Windmill Hill Causewayed Enclosure
Windmill Hill
Early Neolithic·Windmill Hill / Hembury Ware·🇬🇧 Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom
About
About Windmill Hill Causewayed Enclosure
Type-site of Windmill Hill culture causewayed enclosure on hill 2 km northwest of Avebury. Three concentric interrupted ditches with inner and outer banks enclosing 8.5 ha. Neolithic gathering site c.3800 BCE with stratified pottery, animal bones and human skull deposits in ditches indicating feasting and possibly excarnation. Ancestor of later henge tradition.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function — defense vs ceremonial meeting place
Theories
- 01Seasonal aggregation for trade and marriages
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 3800–3400 BCE
- Period
- Early Neolithic
- Culture
- Windmill Hill / Hembury Ware
- Purpose
- Seasonal gathering, exchange and funerary activity
- Abandoned
- c.3000 BCE
- Rediscovered
- Excavated by Keiller & Piggott 1925-29
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 3800–3400 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1386 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
51.4772° N · 1.8806° W · 193 m · 2 mapped features
Inner Enclosure
ditchInnermost ditch circuit with pottery deposits
51.4775° N · 1.8810° WOuter Circuit
ditchOutermost interrupted ditch 365 m diameter
51.4772° N · 1.8806° W
Gallery