of a building which is more than 4,000 years old. This incredible find was unearthed on the site of Marden Henge, Wiltshire. This is Britain's largest Henge, covering a huge area of 15 hectares of farmland, dwarfing the Avebury and Stonehenge circles. Jim and his team of archaeologists are determined to crack the mysteries that this ancient monument holds.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY2wvHt0WlM
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Re: Marden Henge and its new neighbouring henge by AngieLake on Thursday, 30 July 2015
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The 4,000-year-old skeleton of a Bronze Age teenager has been unearthed on the site of a prehistoric earthwork close to the site of Stonehenge.

The discovery was made during excavations of Wilsford henge, an ancient circular earthworks in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, just 15 miles from Stonehenge. The body was found in a foetal position and was wearing an amber necklace. The site in the Vale of Pewsey is thought to be part of Bronze Age burial complex.

Archaeologists have spent the past six weeks excavating the site and another nearby prehistoric monument Marden henge, which is the largest henge in the country.

Dr Jim Leary, an archaeologist at the University of Reading, described the skeleton as a 'wonderful discovery'.

He said: 'Finds from the first five weeks of the dig were exciting - but as so often during excavations the best is revealed last.

'Scientific analysis will provide information on the gender of the child, diet, pathologies and date of burial. It may also shed light on where this young individual had lived.'

Read more at the: Bath Chronicle
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    The Vale of Pewsey project by Andy B on Thursday, 30 July 2015
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    The University of Reading Archaeology Field School is digging in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire – the ancient land between the iconic prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury, in the UK.

    In 2008 English Heritage mapped a large section of the Vale of Pewsey using aerial photography. This provided almost continuous data for the area between Stonehenge and Avebury. It uncovered extensive and previously unknown archaeological landscapes. These new sites date from the prehistoric period through to the modern era.

    Unlike the two more famous landscapes of Stonehenge and Avebury, the Vale of Pewsey is not protected within a World Heritage Site and many of the monuments are not designated. This project will raise the profile and build on our understanding of the Vale of Pewsey by investigating this archaeologically rich, threatened, and under-researched landscape.

    The fieldwork will be directed by Jim Leary and Amanda Clarke in collaboration with Historic England (formerly English Heritage). It will trace the evolution of the vale from prehistory through to the development of medieval villages and post-medieval water meadows. The project will run from 2015 to 2017.

    Excavations will take place from Monday 15 June until Saturday 25 July 2015 and members of the public are welcome to visit the site or even to take part through the Field School programme.

    Marden henge is one of Britain's most important, but least understood, prehistoric monuments. Henge monuments, which feature a ring bank and ditch, are enigmatic features of late Neolithic Britain (around 2800 - 2000 BC). They were used for significant ceremonial or ritual activity.

    The sheer size of Marden Henge is astounding. It covers an area of 15.7 hectares, making it the largest Neolithic henge in Britain. It also contains two unusual features – a large conical mound known as the Hatfield Barrow (now levelled) and an inner henge.
    Hatfield Barrow

    This mound was once 15m high, and said to be the second largest in Wiltshire after Silbury Hill. It collapsed as a result of a shaft dug in 1806, and by 1818 it had been completely levelled.

    Another notable feature within the monument is an "inner" henge. Small-scale excavations in 2010 identified the remains of a well-preserved and internationally important Neolithic building. This highlighted the potential for significant remains to be found in this landscape.

    Bone needles, flint flakes and decorated "Grooved Ware" pottery were found close to the building. The remains of a very large feast and two delicately crafted flint arrowheads were also recovered nearby.

    Other Vale of Pewsey Sites

    The area around Marden henge has seen very little archaeological work, particularly compared to the famous sites of Avebury and Stonehenge to the north and south.

    We now know that there are many other monuments preserved in the Vale of Pewsey, particularly along the upper reaches of the River Avon.

    These include the Wilsford henge, a possible long barrow at Cat's Brain, a mortuary enclosure, barrow cemeteries, and later prehistoric enclosures.

    Later sites include Roman settlements and enclosures at Wilsford and Charlton, the latter of which has a villa, a deserted medieval village at Marden and extensive medieval ridge and furrow, as well as post-medieval water meadows.

