close
more_vert

The palisaded enclosures by Silbury have evidence of pig offerings in the post holes, quote from Whittles book on Silbury and Palisade enclosures, (Sacred Mounds, Holy Rings)

palisade posts indicate the immediacy of bone treatment. Cattle may have been valued for ritual and slaughter (greater fragmentation of cattle bones) no evidence for marrow extraction.
Ritual and deposition; animal bone was placed around posts in the process of backfilling the ditches and constructing the palisades. Slaughter, sacrifice, feasting and deposition were closely related...In late neolithic long established tradition of feasting, the enclosures were overlooked by the ancestors in WKLB, most bone concealed but some left on top as a visual reminder for later gatherings...pigs may have had symbolic meaning in their own right. Emphasis on right side may be connected with a sense of propitiousness...comparing them to tribes in
Papua New Guinea - a largely vegetarian society, their pigs were bound
up with warfare and peace making, spirits and ritual, reared from a young age by women. When pig numbers reached a peak a kaiko was held. Pigs were slaughtered but not all eaten they were sacrificed, the ceremony was designed to bring peace with neighbouring tribes..

There are others on this forum that believe pigsticking went on in Avebury henge

This is so cool. I wasn't aware of that quote, so thanks.
I'm still developing what I'm putting in the book (also called SWS, published by Thames & Hudson late this year or early next) but thoughts developed about it which were too late for the film.

It struck me that henges were generally in use for a long time and soil from the ditches always made up the banks. Plenty of people agree that the banks were seating for spectators but have always had this fancy idea about how 'special' multiple ditch henges must have been. I think it's more simple. If a site becomes more popular over time and populations are increasing too, you need bigger banks to create more seating.

I reckoned that if you could prove that at a multiple ditch henge, the bank was made from the soil of both ditches, it would add a lot of weight to the theory.

Guess what the latest soil analysis at Thornborough showed...

Bingo!