When you hear the term henge you probably immediately think of Stonehenge, in the south of England. But Stonehenge is by no means the most exemplary or the largest of British henge monuments, and even causes confusion as to what a henge actually is. Following is a brief guide for those of you who want to keep those British archaeological monuments straight!
Henge Monuments
Henges are roughly circular earthwork enclosures made of a ditch and (usually) an external bank. Standing stones, wooden timbers and other associated features are optional! There are at least 80 known henges throughout the British Isles, most constructed during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, about 5000-3000 years ago.
Stonehenge is probably the most famous (the first phase of its construction is technically a henge), but it is certainly not the largest henge (or even the largest stone circle).
Causewayed Enclosures
These enclosures are somewhat like henges, in that they have banks and ditches. The ditches of causewayed enclosures, however, have been dug in segments, with undug areas left between some of them. These unexcavated areas are called causeways. The most famous of these is Windmill Hill, not far from the site of Avebury. At Windmill Hill, it is thought that Neolithic people met periodically to celebrate, feast and perform funeral rites. The ditches of many causewayed enclosures contain animal bones and human remains.
Stone Circles
As noted above, Stonehenge is one of the most famous stone circles, but it is relatively small compared to other examples. It started out as a basic henge, and was elaborated upon and changed over the next several hundred years, when the standing stones were added. It, like the nearby Woodhenge, once contained a ring of timbers rather than stones! Just remember, when you see Stonehenge, you are seeing a late phase of a monument that was changed and re-designed over many years.
Avebury, in the south of England, and the Ring of Brodgar, in Orkney, Scotland, are two of the larger stone circles in the UK. The Ring of Brodgar contained at least 60 tall flat stones and measures about 110 yards (100 meters) in diameter. And the large circle Avebury is over 1/4 mile in diameter and partly encompasses two other circles and a village!
Linear Earthworks (Cursus Monuments)
These curious creations sometimes stretch for miles (though they are often unnoticeable without archaeological surveying because of modern plowing). They are usually made of a bank and ditch than run in a relatively straight line across the landscape. The longest is the Dorset Cursus which cuts across Cranborne Chase in southern England for nearly 10 km. It incorporates some other monuments, such as burial mounds, into its path.
Similarly, another famous example actually leads out from Avebury and passes many other ancient landmarks in that vicinity. The uses of these linear earthworks are unknown, though it has been suggested that they may have been used as markers of pathways to and from special places.
Barrows
Barrows are burial mounds. They are classified in various ways, but two of the basic types are long barrows and round barrows. Both were constructed predominantly in the Bronze Age, when, it appears, individual and family burial became more common. A large number of these monuments survive in the landscape around Stonehenge.
The West Kennet long barrow is a roughly rectangular shaped tomb, which used large stone slabs to create a number of chambers. This was then covered with an earthen mound. Such burial mounds can be found from the south of England all the way to northern Scotland and vary widely in construction style.
Sources:
The Archaeology of Britain. 1999. Edited by J. Hunter and I. Ralston. Routledge: London.
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