Reasons for Designation
Henges are ritual or ceremonial centres which date to the Late Neolithic
period (2800-2000 BC). They were constructed as roughly circular or oval-
shaped enclosures comprising a flat area over 20m in diameter enclosed by a
ditch and external bank. One, two or four entrances provided access to the
interior of the monument, which may have contained a variety of features
including timber or stone circles, post or stone alignments, pits, burials or
central mounds. Finds from the ditches and interiors of henges provide
important evidence for the chronological development of the sites, the types
of activity that occurred within them and the nature of the environment in
which they were constructed. Henges occur throughout England with the
exception of south-eastern counties and the Welsh Marches. They are generally
situated on low ground, often close to springs and water-courses. Henges are
rare nationally with about 80 known examples. As one of the few types of
identified Neolithic structures and in view of their comparative rarity, all
henges are considered to be of national importance.
Details
The well preserved henge monument at Yarnbury is situated on a slight
south east facing gradient 400m north east of Mire House. It includes a
circular ditch with an external bank and entrance causeway on the south east
side. The central enclosure has an approximate diameter of 20m by 22m with the
surrounding rock cut ditch 3.5m wide and 0.25m deep. The outer turf covered
stony bank is 3m-4m wide with a maximum height of 0.5m. The single clearly
defined causeway entrance has a width of approximately 2m. An area about 10m
in diameter to the north of the entrance has been destroyed by modern
quarrying; this has sectioned the bank exposing its earth and stone structure.
There is a slight mutilation to the bank and ditch about 2m to the west of the
entrance and the entrance causeway itself has sustained damage on its south
side.
The monument was partially excavated in 1964 by Mr D Dymond of the Royal
Commission on the Historic Monuments of England.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
24480
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
