Stonehenge Cursus

The Stonehenge Cursus is a Neolithic earthwork on Salisbury Plain near Amesbury. It stretches roughly three kilometres east–west and measures between 100 and 150 metres wide. Built between 3630 and 3375 BCE, it predates Stonehenge by several centuries. The ditches vary in depth and width, with the western end’s ditch reaching two metres deep. A long barrow stands at the eastern terminal and a round barrow at the western end. The cursus aligns with the equinox sunrise, linking it to ceremonial activity. Archaeologists have uncovered antler picks and pottery fragments that date its construction and later use. William Stukeley first recorded the cursus in the 18th century, though he mistook it for a Roman track. Excavations in 2007 and 2008 revealed further evidence of its Neolithic origins and Bronze Age modifications. Two pits near its ends align with midsummer sunrise and sunset at Stonehenge. The cursus may mark a boundary between settlement and ceremonial spaces. Visitors walk grassy tracks across open downland to reach the cursus. The western round barrow and eastern long barrow remain visible along the ridge. Nearby, the Lesser Cursus appears only as a cropmark on arable land. Bridleways lead past Amesbury 42 long barrow, now levelled under a path. The wide, empty landscape shows how the cursus once dominated the plain.