    Many of these monuments and features will be investigated for the first time during this project.

    http://www.reading.ac.uk/field-school/About/afs-about-pewsey.aspx
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The Giants of Wessex: the chronology of the three largest mounds in Wiltshire, UK by bat400 on Wednesday, 06 November 2013
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Dating the Hatfield Barrow.

"The third mound, the Hatfield Barrow located within Marden henge in the Vale of Pewsey, is said to have been as much as 15m high, although it is now demolished. However, recent excavations within the henge enclosure have revealed that a thin remnant of the mound has survived and material suitable for dating was recovered from it (Leary & Field 2012)."


Thanks to neolithique02 for the link. For more see: /antiquity.ac.uk
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Talk on the Marden Henge Excavations, Wednesday 19 October by Andy B on Tuesday, 18 October 2011
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Marden Henge Excavations
Wednesday 19 October 2011

An evening lecture
Jim Leary of English Heritage will talk on the multi-disciplinary excavations at this Henge.

Science Lecture Theatre, Peter Symonds College, Bereweeke Road, Winchester, SO22 6RU
7:30pm till approx 9:15pm

HFC members £3.00. Non-HFC members £4.00.

01962 867 490
http://www.fieldclub.hants.org.uk
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Re: The heat was on at Marden Henge - report from talk on the 5th Feb by angieweekender on Saturday, 27 August 2011
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http://www.digitaldigging.co.uk/features/marden-henge/marden-henge-hatfield-enclosure-hatfield-barrow-archaeology.html

henry rothwells amazing overlay of Philip Crocker's map of Marden Henge (1810)onto a google earth ***** shot of Marden. Stunning piece of work from both Crocker and Rothwell!!!
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The heat was on at Marden Henge - report from talk on the 5th Feb by Andy B on Monday, 21 February 2011
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A building whose foundations were unearthed during an excavation at Marden Henge near Devizes last summer could have been a Neolithic sauna.

Archaeologist Jim Leary told his audience at Devizes town hall on Saturday that the chalk foundations contained a sunken hearth that would have given out intense heat.

“It brings to mind the sweat lodges found in North America,” he said. “It could have been used as part of a purification ceremony.”

Also found was a midden or rubbish heap with dozens of pig bones, some still attached, likely to be the remains of a huge feast that took place 5,000 years ago.

Mr Leary was supposed to give his talk at the museum, but such was the interest in his subject that it was transferred to the town hall. All 150 tickets were sold and people queued for returns.

Read more at This is Wiltshire
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/8845131.The_heat_was_on_at_Marden_Henge/
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Lecture - The Marvellous Marden Henge: Recent Work - Saturday 5th February 2011 by Andy B on Wednesday, 05 January 2011
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Saturday 5th February 2011 at Wiltshire Heritage Museum
LECTURE: The Marvellous Marden Henge: Recent Work

A lecture by Jim Leary about the excavations at Marden in 2010 and the discovery there of an extraordinarily well-preserved Neolithic building.

The summer of 2010 saw excavations at one of the largest Neolithic henge monuments in Britain: Marden. Located in the heart of the Vale of Pewsey between Stonehenge and Avebury it does not have any surviving stone settings, but its sheer size is astounding.

The excavation was the culmination of a two-year multi-disciplinary project and provided evidence for a now demolished mound – said to be the second largest in Wiltshire after Silbury Hill. More remarkable, however, was the discovery of an extraordinarily well-preserved Neolithic building – undoubtedly one of the best preserved in Britain outside Orkney.

This lecture will discuss the findings from the project, and explore some reasons of why it was constructed and what it could have been used for.

Jim Leary, FSA, an English Heritage archaeologist, was much involved with the excavations at Marden Henge and also those at Silbury Hill. He is co-author of a new book 'The Story of Silbury Hill'.

Saturday afternoon lectures start at 2.30pm and last approx. one hour.

http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/events/index.php?Action=2&thID=603&prev=1

with thanks to Coldrum
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    Re: Lecture - The Marvellous Marden Henge: Recent Work - Saturday 5th February 2011 by Anonymous on Friday, 04 March 2011
    hello - more about the Silbury Hill Conservation Project and 'The Story of Silbury Hill' by David Field and Jim Leary FSA can be found at:

    http://sites.google.com/site/anotherstoryfromsilburyhill/

    best wishes

    fachtna
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'Fantastic' dig ends at Marden Henge in Wiltshire by coldrum on Wednesday, 25 August 2010
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'Fantastic' dig ends at Marden Henge in Wiltshire

Excavation work has finally come to an end at prehistoric site, Marden Henge near Devizes.

