Cursuses aremonumentalNeolithic enclosure structures comprising parallel banks with externalditches ortrenches. Found only in the islands ofGreat Britain andIreland,[1][2] relics within them indicate that they were built between 3400 and 3000 BC, making them among the oldest monumental structures on the islands. The name 'cursus' was suggested in 1723 by the antiquarianWilliam Stukeley, who compared the Stonehenge cursus to aRoman chariot-racing track, orcircus.[3]
Cursuses range in length from 50 yards (46 m) to almost 6 miles (9.7 km). The distance between the parallel earthworks can be up to 100 yards (91 m). Banks at the terminal ends enclose the cursus. Over fifty have been identified viaaerial photography while many others have doubtless been obliterated by farming and other activities.[4]
TheStonehenge Cursus is a notable example within sight of the more famousStonehenge stone circle. Other examples are the four cursuses atRudston inYorkshire, that atFornham All Saints inSuffolk, the Cleaven Dyke inPerthshire and theDorset cursus.[5] The Bures cursus and the Metlands cursus are inBures St Mary, Suffolk, and were detected fromcropmarks. They are situated just above the floodplain of the north bank of theRiver Stour, Suffolk.[3] On 21 December each year the sun rises over Lodge Hills, Wormingford, and shines down the length of the Metlands cursus.
In the summer of 2023 excavation began at a cursus discovered near Drumadoon in theIsle of Arran in 2019. It is believed to be the only complete example in Britain. Archaeologists from Glasgow University co-led by Dr Kenneth Brophy and local volunteers began excavating at the site in August. Brophy judged the Arran cursus the most significant he had seen in his career.[6]
It has been conjectured that they were used inrituals connected withancestor veneration; or that they follow astronomical alignments; or that they served as buffer zones between ceremonial and occupation landscapes. More recent studies have reassessed the original interpretation and argued that they were used for ceremonial competitions. Finds of arrowheads at the terminal ends suggest archery and hunting were important to the builders and that the length of the cursus may have reflected its use as a proving ground for young men involving a journey to adulthood.Anthropological parallels exist[citation needed] for this interpretation.
Contemporary internal features are rare and it has been traditionally thought[by whom?] that the cursuses were used as processional routes. They are often aligned on and respect the position of pre-existinglong barrows andbank barrows and appear to ignore difficulties in terrain. TheDorset Cursus, the longest known example, crosses a river and three valleys along its course acrossCranborne Chase and is close to the henge monuments atKnowlton.
The present-dayTynwald day ceremony on theIsle of Man involves the procession of parliament along a cursus-like structure, which is sometimes suggested[by whom?] as a related or continual folk tradition with the Neolithic cursus. Larger scale modern ceremonial analogs might include theNational Mall in Washington, andThe Mall, London.
Numerous examples of cursuses are known and the discipline ofaerial archaeology is the most effective method of identifying such large features following thousands of years of weathering and plough damage.[7] Some cursuses have only been identified through a first sighting ofcropmarks visible from aerial reconnaissance; for example, the cropmarks atFetteresso were the first indication of a cursus at that location inAberdeenshire,Scotland.[8]
'Cursus' (plural 'cursūs' or 'cursuses') was a name given by early Britisharchaeologists such asWilliam Stukeley to the large parallel lengths of banks with external ditches which they thought were earlyRoman athletic courses, after theLatin wordcursus, meaning "course".
