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Inscribed Across the Landscape: The Cursus Monuments of Great Britain

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<< Other Photo Pages >> West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures - Ancient Village or Settlement in England in Wiltshire

Submitted by Andy B on Saturday, 23 November 2024  Page Views: 9301

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures Alternative Name: West Kennet Palisade Enclosures
Country: England County: Wiltshire Type: Ancient Village or Settlement

Map Ref: SU110682
Latitude: 51.412715N  Longitude: 1.843223W
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
 1 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 no data 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.
 no data 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
 4

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West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures
West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures submitted by Dodomad : Corestones / cobbles excavated from near West Kennet showing the weathered surfaces. Cut surfaces show the unweathered granodiorite to be medium-grained, grey coloured and non-porphyritic More in a new paper by Rob Ixer, Richard Bevins, Nick Pearce et al in Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol 118 (2025) which Rob has kindly uploaded to his page here (free login required)... (Vote or comment on this photo)
Although there are slight hints in earlier air photographs and archaeological explorations, it is only in recent years that the foundations of two great circular ditch enclosures have been confirmed, located on either side of the River Kennet close to West Kennet Farm on the A4, and less than a kilometre north-east of West Kennet Long Barrow

“Palisade Enclosure 1” has been confirmed as having two concentric ditches enclosing an approximately circular area over 200m across. Test trenches have revealed that these ditches held oak posts forming a dense timber palisade. They rotted in situ, and may have been burned. Animal deposits had been placed at the bases of some of the posts. An intriguing feature of this enclosure is that the River Kennet cuts right through its centre – it was built over the river.

Only part of one ditch of Palisade Enclosure 2 has so far been located, but this, too, contained timber posts. Within the circuit of the ditch, however, there were two smaller concentric circular ditches belonging to a former timber building 40m in diameter. Air photos and magnetometer surveys show some straight crop markings associated with the second palisaded enclosure: these seem to have been linear palisades. One connects to another circular marking (‘Structure 4’) over 200m away.

An intriguing solar phenomenon involving Silbury Hill can be observed from the Palisades (see “Visual Investigations”).

Source: Landscape Perception

These enclosures were built in the flat lower area between West Kennet long barrow, Overton Hill and Waden Hill. The erection consisted of two major enclosures of oak posts up to around 5m high with smaller enclosures within and several outer radial alignments, the longest of which had a further enclosure at its far end. Six radiocarbon dates are available for the West Kennet palisade enclosures giving a range of 2860-1890 BC. Despite this large range, it is probable that the enclosures stood for only a limited time, perhaps little more than 100 years, as no maintenance work is apparent and the oak posts may have been deliberately burnt before they could rot. Whittle (1997) suggests that the enclosures may have been linked with the building of Silbury Hill.

Source: Digital Avebury: New 'Avenues' of Research - Simon R. Davies, Internet Archaeology Issue 27 (2009)

Earlier date for ancient wooden structures in West Kennet, see the comment on our page

Note: 77 lumps of weathered granodiorite (~granite) were found in the remains of a large timber structure and in Bronze Age graves near West Kennet, Avebury. Samples of these rocks have now been confirmed by the usual amazing 'rock detectives' of Ixer, Bevins et al as originating from around Cunyan Crags or Threestoneburn stone circle close to the Cheviot Hills in NE England. Examination indicates they were collected from a single highly weathered outcrop rather than random (very rare) glacial sources. Then taken south for ~450km - twice as far as the bluestones’ journey to Stonehenge? (but not as far as the Altar stone ) These are "especially unusual and distinctive" rocks and do appear to have been selected and intentionally placed in the structures at West Kennet. Were 77 chunks (22kg) of rough and not very impressive old rock - see pics - and these are the good ones - carried all this distance for a purpose? It seems almost incomprehensible to modern eyes what this may have been. Rest assured the archaeologists are not baffled but the rest of us might be. What was going on? Everyone is intrigued. More to follow. Follow the comments on this page and the rather lovely Threestoneburn circle is here
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West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures
West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures submitted by dodomad : A lump of grus in the top of a Neolithic posthole in West Kennet Structure 5 (scale 50cm) (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures
West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures submitted by dodomad : The revised dating for the construction of the West Kennet palisade enclosures places them in an entirely different contemporary context and has demanded a new explanation for the large assemblages of Late Neolithic material recovered from the site Image Credit : Historic England (Vote or comment on this photo)