It was the first investigation of the site since 1969.

Marden Henge no longer has any standing stones and is said to be one of Britain's least understood ancient sites.

The dig, which began six weeks ago, uncovered all manner of neolithic treasures including a 4,500-year-old dwelling as well as pottery, flint and bones.

Archaeologist Jim Leary from English Heritage said the findings were very significant.

"The level of preservation is just phenomenal," he said.

"We don't have a comparison in England. We could never have imagined we would come across this."

The level of preservation is just phenomenal. We don't have a comparison in England. We could never have imagined we would come across this
Jim Leary, English Heritage

The world's media has descended on the site throughout the duration of the excavation work.

Jim said: "It's fantastic and I think it really shows how people are engaged with their heritage and their land. It's really important at this time that archaeology can engage people and give something back.

"As archaeologists, we have to let people know what we've found. We're doing this for the public, we're telling them all about it, and that's why archaeology is so important."

Fellow English Heritage archaeologist, Paddy O'Hara said of the building they uncovered: "It's just unparalleled. I've never seen anything like it at all apart from Skara Brae in the Orkneys. The preservation of this building is just superb.

"I was here about a fortnight ago and I was, quite frankly, sort of sceptical. People were saying 'oh, maybe there's a building here', but I really wasn't convinced.

"Just walking up here now, the thought that I could have missed this would have been heartbreaking, as it's just a fantastic bit of archaeology.

"It's really, utterly fabulous."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/wiltshire/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8892000/8892445.stm
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Was Marden Henge the builder's yard for Stonehenge? by Andy B on Friday, 06 August 2010
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Stone tools, flakes and the remains of a final feast at the site in Wiltshire hint that the huge sarsens that now stand at Stonehenge were brought to Marden Henge first

Maev Kennedy writes about the recent dig in The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jul/28/marden-henge-builders-yard-stonehenge

View an interactive guide to the site
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/interactive/2010/jul/27/marden-henge-stonehenge
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Re: Marden Henge Reports by AngieLake on Tuesday, 03 August 2010
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A good link here with film of the excavation.
Dave Fellows, an archaeologist working on the site, gave BBC correspondent Robert Hall a guided tour:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10742462
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Re: Marden Henge Reports by AngieLake on Monday, 26 July 2010
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Alex Down's visit report on the henge excavations, posted up a few days later on Eternal Idol website:
http://www.eternalidol.com/?p=7482#comments
(That link will take you straight to his report, which is currently on page one of Dennis Price's website.)
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    Re: Marden Henge Reports by Anonymous on Monday, 26 July 2010
    there is much more info on the Marden excavations on the Avebury Forum with ongoing reports, video's and interviews.
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Re: Marden Henge by TheCaptain on Monday, 19 July 2010
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Marden Henge dig uncovers 4,500-year-old dwelling.

News update from the Marden Henge dig here

and lots of pictures here
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Re: Marden Henge by enjaytom on Thursday, 08 July 2010
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Greetings Everyone,
The most recent of Andy's newsletters related to an item of particular importance, the Marden site in Wiltshire.
I searched my files OS maps and records back some thirty years and found Oldbury Castle and the White Horse [3 miles east of Calne], the Marden site, Stonehenge, Old Sarum, Salisbury cathedral, Clearbury Ring, Castle Hill fort, Knaves Ash, Lugden Barrow and Highcliffe on the Channel coast all appear to be on an exact straight line.

From Stonehenge to Highcliffe on the clifftop, my carefully measured survey data derived from a strip series of six inch to the mile Ordnance Survey maps dated around the eighteen eighties. In my 'Stonehenge Sacred Symbolism' book [see Google] page 210 illustrates 22 megalithic miles [49.6 km] of the straight line trackway route from Stonehenge to Old Sarum to Clearbury Ring, Castle Hill Fort, Knaves Ash and Highcliffe on the coast.
The Stonehenge Aubrey Holes are dated 3100 BC, hence why was the position of Stonehenge chosen and for what reason? Is there is a firm BC date for Marden in the BAR records? Is Marden henge a northward extension of the straight line from Highcliffe to Stonehenge?

