juamei wrote:
"If the Cursus was a processional route then the processors would have had to fall down/climb this cliff as they precessed. The land just below it (the seasonal pond, with a modern wellhead in it) would have been very boggy in the winter. Not the ideal route for a procession."
Well cursuses, like circles have no evidence for one thing or another. Two things, modern thinking - animal droving,There are other bits along the route as well which wouldn't be good.
modern thinking- ritualistic/sacred application to monuments. Neolithic thinking could have a somewhat different approach. Their ancestral history goes back to mesolithic/hunting, (even driving animals to their death over cliffs maybe like Swallowcliffe), therefore the droving and driving animals to their death is quite logical along a cursus, also the Swallowcliffe is a seasonal pond for water for their animals.... Dorset Cursus is 90 metres wide, pretty large for just humans to process along; religous/ceremonial/killing function of a cursus as the winter season approaches Jamie...