West Kennet Long Barrow

West Kennet Long Barrow

visited February 2020

Catching up with posting while we're still sort of in lockdown, I came to these images of one of my favourite places. As an archaeologist I've always been fascinated by neolithic burial mounds. The way they proudly stand out in the landscape, rather than hiding away - surely long barrows are our ancestor's equivalent of the pyramids, shaping the landscape around the dead? And as an added bonus, having read Tolkien so frequently, there's always the tantalising prospect of barrow wights lurking in sites like these, where the mound and chambers are still in place.

West Kennet long barrow, near Avebury, was built over 5000 years ago, perhaps for the burial of some of those who built the vast circles and henges of Avebury, or the mysterious mound of Silbury Hill. The landscape around here is dotted with barrows, monuments and ancient pathways (the Ridgeway is close by).

On a grey February day, just weeks before everything was turned upside down, but days after flood warnings were covering most of this area, I set out from London to Avebury via Swindon, and from there walked down the West Kennet Avenue, past Silbury Hill and up to West Kennet Long Barrow. I'd last been here almost 30 years previously as a baby archaeologist in first year at university, when we did a tour of the west country - Stonehenge, Cheddar Gorge, Avebury, all the usual suspects. This time I was on my own, and thanks to the persistent drizzle, grey skies, and soggy ground there was hardly anyone even at Avebury itself. I walked along along the Avenue, and up the hill to the barrow where there was just me and a whole flock of crows. Something quite simple yet meaningful about that. 

Inside the burial chamber there was silence. Someone had left some flowers on a small ledge, and the rain had left a puddle just inside. I retreated to the furthest corner, switched off the torch on my phone, and sat on the damp ground for I don't know how long. I'm not a religious person, but this was a spiritual moment that left me ready for the day, and months ahead. Perhaps someone who can sit alone inside a 3000 year old burial mound is someone ready to face months away from other people?

I had planned to visit other sites in the area - the Sanctuary, some of the round barrows on hills nearby - but the mud and the rain and the time I spent at West Kennet put paid to that, so I walked back along the River Kennet, past Silbury Hill again, and back to the stones of Avebury. One day I'll go back again and walk the whole route, and stop again at West Kennet.