Is there any one or group who could confirm my preliminary deduction about the northern portion of the route from Stonehenge to Marden and the White Horse and Oldbury Castle? It will be of considerable significance to prove the entire 77 km route from Oldbury Castle to Marden and Stonehenge, then further on to coastal Highcliffe is a straight line?

Regards from Enjaytom, a resident of Melbourne, Australia, some distance from Marden!!!.
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    Re: Stonehenge by Kiwi on Friday, 23 July 2010
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    Thinking about the question "why was Stonehenge situated in that particular spot" I wonder if it really was a physical situation that facilitated healing of some sort. About ten years ago, I had an interesting experience there. Had arrived with a small tour party, very early on a misty morning. We were the first people there & I was the first to make a circuit of the stones. I cannot now remember exactly where I was in relation to particular stones but I do remember that I looked through the stones to a small building opposite, as I felt a warm buzzing sensation that moved up my left arm to the shoulder. It reminded me of physiotherapy recently taken for injured back muscles. Wondering what it was, imagination or perhaps a short in underground wiring, I wandered around the circuit again, this time closing my eyes until I felt that strange sensation again in my arm. Opening my eyes, I found I was in that same spot. Intrigued, I checked later and wonder if this occurred on the "ley line" said to run through Stonehenge. Have always kept an open mind about what happened thinking there is probably a perfectly rational explanation, but perhaps, just perhaps there is something in ideas that the ancients understood something about electromagnetic fields that we have forgotten.
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Re: Marden Henge by TheCaptain on Tuesday, 29 June 2010
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Keep up to date with the dig at Marden Henge with wiltshireheritage and Twitter
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Re: Marden Henge by TheCaptain on Saturday, 19 June 2010
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News of a new dig to be conducted at Marden Henge has been published in This is Wiltshire

"A site at Marden, near Devizes, rivalled Stonehenge and Avebury in its day, says English Heritage.

The group is about to undertake a six-week dig at the site close to the village, starting on June 28.

Unlike Stonehenge and Avebury, Marden Henge no longer has any surviving standing stones, but its sheer size is astounding.

Comprising a substantial and well-preserved bank with an internal ditch enclosing an area of some 10.5 hectares – equivalent to ten football pitches – it is one of the largest Neolithic henges in Britain.

Archaeologists are particularly intrigued by evidence of a huge mound at the centre of the henge similar to a smaller version of Silbury Hill.

The mound collapsed in 1806 and was levelled by 1817. English Heritage hopes to find out more about this feature by obtaining dating material from any surviving features within its centre.

Jim Leary, the English Heritage archaeologist who was involved in the recent restoration of Silbury Hill, said: “Marden Henge deserves to be understood more, partly because of its size, but also due to its proximity to the more famous stone circles at Avebury and Stonehenge.

“How Marden relates to them is another layer of interest which we want to study.

“We are potentially looking at a much more intricate system of Neolithic ritual sites in this part of the world than we previously thought.”

The Henge is on the road out of the village towards Beechingstoke, at Hatfield Farm, and is a popular picnic area.

Parish council chairman Peter Bell was pleased with the news. He said: “I hadn’t heard English Heritage were planning this, but I am delighted. It is an important local archaeological site and we don’t know nearly enough about it.”

The Henge is on the road out of the village towards Beechingstoke, at Hatfield Farm, and is on private land.

Sue Shepherd-Cross, who lives at Hatfield Farm, was delighted at the news. She said: “It is a remarkable place and it would be fascinating to find out more about it.”

The website Megalithic.co.uk describes Marden Henge, or Hatfield Earthworks, as the largest henge in Britain. It adds: “There is not much to see but bank and ditch. Plenty of atmosphere, though.”
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Street View by coldrum on Thursday, 18 March 2010
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View Larger Map
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Re: Marden Henge by Anonymous on Wednesday, 29 July 2009
This site listed as Hatfield Earthworks by English Heritage on their website
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