Among the ancient and sacred sites of England, West Kennet Long Barrow is still home to spirits and mystery.

Situated across the highway from Silbury Hill (the largest prehistoric mound in Europe)and a little over a mile from Avebury (the largest stone circle in the world--two of the most sacred sites in England),West Kennet Long Burrow pre-dates the creation of both Stonehenge and Avebury. A Neolithic site, West Kennet was probably a communal or clan project around 3250-3700 BCE. Three hundred-thirty feet long, this is the largest long barrow in England and Wales and was used not only as a burial shrine (the skeletons of 46 individuals have been found inside the underground shrine) but also a community focal site for ritual gatherings. The layout of the shrine consists of a stone lined corridor with five chambers (two on each side with the fifth at the end of the corridor),in what J.D. Wakefield compared to a "pregnant squatting goddess". These Neolithic burial sites were constructed to symbolize the Earth Mother. The dead interred here so that they may be reborn again in another life. It is likely that West Kennet Long Barrow’s primary function was to "provide a womb from which the dead ancestors could be reborn"(Wakefield). Not only skeletons (one with an arrow point still in the neck vertebrae and a slash on one arm) but six perforated ox bones which may have been small whistles used during the rituals were recovered from the shrine. In addition, a small figurine shaped like a "hooded hag" was found in one of the chambers—presumably to watch over the dead.

The construction of West Kennet Long Barrow was obviously a well-thought out plan. Many of the stones, which line the insides of the chambers, are from the River Frome region over 20 miles west.

It is not coincidental that West Kennet Long Barrow is so close to Silbury Hill. Constructed around 2500 B.C.E., 130 feet high, 520 feet across, and consisting of 35 million baskets of chalk, representing the Great Mother Goddess, Silbury Hill was a stepped pyramid built in seven concentric drums of white chalk, soil and gravel. The bottom layers of Silbury Hill consist of deposits of ash twigs, antlers, stone and bones—attesting to the sacredness of the site. The ancient Britons who viewed the hill would have seen a shining white pyramid rising from the ground. There is some speculation that Silbury Hill was used to align with the equinox’ and solstices. Likewise many of the Long Barrows appear to be aligned with the rising of the brightest stars. West Kennet is situated in an easterly direction aligning with the solstices. A curious Pagan survival was observed through the 19th century on Palm Sunday (also known as "Fig Sunday") when local residents would climb Silbury Hill to eat fig cakes and water sweetened with sugar. They would also go to Swallowhead Spring, the source of the River Kennet, where the same practice occurred.

For some reason around 3000 B.C.E. long barrows such as West Kennet were abandoned and sealed. The massive, flat stones shown in the photograph were used to seal the abandoned shrine around 2400 B.C.E. Apparently the focus of the people had shifted from that of a darker, hidden ritual practice seen at West Kennet to the more open, celebratory rituals seen at Avebury. Ronald Hutton suggests that the ancient tomb at West Kennet "was not only redundant but considered to be either a competitor with, or harmful to, the ceremonies now in progress" at Avebury and Stonehenge.

The spirit of West Kennet Long Barrow, however, did not cease to exist. Tales of apparitions associated with the shrine continue to exist.

The area within a few square miles surrounding West Kennet Long Barrow is probably one of the richest in sacred sites in England. Some interesting research on ley lines, those ancient power lines that appear to run underneath many, if not most, sacred sites around the world, show that West Kennet Long Barrow is on one line stretching from St. Michael’s Mount on the westernmost coast, through Glastonbury, Avebury, Stonehenge, Royston Cave, Bury and Hopton on the opposite side of England. On Beltaine, Lammas, Inbolc and Samhain the sunrise will appear directly from Avebury to Glastonbury.

Earth energy is apparent at Silbury Hill and West Kennet Long Barrow—as they lie directly on the St. Michael’s line. On my visit in September of 2000 two crop circles were seen within a short distance of both sites. In fact one was within yards of the burial shrine and the other approximately ½ mile between West Kennet and Silbury Hill. Hammish Miller and Paul Broadhurst noted that in 1988 51 crop circles were seen within seven miles of Silbury, 15 alone within a few days of each other directly across the road from Silbury Hill—exactly where the circles were seen on my visit.

One theory, more plausible perhaps than the "alien encounter" theory which is most popular, is that crop circles are a result of earth energy being released from below, causing the exquisite geometric shapes to appear. Take a look at a snowflake under a microscope to see the marvelous shapes that Mother Earth creates.

Another legend of West Kennet Long Barrow is that of a priest and a white hound with red ears appearing on the summer solstice and entering the shrine. During my visit to West Kennet I walked alone into the farthest chamber and took a photo that has amazed many people. A white, textured object apparently in motion was caught on film in an otherwise "empty" chamber. All that is certain is that the image is not the result of a light leak and that the camera was not moved, as evidenced by the sharply focused stones. Chief Druid Emma Restall Orr, when shown the photo, remarked that she had seen other similar images "many times, most often in the darker temples, like West Kennet and Waylands (smithy)". She believes that they are images of "spirit energy" emerging from the earth. Such spirit energy indeed may have induced others to see a ghostly priest and white hound on other occasions.

REFERENCES

Francis, Evelyn. Avebury. Powys, Wales: Wooden Books, 2000

Hadingham, Evan. Circles and Standing Stones. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1976

Hutton, Ronald. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd., 1991

Miller, Hammish and Paul Broadhurst. The Sun and the Serpent: An Investigation into Earth Mysteries. Launceton: Pendragon Press, 1989

Wakefield, J.D. Legendary Landscapes: Secrets of Ancient Wiltshire Revealed. Marlborough: Nod Press, 1999