West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures
West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures submitted by dodomad : Aerial view of the site where two massive wooden palisades once stood of the landscape. Arcaheological excavations have revealed that around 3300 B.C., anicent people built huge wooden enclosures, then burnt them down to the ground, near what is now Avebury, England Photo Credit: Historic England (Vote or comment on this photo)

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SU1168 : Still waters by Stephen Craven
by Stephen Craven
©2022(licence)
SU1068 : The River at West Kennett by Des Blenkinsopp
by Des Blenkinsopp
©2014(licence)
SU1068 : Gunsite Road by Oscar Taylor
by Oscar Taylor
©2025(licence)
SU1068 : Farmer Mark's Pumpkin Patch sign by Oscar Taylor
by Oscar Taylor
©2025(licence)
SU1068 : Gunsite Road by Deepwater
by Deepwater
©2026(licence)

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"West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures" | Login/Create an Account | 14 News and Comments
  
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New paper about the Exotic granodiorite (~granite) lithics from West Kennet by Andy B on Saturday, 23 November 2024
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Exotic granodiorite lithics from Structure 5 at West Kennet, Avebury World Heritage Site, Wiltshire, UK by Rob Ixer, Richard Bevins, Nick Pearce et al, Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol 118 (2025)

[This is referring to the bits of granite 'grus' (now referred to as corestones or cobbles) that were found in a Beaker period grave (but these probably earlier) and reported as potentially transported from the Cheviot Hills in NE England / SE Scotland. The paper confirms the location and adds clarity and locational accuracy. The description gets technical but the introduction explains the background and the conclusions are intruguing - MegP Ed]

"It is difficult to know or guess the purpose of the corestones, but their spatial distribution at West Kennet suggests there was one; hence their selection was intentional. The Cheviot granodiorite is a totally alien rock type to Wessex, in terms of any natural occurrence (either as outcrop or as glacial erratics); similarly, it is unique in terms of prehistoric artefacts, as there are no known Cheviot granodiorite standing stones or axe-heads in Wessex (or indeed elsewhere)."

Seventy-seven pieces of very weathered pyroxene-bearing granodiorite corestone excavated from trenches 2, 3 and 9 within Structure 5 of West Kennet in 2019 and 2021 and varying from small pebbles to >500grms cobbles, have a total weight of 22kg. Detailed petrographical and geochemical analyses of typical samples show them to share an unusual (for Britain) and distinctive mineralogy and petrography and also suggest they are all from a single outcrop/subcrop.

The essentially unaltered pyroxene-bearing granodiorite carries ‘large’ skeletal zircon crystals, which are a determinative characteristic.
Petrological comparisons with similar British granodiorites show that its origin is to be found within the large, 60km2 and lithologically highly diverse Cheviot Igneous Complex of Northumberland, more than 450km from West Kennet.

Three Cheviot samples were selected for comparative analysis, one chosen for its petrographic similarity to the corestones, as suggested by previous workers, a second, close to the first and also to significant Neolithic activity at Threestoneburn Stone Circle [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=998], and finally a third based on petrography and notable topography, namely Cunyan Crags.

Only the last sample shares a sufficient number of similarities that there warrants further investigation in that area. The corestones are highly exotic with regard to their find spot and although it is difficult to conceive of any practical use for them, West Kennet provides yet another possible example of Late Neolithic long distance prehistoric transport, a distance of between 450km if taken from outcrop and 150km if collected from secondary glacial drift sources, although North Sea coastal glacial tills as a source for the stones appears unlikely and from East Anglia very unlikely. The original Cheviot Hill location remains unidentified but is being actively sought.

