Wilsford Henge
Wilsford Henge is the site of a Neolithic henge monument, located west of the village of Wilsford in Wiltshire. The site was discovered from cropmarks in aerial photographs.
The monument is t be found in the Vale of Pewsey a short distance to the south of the large henge known as Marden Henge.
- Location map: 51°18’54"N, 1°52’4"W
- OS map: SU09305732
Description
Wilsford Henge is a broad irregular circular ditch visible only as a cropmark on aerial photographs.[1] It is situated on a gently sloping spur of land to the south of the River Avon.[1]
The internal diameter of the enclosure is around 140 feet and the external diameter is around 200 feet. There is an entrance, 40 feet wide, which faces northeast in the direction of the river.[1]
Around half a mile to the north stands Marden Henge on the opposite bank of the River Avon.[2] An interior circle of possible post-hole pits has been confirmed by geophysical survey.[3]
Archaeology
The site is included in a three-year investigation of the Pewsey Vale, beginning in 2015, by the Department of Archaeology at the University of Reading.[4] Among the discoveries in the 2015 excavations was an early Bronze Age crouched burial of an adolescent child which included sherds of beaker pottery and a collection of necklace beads.[5]
Nearby, within the same field, archaeologists have discovered the remnants of a large Roman farm settlement, and excavations have revealed the outline of a very large farm building or barn.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 National Monuments Record: No. 1002029 – Wilsford Henge
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 215179 – Marden Henge
- ↑ "Marden Environs Geophysical Survey". Historic England. https://historicengland.org.uk/research/research-results/recent-research-results/south-west/marden-environs-geophysics/. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "About the Vale of Pewsey project". University of Reading. https://www.reading.ac.uk/field-school/About/afs-about-pewsey.aspx. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Archaeologists unearth a skeleton in a Bronze Age burial at the Wilsford Henge excavation near Marden". Marlborough News. 22 July 2015. http://www.marlboroughnewsonline.co.uk/news/all-the-news/4550-archaeologists-unearth-a-skeleton-in-a-bronze-age-burial-at-the-wilsford-henge-excavation-near-marden.