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(Continued from previous page)
Although by no means perfectly straight, major changes in the monuments alignment relate to points where it crosses the lees of hills (Bradley, 1986). At these points the proposed course would not have been visible for any great distance to those digging it, making it difficult to stay on line. This raises the possibility of simultaneous construction at different points, which were not intervisible.
The 'wanderings' are corrected by significant dog-leg stretches when a much greater length is again visible. This is particularly apparent on Gussage Hill where the incorporation of the long barrow is of paramount importance (see image 1). Crossing the Allen Valley at Down Farm a number of striking natural phenomena present themselves. The monument incorporates a Pleistocene river cliff, crosses the naleds (see Image 06) and closely skirts the shaft in Fir Tree Field, which we know was still partly open at this date. In this valley the Northern ditch, as seen from the air, has the appearance of a string of sausages. The likely explanation for this is that an earlier slighter ditch has subsequently been enlarged in sections, with not all of them being joined, leaving segments of the smaller ditch in between. However, no trace of the smaller ditch was revealed at the two points the Northern Cursus was excavated on Down Farm (see images 02 and 03).
| Image 4 River Cliff from the Air. |
Image 5 - River Cliff During Seasonal Flooding. |
Image 6 - Trench Through Naled. |
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These excavations examined the ditch on both sides of the River Allen some 650m apart, and revealed strikingly similar ditch profiles (see image 03). Trapezoidal in shape, the ditch was 3m wide at the top, 2m at the bottom and 1.4m deep. Calculations based on the construction of the entire monument by hand give a minimum figure of of just under half a million work-hours. Radiocarbon dating of of animal bone samples found close to the base of the ditch has produced dates around 3300 BC, consistent with the small sample of plain bowl pottery found.
A few fragments of human bone also discovered might provide a clue to its function – a point to which we will return. Above the river cliff a slight knoll is strewn with Neolithic flintwork, the largest concentration along the whole monument. Here, excavations, as we will see later, revealed major secondary activity within the earthwork. Immediately below this cliff a lake forms for a short time during most winters (see images above, or click here) and both features are neatly contained by the earthwork. From here the Cursus climbs uphill onto Bottlebush Down, where it ends some 400m before the crest of the next ridge. It was from this point, at some unknown time later, that the monument was extended for a further 4.3km, almost doubling its length and incorporating another river, the Crane. Again part of this river only appears above ground for a short time during most winters. The Pentridge Cursus covers even more terrain before ending, near further long barrows, close to Bokerley Dyke.
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