Download from: http://www.academia.edu/125773662/West_Kennet_Granodiorites (free login required)
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    Re: Exotic granodiorite lithics from Structure 5 at West Kennet by Andy B on Saturday, 23 November 2024
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    The above report is referring to the bits of granite 'grus' that was found - some more background:

    Granodiorite and sarsen
    One objective of the 2021 work was to investigate the extent of the spread of imported granodiorite, to establish whether the rock derived from a single manuport or several transported pieces, and ascertaining whether granodiorite was utilised in stone settings at the site. An additional 12.5kg of the rock was recovered in 2021, bringing the total to over 22kg. The majority of pieces came from the larger post-holes, notably F.3002 (with over 9.4kg), but there were also several fragments from grave F.908.
    There are no instances of granodiorite occurring in primary contexts in the post-holes: all the fragments derive from the upper parts of the post-pipes, re-cuts in the post-pipes or later features such as the grave. It seems likely the rock arrived on site either when the timber structure was in an advanced state of decay, or after it had decayed.

    It is now evident that the rock arrived as smaller, rounded and weathered pieces (so-called grus) – not a monolith – most likely collected from glacial tills along the North Sea coast (Rob Ixer pers. comm.). The implication is of a combination of glacial and human transport, the latter still involving considerable distances (perhaps 250-300km as the crow flies). The rock’s wide distribution across Trench 9 (and a single piece was recovered from Trench 2 in 2019) strongly suggests we have not captured the entirety of its distribution, and that greater quantities of the rock may be spread across the unexcavated portion of the monument. It is striking that no pieces of grus have been found outside Structure 5: its presence is particular to this monument.

    The find recalls that of twenty ‘small, mostly rounded pieces’ of Niedermendig Lava, identified by H.H. Thomas, from the lower half of post-hole C27 at the nearby Sanctuary (Cunnington 1931). The post-pipe being present, the excavator was adamant that there had been no disturbance, making a convincing case for the rock’s transport and deposition within that monument during the Late Neolithic

    So says Josh Pollard et al!
    Read more from the Interim Report here (thanks Tim)
    www.sarsen.org/2022/02/west-kennet-palisades-avebury-interim.html
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Exotic granodiorite lithics from Structure 5 at West Kennet by Andy B on Saturday, 23 November 2024
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      Even arch sceptic Brian John is intrigued (but sceptical of course): Brian writes: "This is indeed a puzzle. I think the idea of a rotten granite boulder being deposited in till on the Yorks or Lincs coast (and being collected from there) is vanishingly unlikely. Granite is OK to be transported by ice when it is very fresh -- and it survives very well. Rotten granite just gets crushed and destroyed. I think this granite was emplaced by ice at this location [which would require a total rewrite of glaciation patterns for England - MegP Ed] when it was fresh, and over millions of years has simply rotted away, bit by bit, since then.
      But certainly very intriguing!!"
      [ Reply to This ]
        Re: Exotic granodiorite lithics from Structure 5 at West Kennet by Anonymous on Tuesday, 26 November 2024
        Yes I agree that rotten Cheviot granodiorite (sl) in the North Sea Tills is unlikely. The one pic of a Cheviot granite (sic) from those tills in the literature looks quite unweathered.

        You do not mean millions of years?? unless you are going to invoke Kellaway''s Pliocene glaciation. ''Tis but a short hop from there but to enter tractor beam country.

        I too first thought in situ weathering but, but the grus/ real fine grained grus is enclosed within pedogenic carbonate coatings. so perhaps suggesting weathering before entering the chalklands.

        It is a great puzzle,

        Rob Ixer
        [ Reply to This ]

Between a rock and a soft place: a Beaker-period double burial by Andy B on Saturday, 01 October 2022
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Between a rock and a soft place: a Beaker-period double burial at the West Kennet Palisade Enclosures, Avebury

Set in the valley of the River Kennet c.2 km to the south of Avebury henge, in the shadow of Silbury Hill, the West Kennet palisade enclosures form a significant component of the monumental record of the Avebury World Heritage Site. The palisades comprise two large timber enclosures, themselves containing further timber structures, and external radial palisade lines that link with further circular enclosures to the south and south-east (Structures 4 and 5). Excavations by Alasdair Whittle between 1987–92 showed remarkable constructional uniformity, and evidence of feasting associated with the use of Grooved Ware pottery.

