West Kennet Long Barrow

West Kennet Long Barrow
Neolithic tomb, Wiltshire. Theme - Archaeology Other themes: England West Kennet Long Barrow AR31, AR65, AR66

West Kennet Long Barrow, restored in the 1950s, is one of the largest long barrows in England. One of the many prehistoric burial sites in the Avebury Henge area it is about 100 m long and dates from about 3400 BC (some sources say 3200 BC and 3600 BC - certainly well before I was born, whatever my friends may think).

It may have been in use for as long as 1000 years. The vast majority of the mound is simply that - a mound of chalk, with burials being restricted to the small but conspicuous megalithic area at the east end. Here there is a chamber about 10 m long, with four smaller side chambers. The monument had been subjected to many depradations in subsequent years, but was more carefully excavated in 1955-6, when forty-six burials were found. The burials ranged from children to elderly men, one of whom had an arrow in his throat.

West Kennet Long Barrow overlooks Silbury Hill, the largest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe.

West Kennet Long Barrow is maintained by English Heritage, and admission to the site is free.

Suggested reading: "Prehistoric England" by Richard Cavendish, 1983, Orion Publishing Group, ISBN 1 85605 169 2

For a Scottish example of a (fairly) long barrow with a similar facade see Cairnholy Chambered Cairns I and II