Woodhenge, Wiltshire

Woodhenge, a Neolithic site, probably built about 2300 BC, was identified in 1925 after an aerial archaeology survey by Alexander Keiller and OGS Crawford.

The site was believed to consist of a central burial, surrounded first by six concentric rings of postholes, then by a single ditch and finally an outer bank, around 85 metres wide. The burial was of a child, believed to have been a sacrifice. Unfortunately after excavation the body was destroyed in London during The Blitz. A skeleton of a teenager was also found.

Pottery from the excavation was identified as being consistent with the Grooved ware style of the middle Neolithic, although later Beaker sherds were also found. So the structure was probably built during the period of cultural similarities commonly known as the Beaker.

There are 168 post holes on the site. Recent excavations have indicated that there were, in fact, several standing stones on the site, arranged in a "cove". The deepest post holes measured up to 2 metres and the height of the timber posts they held has been estimated at up to 7.5 metres above the ground and they would have weighed up to 5 tons. The posts may have been the uprights of a large roofed building with a small courtyard or light-well in the centre. It is also quite possible that the site was completely open to the sky with the posts carved and painted like totem poles.

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