Programmes of radiocarbon dating have returned both Middle Neolithic dates (on charcoal) and Latest Neolithic dates (on bone and antler). Our current reading of these is that the construction and use of the palisades most likely dates to the second half of the 3rd millennium cal BC, a horizon that overlaps with the earliest Beaker presence in this landscape.

During 2021, more human remains came to light in a small oval grave cut into the top of a neighbouring post-hole. Initially, the human bones were encountered as crushed
cranial and postcranial elements of an adult male underlying a substantial, modified sarsen stone.

More in PAST from the Prehistoric Society (last article in the issue)
https://www.prehistoricsociety.org/sites/prehistoricsociety.org/files/publications/past/PAST%20101%20for%20web.pdf

https://www.prehistoricsociety.org/publications/past/101

[ Reply to This ]

Re: West Kennet Palisaded Enclosures by TimDaw on Wednesday, 16 February 2022
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The interim report on the latest excavations is available at : https://www.sarsen.org/2022/02/west-kennet-palisades-avebury-interim.html
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Re: Have stones at Palisades near Avebury come from Northumberland? by AngieLake on Wednesday, 16 February 2022
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This article in Daily Mail online today may be controversial. Another story of stones having travelled long distances to their current position, by human or glacial intervention.....
Article here:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10518877/Scientists-believe-Neolithic-Britons-carried-stones-280-miles-build-Wiltshire-enclosures.html

"The LONGER haul: Scientists believe Neolithic Britons carried 50lb stones 280 miles to build enclosures near Avebury Henge... 100 miles FURTHER than rocks used to create Stonehenge
Researchers discovered that stones originated from Northumberland
They were found in West Kennet, near Avebury henge in Wiltshire
Stones may have been carried 280 miles, almost double the distance covered by Pembrokeshire bluestones that formed Stonehenge 5,000 years ago"

"Researchers have discovered that the stones used in the construction of 'palisade enclosures' near Avebury henge, around 20 miles from Stonehenge, originated around 280 miles away.


In...

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    Stones In Avebury World Heritage From North of England by Andy B on Wednesday, 16 February 2022
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    Thanks Angie. I know about this, Rob Ixer sent me a press release under embargo, but OK to post now. It seems sound.
    STONES IN AVEBURY WORLD HERITAGE FROM NORTH OF ENGLAND

    · Lumps of granite at West Kennet, Avebury could have been carried south for twice as far as bluestones’ journey to Stonehenge
    · Weathered granite known as grus found in remains of large timber structure and in grave, dating from time of Stonehenge
    · Purpose of stones not known
    · Research continues to identify exact source

    It's long been known that some of the Stonehenge megaliths, known as bluestones, came from Wales, 150 miles away in a straight line (250 km). Archaeologists have now found stones in the Avebury World Heritage Site that could have come from as much as twice that distance (300 miles/450 km) – not from the west, but the north.

    The stones consist of over 70 pieces of decayed granite, known as grus and in total weighing around 50 lbs (22 kg) – about the same as...

    Read the rest of this post...
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      Re: Stones In Avebury World Heritage From North of England by mountainman on Wednesday, 16 February 2022
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      Interesting finds, especially relating to the grus or rotten granite debris found on the site. I don't think that anybody seriously thinks that this "rubbish debris" would have been collected on Cheviot and carted all the way back (450 kms) to West Kennet on the grounds that it was somehow sacred or valuable. It's just one of many "inconvenient" glacial erratic boulders that are scattered about the countryside. I think it has possibly been there for millions of years, quietly rotting away. Glacial limits are constantly under review -- and I guess that we have to revise this one as well, and accept that ice from the north impinged at some stage upon the chalklands of Middle England! That's the least unlikely scenario I can think of........
      [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Have stones at Palisades near Avebury come from Northumberland? by Andy B on Wednesday, 16 February 2022
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    Dr Sue Greaney writes:
    The news being shared today that lumps of granodiorite, originally from the Cheviots of Northumberland, have been found at the West Kennet palisaded enclosures near Avebury, is pretty darn extraordinary and yet more evidence for long-distance connections in the late Neolithic.

