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.
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 the comparative rarity, all
henges are considered to be of national importance.
The henge 400m south of Stonehenge Cottages is a well documented example of
its class and is known from partial excavation to contain archaeological
remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape
in which it was constructed.
Details
The monument includes a small henge monument known as Coneybury Henge,
situated on Coneybury Hill 400m south of Stonehenge Cottages. The location has
extensive views south east across the Avon valley, and west towards Normanton
Down. It is intervisible with Stonehenge.
The henge is oval in shape, 51m north to south and 55m east to west. Partial
excavation in 1980 revealed a broad oval ditch 4m wide by 3.25m deep defining
the enclosed area. The fill of this indicated that the ditch was originally
surrounded by a bank. There is an entrance causeway on the north east side of
the monument. The henge is difficult to identify on the ground, having been
levelled by cultivation but has been defined by geophysical survey, aerial
photographs and excavation. Finds from the 1980 excavation include worked
flint, Neolithic pottery and animal bone.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
