Wood, stone and soil-Barrows and cursus in the ritual landscape
- Created by: Canar
- Created on: 10-02-16 10:54
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- Wood, stone and soil-Barrows and cursus in the ritual landscape
- Long barrows
- Concentrated in Wessex.
- Usually 30 to 122m (except maiden castle which is 500m)
- Smallish barrow takes around 10,000 man hours
- Small community could do one in a agricultural slack season.
- Usually located on chalk ridges
- Markers of territory?
- Burials inside usually at higher, broader eastern end.
- Usually multiple burials-avg 6. Highest 50
- Skeletons disarticulated-equality?
- Clearly excarnated-Waylands smithy-rodent teeth marks and snail eggs on bones at Skendleby.
- Cut marks on bones at Haddenham
- Evidence of partial defleshing and then being moved in madagascar.
- Danced with?
- Evidence of partial defleshing and then being moved in madagascar.
- Cut marks on bones at Haddenham
- Clearly excarnated-Waylands smithy-rodent teeth marks and snail eggs on bones at Skendleby.
- Skeletons disarticulated-equality?
- Usually multiple burials-avg 6. Highest 50
- 2 types.
- Parallel sided
- Trapezoidal
- Cenotaphs?
- Hazleton North (c3800-3500BC)
- Built over pre-existing Mesolithic structure-continuity?
- Indicative of memory of somewhere else-migration?
- Two chambers
- Cellular structure-families?
- Two chambers
- Bones arranged communally but not very well sorted
- Some evidence of excarnation-Freeing the soul
- West Kennet Long barrow (c3700-3200BC)
- 85% of bones come from one generation in 3625BC, then there is nothing for 1200 years.
- Therefore is it a family or clan site?
- Bones later extracted and used in ceremonies at Avebury 1000+ years later-idea of ancestral powers?
- Specifically leg bones and skulls
- Bones later extracted and used in ceremonies at Avebury 1000+ years later-idea of ancestral powers?
- Therefore is it a family or clan site?
- Passage moved to in front of 'forecourt'
- Originally open fronted and only in bronze age was barrier stone placed at entrance.
- Shift in beliefs? seal off that which is no longer considered sacred.
- 15,700 man hours roughly to build
- At least 46 burials-ranging from babies to elderly persons
- Bones are disarticulated and arranged. Some sorting and in three of the chambers are located in darker corners
- Many bones show signs of arthritis.
- Bones are disarticulated and arranged. Some sorting and in three of the chambers are located in darker corners
- Mound stretches for over 100m
- Earth taken from trenches dug either side. Filled in now though with weathered mineral.
- Actual chamber only stretches 10 m into mound.
- Smaller stones appear to have been selected form 30 miles away.
- Sarcen stones taken from nearby down.
- Location would have made transportation of these difficult.
- Sarcen stones taken from nearby down.
- 5 separate chambers
- 4 smaller on sides of passage
- One larger chamber at end
- 85% of bones come from one generation in 3625BC, then there is nothing for 1200 years.
- Barrowing
- Barrows before they were 'barrowed' Street house farm, Loftus Timber forecourt. Have Stone morturary tomb, stone kerbed enclosure.
- Nutbane-evidence of timber structure being set alight and barrowing taking place whilst timbers burned.
- Cleansing of area through burning?
- Burning of trees (life) signifying death place?
- Cleansing of area through burning?
- Nutbane-evidence of timber structure being set alight and barrowing taking place whilst timbers burned.
- Waylands smithy
- Located in Ashford, Oxfordshire
- Close to the Ridgeway, which is an ancient road.
- Wooden mortuary house consists of paved stone floor and two posts at either end.
- Single crouched burial at one end and largely disarticulated remains of 14 individuals in front of it.
- Excarnated and deposited in 4 different stages.
- Whole site covered by mound roughly 20m long. Used material from flanking ditches.
- Single crouched burial at one end and largely disarticulated remains of 14 individuals in front of it.
- Post holes at one end
- Support timber facade
- Later tomb consists of two opposite chambers and a terminal chamber.
- Longer entrance chamber.
- Cruciform
- Four of six large sarcen stones at entrance remain.
- Earth barrow erected over it
- Stone kerb
- Mixed remains of seven adults and one child.
- Carbon dating suggests it was being used similarly to West Kennet 200 years beforehand.
- Illustrates change from timber-chambered barrrow to stone
- Long barrows cont
- Located in Ashford, Oxfordshire
- Barrows only representa small proportion of dead?
- Others placed in river (liminal?) to be transported onwards.
- Washing away dead?
- Others placed in river (liminal?) to be transported onwards.
- Short 'Long' Barrows
- Middle Neolithic. Long barrows fade out and replaced by shorter barrows
- Individual rather than communal burial?
- Shift in importance of individuals?
- Wealth and power?
- Changing social relationships
- New ritual and religious practices coming through?
- Shift in importance of individuals?
- Individual rather than communal burial?
