West Kennet Long Barrow
The long barrow at West Kennet is a monumental chambered Neolithic tomb, situated high on a chalk ridge in Wiltshire, close to Silbury Hill and not far from the utterly breathtaking sanctuary at Avebury. This, one of the largest chambered long barrows in Britain, takes its name from the nearby Kennet River, as does the ancient ceremonial avenue at Avebury. The barrow is aligned directly east and west, pointing toward the dragon's head formation on Overton Hill. Only the East Kennet Long Barrow which has never been excavated is believed to be larger.
Construction of the West Kennet Long Barrow seems to have begun around 3,600 BCE, which makes this remarkable structure at least 400 years older than Stonehenge. Sadly, over the centuries, the barrow has has been damaged by treasure seekers and amateur archeologists. The first real study of the barrow was carried out by William Stukeley in 1759, and a proper detailed excavation was done in 1956.
The barrow is about 320 feet long and 8 feet high. When completed, it formed a trapezoid shaped mound 330 feet in length consisting of a core of Sarsen stones capped with chalk rubble scooped from the surrounding quarry ditches. At the eastern end of the mound is an impressive structure consisting of five chambers opening off an central passage which is fronted by a semi-circular forecourt with a facade of huge Sarsen stones aligned in a north - south direction. The main passage penetrates approximately forty feet into the barrow, with two of the previously mentioned burial chambers on each side of the main passageway and one burial chamber at the end of the passage.
So far, the barrow has yielded forty-six burials ranging from infants to elderly people. Many of these were partial skeletons, and missing parts of the same skeletons have been recovered from the Causeway Camp at Windmill Hill, indicating that interment in the barrow was partial. Burials at West Kennet took place during a period of about 400 years beginning around 3,400 BCE. Numerous artifacts such as fragments of pottery, flint tools, beads and other objects have also been recovered during excavations. During the last study it was discovered that the side chambers of the barrow form a precise isosceles triangle, the height of which is exactly twice the length of its base. This lends credence to theories that the ancients who constructed the barrows and sanctuaries possessed a precise and sophisticated system of measurement which they used for architectural applications.
Archeologists believe that the West Kennet Long Barrow was in use for at least 1,000 years, and that those laid to rest there were of high rank. At the end of that time, the tomb was formally closed off by the Beaker culture who inhabited the surrounding area. They filled the main passage and the burial chambers to the roof with earth, stones, rubble and debris, then filled the forecourt with Sarsen stones, placing three huge blocking stones in a line across the entrance to the forecourt. A false entrance with twin upright Sarsen stones was also constructed at this time. The closing of the tomb seems to have been carried out around 1,600 BCE.
There exists a persistent local legend which insists that the tomb is visited by a ghostly priest and a huge white hound every year at the time of the Summer Solstice or Midsummer Day.
For those interested in excellent fictional reading which involves barrows, I recommend Peter Ackroyd's splendid book , "First Light". The figure of the "Old One" or "First One" in this work is one of immeasurable age, wisdom and power.
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