    The lumps were found in pits and postholes at Structure 5, a large timber structure connected by radial ditches (with posts) to the main palisades. I like to think this is a concentric timber monument but we don't really understand it yet, they were certainly huge posts.

    This granodiorite might have been moved by glacial action to the North Sea coasts of eastern England, before being picked up by people and schlepped to Avebury, but that's still a really long way to carry it!

    I recommend watching the Wiltshire Museum lecture by excavator Josh Pollard which talks about this, and also features the wonderful Alison Sheridan - available now
    https://wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/?event=on...

    Read the rest of this post...
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Have stones at Palisades near Avebury come from Northumberland? by mountainman on Wednesday, 16 February 2022
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      Sue -- this is quite fun, and indeed a puzzle. I think the idea of a rotten granite boulder being deposited in till on the Yorks or Lincs coast (and being collected from there) is vanishingly unlikely. Granite is OK to be transported by ice when it is very fresh -- and it survives very well. Rotten granite just gets crushed and destroyed. I think this granite was emplaced by ice at this location when it was fresh, and over millions of years has simply rotted away, bit by bit, since then.

      But certainly very intriguing!!
      [ Reply to This ]

Late Neolithic Palisade Enclosures at West Kennet: Report on the Aerial Photographs by Andy B on Wednesday, 25 November 2020
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Barber, M. (2003). Late Neolithic Palisade Enclosures at West Kennet: Report on the Aerial Photographic Transcription and Analysis. Swindon: English Heritage Research Department.

Aerial photographs taken in 2000 revealed previously unrecognised cropmark features associated with the Late Neolithic palisaded enclosures at West Kennet, Wiltshire. The site was first recognised in 1987 and subject to research excavations by Alasdair Whittle of Cardiff University between 1987 and 1992. Those excavations were published in Whittle (1997), the site plan being based largely on RCHME transcription of the known cropmarks (RCHME 1992).

The major new discoveries in 2000 were a pit or timber circle, a formally defined entrance and passage into one of the enclosures, and a straight length of probable palisade ditch connecting one of the enclosures to a newly-recognised enclosure 220 metres to the southeast. The new features were transcribed and described in October and November 2002 as a...

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The West Kennet palisade enclosures by Andy B on Friday, 30 June 2017
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Parker Pearson and Ramilisonina start their journey at the timber (land of the living) West Kennet palisade enclosures: a feasting place where people could have gathered and prepared themselves through ritual for entry into the land of the dead. From inside enclosure 2, assuming that the posts extend to around 6m above ground, the only external monument that can be seen is Silbury Hill, the top of which is visible from the south-east end of the enclosure.

If the palisade enclosures represent the place of the living, as the absence of views over any of the surrounding long barrows or places of the ancestors seems to suggest, then the view to Silbury Hill might suggest that it was regarded as a symbol of the living: this idea will be further discussed below. However, one might also argue that the enclosure's shape and orientation are due to its proximity to the Kennet river.

More at http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue27/3/3.2.html
part of Digital Avebury: New 'Avenues' of...

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Earlier date for ancient wooden structures in West Kennet, Wiltshire by Andy B on Friday, 30 June 2017
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Historic England’s Scientific Dating team have been running a project on the dating of the Late Neolithic palisaded enclosures around West Kennet in Wiltshire.

Arcaheological excavations have revealed that around 3300 B.C., anicent people built huge wooden enclosures, then burnt them down to the ground, near what is now Avebury, England

By looking at the original excavation archive and by obtaining new radiocarbon dates from material including fragments of the palisade timbers hidden away in a British Museum store, the enclosures are now dated to the decades around 3300 cal BC, some 800 years earlier than previously suggested.

The enclosures might represent a new monument type – the round cursus.

The revised dating for the construction of the West Kennet palisade enclosures places them in an entirely different contemporary context and has demanded a new explanation for the large assemblages of Late Neolithic material recovered from the site.

Earlier date for ancient...

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