The Sanctuary (Overton Hill)
Overton Hill Sanctuary · Avebury Avenue terminus
Late Neolithic – Early Bronze Age·Windmill Hill / Wessex Neolithic·🇬🇧 Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom
About
About The Sanctuary (Overton Hill)
Complex timber-then-stone ceremonial site at southeastern terminus of West Kennet Avenue, 2.5 km from Avebury henge on Overton Hill. Sequence: double timber circle c.3000 BCE → double stone circles c.2500 BCE (inner 12 m, outer 40 m) with central pit — interpreted as mortuary house where dead were excarnated before burial at West Kennet. Excavated 1930 by Cunnington showing postholes, stoneholes and Beaker burials. Destroyed except for concrete markers today but UNESCO World Heritage as part of Avebury section.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Exposure excarnation vs house roof debated from postholes
Theories
- 01Mortuary temple at start/end of processional avenue to Avebury
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Timber c.3000 BCE; stone c.2500 BCE
- Period
- Late Neolithic – Early Bronze Age
- Culture
- Windmill Hill / Wessex Neolithic
- Purpose
- Mortuary and ceremonial circle at avenue terminus
- Abandoned
- c.2000 BCE
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1930 (M. Cunnington)
- Excavation
- Excavated
Timber c.3000 BCE; stone c.2500 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1373 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
51.4100° N · 1.8317° W · 165 m · 1 mapped feature
West Kennet Avenue
avenue2.5 km sarsen avenue of paired stones linking Sanctuary to Avebury
51.4140° N · 1.8410° W
Gallery