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Early Prehistory

Among the most exciting new discoveries are the traces of three prehistoric circular monuments,used for ritual purposes about 3000 - 1600 BC.

Near Royalton we found a circle of post-holes, enclosed within a second ring of larger oval pits. The excavated soil from the pits may have been used to form a low bank around the outside of the monument. The entrance was on the south side.

The early farming communities of Britain built such monuments during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age. They vary greatly in size - Stonehenge is the most famous example. The Royalton circle is much smaller by comparison. Some were simple circular or oval enclosures, usually with one or two entrances, and an earth bank around the outside. Others, like the Royalton circle, enclose settings of timber posts or stones.

The purpose of these monuments is still a mystery, although it is generally accepted that they were used as arenas for ceremonial gatherings and rituals, including animal and (rarely) human sacrifice. Some sites also served as cemeteries for human cremation burials.

Prehistoric timber circles are sometimes found on their own. Our archaeologists found two circles of pits, again for supporting upright timbers, at Belowda. We have radiocarbon dated the circles to the early Bronze Age - one was built about 1800 BC and the other, possibly a replacement, about 1600 BC.

Castilly Henge, near the Innis Downs roundabout, is a large oval earthwork enclosure that was probably built in the late Neolithic period. The new road junction was designed to avoid damaging the monument or its immediate surroundings. When our archaeologists stripped the topsoil in the nearest areas, no prehistoric archaeology was found, even though the henge is just across the field. The visual impact of the junction in this area has been reduced by building the road in a cutting.