The commentators suggest that this big flattish stone is a sarsen -- now in the churchyard but once in a nearby Neolithic long barrow.
Thanks to Stonebothering.com for the above images. There are apparently some rather interesting stones in the village and in the surrounding countryside. Some references suggests that not all of them are sarsens -- does anybody have any further info about them?
My friend Martyn Whittock writes in his " Wiltshire Placenames" that ' Winterbourne ( Bassett and Monkton) was just plain Winterburnan in 964, the name means stream that flows in winter. The eminent prehistoric causewayed camp Windmill Hill lies within the parish. I have a Facebook Friend whose farm is in the parish who happens to be an excellent landscape photographer.
ReplyDeleteMore to follow, mostly taken from Avebury: The Biography of a Landscape by Josh Pollard & Andrew Reynolds,2002.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know which references suggest that not all are sarsens.
ReplyDeleteOn the Stonebothering web site -- suggests that the stones from the bridge repairs are sarsens and implying that others are not.
ReplyDelete"Adding to the intrigue are the sarsen stones, a type of sandstone commonly found in the area. These stones, discovered during bridge repairs, were once part of the Mill Barrow's foundation. Today, they stand rearranged in a small stone circle, a silent tribute to the dismantled barrow."
Also a couple of the news sites flag up the "special" nature of the stones from the bridge works -- assumed to have come originally from the long barrow. Again this implies that other stones in the neighbourhood are different and maybe not so interesting. But clearly some proper identifications are needed.......
I've lived in this area and studied it intensely. There is only one stone I know of that is not sarsen that is in a small stone setting between Monkton and Avebury. It looks like the setting of a mini chambered tomb and one stone was identified as Oolitic limestone (probably from the Cotwolds) by Mike Pitts and later confirmed by Jim Gunter.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of large sarsens near the barn on the back lane out of Monkton towards Windmill hill. Some come from strange single burials sites. One was reported as having a lined box of flints that were packed so closely together that a penknife blade could not be put between them. Aubrey and Stukeley both drew the state of Windmill hill barrow on their vsits.
Thank you Pete. That's interesting.......
ReplyDeleteI mentioned Pollard & Reynolds' 2002 book earlier briefly. Here's a quote that may act as a catalyst to others' comments from a sub - section 'Beaker burials and stones'.
ReplyDelete"....the largest known cemetery of flat graves was recorded at Winterbourne Monkton, close to the foot of Windmill Hill. Leslie Grinsell (1957) provides records of over 30 burials discovered here at various times during the nineteenth century. Nearly all were in circular pits or graves covered with large sarsen slabs, one also being paved with stones. The burials (were) generally without grave goods. The chronological span of these is uncertain, and while some possibly belong to the earlier Neolithic, at least one was associated with two Beakers, a greenstone pebble,flint knife, jet buttons and a ring ( Smith 1885: Annable & Simpson 1964).