Spring Equinox is one of only four times all year that the public are allowed access to the stone circle of Stonehenge, in Wiltshire. The event will begin at sunrise, approximately 5am, and continue until 8.30am. Expect to be joined by up to 5,000 revellers, including Druids and archaeologists, as the sun is exactly above the equator.
Each year on the 21th of June visitors from around the world gather at Stonehenge overnight to mark the summer solstice and to see the sunrise above the stones. At dawn the central Altar stone aligns with the Slaughter stone, Heel stone and the rising sun to the north-east. The Summer Solstice at Stonehenge is certainly the 'ancient history' summer event in Britain to attend.
This year again, English Heritage is expected to provide "Managed Open Access" (free overnight access to the inner circle of stones) to Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice, of which the most important moment is the sunrise at 4:45am on Monday the 21st of June. Access to the stones is expected to open around 8.30pm on Sunday the 20th of June, until 8am on Monday the 21st of June. Don't expect a huge Solstice rave, as no amplified music is allowed.
The Winterbourne Stoke Barrows is the earliest burial mound in the group of the long barrow. It was built between 4000 and 3200 BC, thus making it earlier than Stonehenge. The barrow is well preserved, including the side ditches, which can be seem clearly. The barrow was used for several burials for thousand years, and archaeological excavations have shown that a primary burial at the north eastern end of the barrow is dated to the Bronze Age.
The West Kennet Barrow is a Neolithic Long Barrow situated near to the man-made Silbury Hill, Avebury, Wiltshire. John Aubrey recored the site in the 17th century, and William Stukeley later in the 18th century. West Kennet Barrow has been classified by archaeologists as a chambered long barrow, one which forms part of the Severn-Cotswold tombs. The entrance to the barrow consists of a concave forecourt, which acted to seal the entry made from sarsen stones.
Kennet Avenue is a prehistoric site in Wiltshire. It formed an avenue of two parallel lines of stones 25m wide and 2.5km in length which ran between the Neolithic sites of Avebury and The Sanctuary. In the 1930's, Stuart Piggott and Alexander Keiller indicated that about 100 pairs of standing stones had once lined the avenue around 2200 BC. Beaker burials were also found underneath some of the stones which date back to between 2400 - 1800 BC.
The Avenue, which forms part of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, was first recorded by William Stukeley in 1740. The date of its construction is unknown, however evidence suggests that The Avenue was built in two separate stages, firstly in the Neolithic period and the second phase alongside Stonehenge.The early parts of the Avenue are almost invisible on the ground and now only the final section is visible.
Silbury Hill is a man-made chalk mound near Avebury, Wiltshire and is part of Stonehenge. The hill is 40 metres high, becoming the tallest prehistoric human-made mound in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It forms part of the complex of Neolithic monuments around Avebury. Archaeologists calculated that Silbury Hill was built about 4750 years ago and it took 18 million man-hours to deposit and shape the hill.
Normanton Downs, is a round barrow cemetery that dates from around 2600 to 1600 BC. It is one of the most impressive groups of burial mounds in the Stonehenge area. This barrow cemetery lies to the south of Stonehenge and contains several types of Bronze Age round barrows, as well as an earlier Neolithic long barrow.
The King Barrows are situated about 1.4 km to the east of Stonehenge. These two Bronze Age, Neolithic round Barrows are known as the Old and New King Barrows and date back to the same period as the third phase of building at Stonehenge. These barrow cemeteries are divided by the Stonehenge Avenue into two groups, the New King Barrows and the Old King Barrows.
