|
(Continued from previous page)
The long barrows associated with the Cursus are integral to its design and many throw considerable light on the sequence of construction. For instance, the Thickthorn Down terminal is at an odd angle and is not squared off as is more usual. The reason for this seems to be that it was designed to share the same axis as the closest long barrow which we must assume was already in existence. The other nearby 'empty' long barrow, also shares this alignment.
As we have seen, the incorporation of one of the Gussage Hill mounds involved a considerable deviation in the course of the Cursus, which can only mean that this mound was already in existence. The inclusion, in the North bank of the Pentridge Cursus, of a long barrow near Oakley Down repeats this course of events in this later portion of the monument. The sequence at the North-East end near Martin Down appears to mirror that of the South-West Thickthorn end. Here the Cursus changes its alignment by 7 degrees, some 600m before the terminal, so that it can end near a long barrow. The island of grass which marks the locations of these monuments in a sea of arable crops today is easily mistaken as a single long barrow and not as the composite monument we know it to be.
| Image 7 - North-East end of the Cursus, with mortuary enclosure. |
Image 8 - South-West end of the Cursus. |
Image 9 - The Pentridge mortuary enclosure. |
|
Aerial photography has recently revealed further monuments close to the North-Eastern end of the Cursus. These, now confirmed by geophysics, consist of a mortuary enclosure about 100 x 25m, open at its Eastern end and abutting a short long barrow at its Western end. A further well preserved long barrow lies 200m to the South, the axis of which is aligned upon the Cursus terminal. About 300m to the north of the terminal lie the ploughed remains of a further small long barrow which may have been enclosed within a stone circle. During Colt Hoare's brief examination of this mound he described it as 'surrounded by sarsen stones'. Indeed, even now I have noticed large lumps of sarsen ploughed to the surface around the edges of this mound.
Putting all this evidence together it would seem that the Cursus was built to form a grand avenue between existing groups of long barrows. Enlargement of the ends of the Cursus seems to suggest a need for the terminals to imitate the proportions of the neighbouring long barrows, thus inextricably linking the two monuments in the minds of of the people. This arrangement was embellished by the addition of further mounds built either on the same alignment as the terminals, or pointing at them.
The bank, probably revetted by turf or chalk blocks, and ditches of the earthwork act as a barrier. Access to the most significant points of the monuments would have been restricted thus reinforcing the special status of any observers. Hard evidence for any ceremonial activity is scant but does include the discovery of human bones within the ditch, suggesting excarnation areas may have been present, where bodies were left to naturally decompose.
|
