Waulud's Bank

Waulud's Bank is a possible Neolithic henge in Leagrave, Luton, England dating from 3000 BC [1]. Archaeological excavations in 1953, 1971 and 1982 date the site to around 3000 BC, in the Neolithic period, although there was evidence of earlier mesolithic hunter/fisher activity in the immediate area [1]. Waulud's Bank lies on a glacial ridge near which runs the prehistoric Icknield Way [1]. Initially it was probably a domestic enclosure used for cattle herding [1]. It has been suggested that it later became a henge monument, although the position of its surrounding ditch outside its timber-faced bank would be unusual [1]. The enclosure consists of a bank and external ditch of around 7 hectares with a turf-revetted chalk and gravel bank faced by a wooden stockade [1]. The bank stands 2.6 metres high in places; on the north side the excavated ditch was 9.2 metres wide and 2.1 metres deep [1]. Finds included neolithic pottery, animal bones and flint arrow heads, some on display at Stockwood Heritage Centre [1].