Windmill Hill
Encyclopedia
Windmill Hill is a Neolithic
causewayed enclosure
in the English
county of Wiltshire
, situated around 1 mile (2 km) north west of Avebury
. It is the largest example of its type in the British Isles
enclosing an area of 85,000 square metres. The site was first occupied around 3800 BC although the only evidence is a series of pits apparently dug by an agrarian society using Hembury
pottery.
During a later phase, c. 3300 BC, three concentric segmented ditches were placed around the hilltop site, the outermost with a diameter of 365 metres. The causeways interrupting the ditches vary in width from a few centimetres to 7 m. Material from the ditches was piled up to create internal banks, the deepest ditches and largest banks are on the outer circuit.
The site was bought by Alexander Keiller
in 1924 and excavated over several seasons from 1926-1929 by Keiller and Harold St George Gray whose work established it as the type site
for causewayed camps as they were then called.
Pottery from the bottom of the ditches was also the type style for the Windmill Hill culture
. Later occupation layers contained early Peterborough ware
then the later Mortlake and Fengate varieties. Large quantities of bone, both human and animal were also recovered from the ditch fill. The camp remained in use throughout the rest of the Neolithic with Grooved ware
and Beaker potsherds having been found in later deposits. A Bronze Age bell barrow
was later built between the inner and middle rings.
Michael Dames (see References) put forward a composite theory of seasonal rituals, in an attempt to explain Windmill Hill and its associated sites (West Kennet Long Barrow
, the Avebury henge
, The Sanctuary
and Silbury Hill
).
mapping six-figure grid reference SU 087714
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
causewayed enclosure
Causewayed enclosure
A causewayed enclosure is a type of large prehistoric earthwork common to the early Neolithic in Europe. More than 100 examples are recorded in France and 70 in England, while further sites are known in Scandinavia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Slovakia.The term "causewayed enclosure" is...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, situated around 1 mile (2 km) north west of Avebury
Avebury
Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain...
. It is the largest example of its type in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
enclosing an area of 85,000 square metres. The site was first occupied around 3800 BC although the only evidence is a series of pits apparently dug by an agrarian society using Hembury
Hembury
Hembury is a Neolithic causewayed enclosure near Honiton in Devon. It dates from the late fifth and early fourth millennia BC onwards to the Roman Invasion. The fort is situated on a promontory to the North of and overlooking the River Otter Valley at approx 178 Metres above Sea Level.It has given...
pottery.
During a later phase, c. 3300 BC, three concentric segmented ditches were placed around the hilltop site, the outermost with a diameter of 365 metres. The causeways interrupting the ditches vary in width from a few centimetres to 7 m. Material from the ditches was piled up to create internal banks, the deepest ditches and largest banks are on the outer circuit.
The site was bought by Alexander Keiller
Alexander Keiller
Alexander Keiller was an archaeologist and businessman who worked on the site at Avebury in Wiltshire. He used his wealth to acquire a total of of land for preservation, conducted excavations, re-erected stones on the site, and created a museum to interpret the site. He founded the Morven...
in 1924 and excavated over several seasons from 1926-1929 by Keiller and Harold St George Gray whose work established it as the type site
Type site
In archaeology a type site is a site that is considered the model of a particular archaeological culture...
for causewayed camps as they were then called.
Pottery from the bottom of the ditches was also the type style for the Windmill Hill culture
Windmill Hill culture
The Windmill Hill culture was a name given to a people inhabiting southern Britain, in particular in the Salisbury Plain area close to Stonehenge, around approximately 3000BC. They were an agrarian Neolithic people; their name comes from Windmill Hill, a causewayed camp...
. Later occupation layers contained early Peterborough ware
Peterborough ware
Peterborough ware is a decorated pottery style of the early to middle Neolithic. It is known for the impressed pits made by bone or wood implements in its sides. Whipped cord was also used to make circular 'maggot' patterns....
then the later Mortlake and Fengate varieties. Large quantities of bone, both human and animal were also recovered from the ditch fill. The camp remained in use throughout the rest of the Neolithic with Grooved ware
Grooved ware
Grooved ware is the name given to a pottery style of the British Neolithic. Its manufacturers are sometimes known as the Grooved ware people. Unlike the later Beaker ware, Grooved culture was not an import from the continent but seems to have developed in Orkney, early in the 3rd millennium BC, but...
and Beaker potsherds having been found in later deposits. A Bronze Age bell barrow
Bell barrow
A bell barrow, sometimes referred to as a Wessex type barrow, campanulate form barrow, or a bermed barrow is a type of tumulus identified as such by both John Aubrey and William Stukeley....
was later built between the inner and middle rings.
Michael Dames (see References) put forward a composite theory of seasonal rituals, in an attempt to explain Windmill Hill and its associated sites (West Kennet Long Barrow
West Kennet Long Barrow
The West Kennet Long Barrow is a Neolithic tomb or barrow, situated on a prominent chalk ridge, near Silbury Hill, one-and-a-half miles south of Avebury in Wiltshire, England. The site was recorded by John Aubrey in the 17th century and by William Stukeley in the 18th century.Archaeologists...
, the Avebury henge
Avebury
Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain...
, The Sanctuary
The Sanctuary
The Sanctuary is a prehistoric site on Overton Hill located around 5 miles west of Marlborough in the English county of Wiltshire.It is part of a wider Neolithic landscape which includes the nearby sites of Silbury Hill, West Kennet Long Barrow and Avebury, to which The Sanctuary was linked by the...
and Silbury Hill
Silbury Hill
Silbury Hill is a prehistoric artificial chalk mound near Avebury in the English county of Wiltshire. It is part of the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites UNESCO World Heritage Site, and lies at ....
).
Location
Windmill Hill is located at Ordnance SurveyOrdnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
mapping six-figure grid reference SU 087714