Wiltshire and Swindon Sites and Monument Record Information

SMR Number

SU06NE117

Site Name

Beckhampton Avenue

Grid Ref

SU08896930

Parish

Avebury

Photographs

Images for Avebury (if available)

District

Kennet

Site Type

Standing stones

Period

Neolithic

Scheduled Monument

SM21736

Finds

Worked flint

X Y Grid Ref

408890, 169300

Altitude

160.02 metres

Geology

Lower Chalk

Description

Two Neolithic standing stones. Three buried stones and 3 burning pits were excavated in 1999, strongly suggesting the existance of the Beckhampton Avenue.

Details

Two long stones known as Beckhampton Long Stones. (Adam and Eve) The only surviving standing stones of the stone avenue extending from the west entrance of Avebury Circle to west of Beckhampton. A buried sarsen in Paradise Garden SU09888696 suggested as another. A single open trench (10) of an excavation in 1999 (on an enclosure SU06NE856) centered over 4 anomalies located on the 1999 Geophysical Survey, and extended the south-west, revealed buried stones and/or stone sockets. Of the six pits, three contained buried sarsen stones, one had contained a stone which had been subsequently removed, and in the remaining two were layers of stone destruction debris. The original stone sockets were found immediately adjacent to each of the buried stones, and another in the base of destruction pit F24 of the excavation. The alignment of the Avenue is such that it runs through the eastern entrance of the enclosure SU06NE856. The stone destruction pits clearly related to Post-Medieval destruction events, with a matrix of burnt straw & charcoal. Further excavation in 2000 of an area of just over 1850 sq. m, revealed the enclosure ditch (see SU06NE865), destruction pits which had been indicated by geophysical survey, stone sockets of the 'Cove', and a putative pre-Cove setting that may have formed the original western termination of the Avenue. Two stone holes were unexpectedly revealed on the NE side of the excavated area. It is argued that these form part of the original terminal. They are set 40m apart and were called "Beacock Holes' by the excavators. Conclusive proof that the Beckhampton Avenue did not continue in its known form beyond the Longstone Cove as no stone sockets, stone destruction pits of burial pits were present is stated by Pollard et al in an interim report in July 2004.

World Heritage Site

Yes

Sources

Victoria County History 1 1 32 1957 Grinsell, L.V.

Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine Vol 38, p1-7 Cunnington, M E; Cunnington, B H

Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine Vol 64, p127 Vatcher, F; Vatcher, H

Archaeological Review 1968 No 3, p6 1968

Avebury Museum 1971b 1971 Vatcher, Faith de M

Management of Monuments Within the Avebury World Heritage Site 1998 Wild, Priscilla for English Heritage

British Archaeology 47, p18

D/SU0969/68/NMR 15621/16 English Heritage

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