- Middle Neolithic. Long barrows fade out and replaced by shorter barrows
- Long barrows cont
- Barrows before they were 'barrowed' Street house farm, Loftus Timber forecourt. Have Stone morturary tomb, stone kerbed enclosure.
- Cursus
- Replaced causewayed enclosures
- Only used briefly-some filled in as soon as dug-special events?
- Processional ways?
- Given association with burial mounds. Perhaps extensions of long barrows
- Maiden Castle, Dorchester
- Causewayed enclosure+mini cursus+ritual burial
- Maiden Castle, Dorchester
- Ceremonial rivers?
- Symbolic rivers-has been suggested that some might follow courses.
- Delimits areas?
- Symbolic rivers-has been suggested that some might follow courses.
- Structures on their own?
- Ceremonial ends?
- Collective works in progress?
- Some have celestial alignments
- Where have we seen that before?
- But some bend and tend to deviate around existing monuments
- Place for rights of passage?
- Ceremonial ends?
- Not necessarily all visible
- Dorset cursus
- Snail analysis shows some sections were wooded
- Dorset cursus
- Replaced causewayed enclosures
- Deposists
- What were once considered rubbish heaps now being redined as ritual deposits of flint-0ffering tools
- Wood and stone=Life and death
- Wood represents life and stone =death. Buried stone is really dead
- Stonehenge and Madagascar anthropological link.
- Wooden monument (woodhenge) starts movement across divide
- Wood represents life and stone =death. Buried stone is really dead
- Stonehenge and Madagascar anthropological link.
- Stone (Stonehenge) indicates arrival on other side
- Wood represents life and stone =death. Buried stone is really dead
- Monuments rebuilt in stone 'hardended'
- Wooden monument (woodhenge) starts movement across divide
- Stone (Stonehenge) indicates arrival on other side
- Supported by the fact that continental Neolithic houses were long and trapezoidal-living place converted to place of dead?
- Wooden monument (woodhenge) starts movement across divide
- Wood represents life and stone =death. Buried stone is really dead
- Ritual landscpae
- Landscape might represent movement of dead from living realm to realm of the dead
- Examples: Stonehenge, Avebury, Bend of the Boyne
- Ritual objects
- Handaxes often considered to be ritual offerning due to time investment
- Deposited rather than lost-rather stupid thing to do if lost by carelessness
- Placed beyond liminal and therefore out of reach-Flag Fen etc.
- Often quarried by the sea
- Land running out symbolism?
- Often associated with causewayed enclosures-idea of meeting and trading places.
- Deposited rather than lost-rather stupid thing to do if lost by carelessness
- Handaxes often considered to be ritual offerning due to time investment
- Landscape might represent movement of dead from living realm to realm of the dead
- Western Britain
- Pembrokeshire-Stone available so bizarre number of stone (sometimes megallithic) monumnets
- 'Propped rocks'
- Boulders ringed with stones-Carn Alw
- Cairns over springs-Carn Menyn
- Rock art
- Stone circles-Meinr Gwyr/Gors Fawr
- Stone ovals-Bedd Arthur
- Rock pairs-Gors Fawrs
- Respect for Preseli mountains-spotted blue dolerite-healing powers. Stonehenge
- Banc DU-Causewayed enclosure, stone faced ditch , evidence of some timber
- 3630-3360. Reoccupied 2860-2490BC.
- Pembrokeshire-Stone available so bizarre number of stone (sometimes megallithic) monumnets
- Northern Britain
- Unusual burial site of inhumation in burial mounds
- Duggleby Howe
- Combination of cremations and inhumations with grave goods
- Leaders being treated differently?
- Round barrow
- Base is 37m in diameter
- Top of mound believed to have been truncated at some point. Left level top at 14m diameter.
- Post mill of medieval type constructed on top later
- Association or ignorance?
- Barrow lies within circular enclosure of aprox 370m in diameter.
- Formed of interrupted ditches and open to south
- Two ring ditches of bronze age located to East.
- Deep grave pit containing remains of 10 adults and child skeletons.
- Associated finds: bone pins, flint knife, flint axe, antler mace head and Grimston ware bowl
- Above burial are reamisn of 53 cremations
- Idea of leaders being treated differently?
- Above burial are reamisn of 53 cremations
- Associated finds: bone pins, flint knife, flint axe, antler mace head and Grimston ware bowl
- Post mill of medieval type constructed on top later
- Top of mound believed to have been truncated at some point. Left level top at 14m diameter.
- Base is 37m in diameter
- Combination of cremations and inhumations with grave goods
- Duggleby Howe
- Willerby Wold
- Facade with evidence of cremations behind
- Not much left due to ploughing
- 50m long by 13m wide
- Orientated east-west. Half a metre higher at east end
- 3 burials, collection of bones and cremations.
- Sherds and flint shards found
- 3000BC
- Unusual burial site of inhumation in burial mounds
- Long barrows
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