Symbolic boundaries, Conceptual territories and Cursus Complexes.
How do they fit in to the middle Neolithic. Rectangular enclosure defined by a bank and ditch. Appearance of a roman road. Scorton north Yorkshire, Stanwell Greater London, have a central bank running down the cursus. Dorset Cursus 9.8m made of 2 which were joined Gusset and Pentridge cursus to produce the longest of the known monuments rarely more than 2m. Width 20 and 120m. Ditches and banks appear continuous. Causeways do exist associated with the ends of the monuments. They link in with the social processes of the middle Neolithic. Date to the 4th millennium. Sutton Courtney or Drayton B represent the earliest time scale 3600BC Later cursus are represented by Dorchester on Thames Oxfordshire 3600BC. Winterbourne Stoke Lesser Stonehenge Cursus and Dorset Cursus fall in to this time range. Amesbury Greater Stonehenge Cursus is an exception and does not fall in key 3. Rarely large amounts of artefacts, when there is pottery this falls in to the middle Neolithic .
It is apparent they have order and alignment within the landscape. They impose their own structure. This is a new concept and can be seen at Dorchester on Thames, there are originally 3 enclosures and these are replaced and drawn together by the building of the cursus. .
Their general landscape setting. Long barrow are on elevated positions causeway enclosures on hill tops. They are deliberately positioned. The cursus appear to cut across a number of topographic zones. Amesbury Greater Stonehenge Cursus cuts across the head of a small valley, the terminals are on the side of the hill. Dorset Cursus runs across the head of 2 valley systems. They are linking the topographic zones of the landscape. Rudstone 4 cursus linking chalk ridges and the low lying areas. They are orientated on equinoxes when the day is the same length as the night. The setting sun will set along the orientation of the sun.
