Stonehenge Cursus

Stonehenge Cursus
The southern ditch and bank of the Cursus. It runs west to the gap in the trees.
Map showing the Cursus within the Stonehenge section of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site
Alternative nameGreater Cursus and Lesser Cursus
LocationWiltshire
RegionSalisbury Plain
Coordinates51°11′10″N 1°49′34″W / 51.186°N 1.826°W / 51.186; -1.826
TypeCursus
Length2.76 kilometres (1.71 mi)
History
Founded4th millennium BCE
PeriodsNeolithic
Site notes
Excavation dates1947, 2007
ArchaeologistsJohn FS Stone, Stonehenge Riverside Project
ConditionExcellent
Public accessYes
WebsiteNational Trust
Designated1986[1]
Reference no.373
Designated1952
Reference no.1009132[2]

The Stonehenge Cursus (sometimes known as the Greater Cursus) is a large Neolithic cursus monument on Salisbury plain, near to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. It is roughly 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long and between 100 metres (330 ft) and 150 metres (490 ft) wide. Excavations in 2007 dated the construction of the earthwork to between 3630 and 3375 BCE,[3] several hundred years before the earliest phase of Stonehenge in 3000 BC. The cursus, along with adjacent barrows and the nearby 'Lesser Cursus' are part of the National Trust's Stonehenge Landscape property, and is within the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site.

  1. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites". whc.unesco.org.
  2. ^ Historic England. "The Cursus, two round barrows situated within its western end, and a long barrow situated at its eastern end (1009132)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Stonehenge Riverside Project: 2007 Excavations". shef.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008.