Durrington Walls

Durrington Walls is a Neolithic settlement and henge enclosure in Wiltshire, two miles north-east of Stonehenge. It stands in a gently sloping landscape near the River Avon, with the henge’s earthen bank and ditch forming a large oval shape. The site covers a wide area, and its name comes from the nearby village of Durrington and the henge’s massive banks. Excavations by the University of Sheffield between 2004 and 2006 uncovered seven Neolithic houses, suggesting a much larger settlement once existed. The site may have held up to 1,000 houses and 4,000 people at its peak, making it one of the largest settlements in northern Europe for a time. The henge was built around 2600 BC, with a large timber circle known as the Southern Circle at its centre. This circle was aligned with the midwinter solstice sunrise, and a paved avenue led to the River Avon, similar to Stonehenge’s own avenue. A geophysical survey in 2020 revealed a vast circle of pits, possibly part of a 1.2-mile-wide Neolithic monument. The henge’s ditch was once 5.5 metres deep and 18 metres wide at the top, with a bank up to 30 metres wide. Two main entrances once punctuated the bank and ditch, with possible blocked entrances suggesting later changes. Today, the henge appears as a low ridge surrounding a central hollow, with the eastern side showing clearer remains of the bank and ditch. Neolithic house floors lie beneath the eastern bank, and the site slopes down to the river, offering views of the surrounding landscape. The Southern Circle’s postholes mark where massive timbers once stood, and the avenue’s alignment points toward the river. The land to the west belongs to the National Trust, part of its Stonehenge Landscape property, while roads and former military buildings now cross the site. The evidence suggests a place where daily life and ritual were closely intertwined, with traces of both still visible today.