Reasons for Designation
A small number of areas in southern England appear to have acted as foci for
ceremonial and ritual activity during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods.
Two of the best known and the earliest recognised areas are around Avebury and
Stonehenge, now jointly designated as a World Heritage Site.
The area of chalk downland which surrounds Stonehenge contains one of the
densest and most varied groups of Neolithic and Bronze Age field monuments in
Britain. Included within the area are Stonehenge itself, the Stonehenge
cursus, the Durrington Walls henge, and a variety of burial monuments, many
grouped into cemeteries.
The area has been the subject of archaeological research since the 18th
century when Stukeley recorded many of the monuments and partially excavated a
number of the burial mounds. More recently, the collection of artefacts from
the surfaces of ploughed fields has supplemented the evidence for ritual and
burial by revealing the intensity of contemporary settlement and land-use.
In view of the importance of the area, all ceremonial and sepulchral monuments
of this period which retain significant archaeological remains are identified
as nationally important.
Details
The monument includes a pond barrow containing the Wilsford Shaft, situated
south of the A303 and west of Normanton Gorse near the northern margin of a
shallow combe.
The barrow is visible as a slight depression 9m in diameter and 0.3m deep.
Excavation in 1960-2 revealed that it was surrounded by a bank 3.5m wide and
0.6m high, giving an overall diameter of 16m. The central area was found to
contain a shaft 6m in diameter on the surface, tapering to 1.8m at a depth of
6m, and descending vertically to a depth of 30m. At the bottom, in the
waterlogged filling which occupied the shaft for about half its depth, were
quantities of plant remains and wood, including worked objects such as
stave-built tubs, composite stitched vessels and a turned bowl. There were
also Middle Bronze Age pottery vessels, amber beads, bone pins and animal
bones. A radiocarbon date of c.1400 BC was obtained from this material. The
shaft, although well-like in appearance, is interpreted as a `ritual shaft'
containing a range of votive offerings.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10478
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
