Stonehenge Cursus

The Stonehenge Cursus is a large Neolithic cursus monument on Salisbury plain, near to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England [1]. Radiocarbon dating of a red deer antler pick discovered at the bottom of the western terminal ditch suggests that the Stonehenge Cursus was first constructed between 3630 and 3375 BCE [1]. It is just under 3 km long, and is roughly 100 m wide [1]. Because of a slight difference in the alignment of its north and south ditches, it widens to a point nearly 150 m near its western end [1]. It is roughly aligned east–west and is oriented toward the sunrise on the spring and autumn equinoxes [1]. There is a Bronze Age round barrow inside the western end of the enclosure, and a large Neolithic long barrow was constructed at its east terminal [1]. William Stukeley was the first antiquarian to identify and record the Stonehenge Cursus, although he incorrectly assumed it to be Roman in origin [1].