Winterbourne Basset (and Moo!)

Winterbourne Bassett 5

Image by Hob

suave harv Aug 17, 2003 21:57:16

Whilst spending time in Glastonbury today, I bought an O/S 157 ‘Explorer’ map of Avebury & Marlborough etc. I was amazed to see a stone circle marked at Winterbourne Basset, a small village a few miles north of Avebury. I was quite surprised, and drove over there this afternoon on the way back to Wolverhampton to check it out. I’ve been visiting Avebury for over ten years, and I was most intruiged that there was a circle close-by that I had never even heard of.
The field containing the circle was surrounded by barbed wire, and full of cows, but I braved it.
There were five half buried stones, and one larger further one. There is also an impressive standing stone over the road from the field the stones are in. I took photos but there is already some on this site (I would expect nothing less;-). The link -
http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/browse.php?site_id=2616
Anyways, it’s a very ruined site, but very interesting I feel because of its close proximity to Avebury.
Now to get to my question . . . on page 104 of the great Megalithomania book, there is a Stukeley picture of a circle “near Avebury” at Winterbourne. It looks nothing like the landscape that my new Winterbourne Basset circle is in.
Now, on page 118 of the new ‘Stukeley Illustrated’ book, ( thanks for the link Baza, I’ve got a copy now), the same picture is listed as Winterbourne ABBAS. Dorset! If you please! No wonder the landscape looks different!
I think the picture is labelled wrong in Megalithomania, so does this mean we don’t have any real idea of what the Winterbourne Basset circle was like?
Anyway, it’d be a nice, peaceful example of a ruined circle to visit if it wasn’t for the barbed wire and cows. There were cows on Glastonbury Tor too Saturday night! I’m sick of ‘em!

baza Aug 17, 2003 23:31:07

Replying to suave harv

This is what Stukeley has to say about Winterbourne Bassett in </I>Abury</I>:

"At Winterbourne-basset, a little north of Abury, in a field northwest of the church upon elevated ground, is
a double circle of stones concentric, 60 cubits diameter.
The two circles are near one another, so that one may walk between. Many of the stones have of late been
carryíd away. West of it is a single, broad, flat, and high stone, standing by itself. And about as far northward
from the circle, in a ploughíd field, is a barrow set round with, or rather composíd of large stones. I take this
double circle to have been a family chapel, as we may call it, to an archdruid dwelling near thereabouts, whilst
Abury was his cathedral."

So there`s <B>two</B> stone circles there!

That`s why, when people visit, they can`t work out how the stones make a circle.

The site was supposed to be excavated this year as past of the Negotiating Avebury project, but I think it`s been postponed.

baz

johan Aug 19, 2003 14:35:10

Replying to suave harv

try and pick up a copy of Prehistoric Avebury by Aubrey Burl, its a great book about the monuments in the Avebury area, and links comparisons with other areas such as Salisbury Plain. It mentions WB in a number of contexts as well as other 'lost' monuments in the area. Might give you a wider understanding of what was around the area, and what was contemporaneous with each other.

johan

ps, its a good read as well!