West Kennet Longbarrow is to be found near Avebury in Wiltshire, and was made arguably more popular with pagans by being featured on "Desperately Seeking Something..." in the first series, where a group held a rite to Pan within it. Using candles. My particular feelings about this probably cannot be expressed without starting a rant, and we all know what that would mean.
The long mound is more than 300 feet long and is quite a superbly impressive structure all round. It supposedly dates from around 3500BCE, and may have continued in use for 1300 years. After that the chambers were filled with debris and the forecourt dismantled and laid vertically against the entranceway. The stones were re-erected and the chambers cleared with Stuart Piggot's excavation in 1956. There were a great many finds, including 46 disarticulated skeletons, pottery, beads, bone and stone tools. Skulls and long bones had been removed from the skeletons. Other bones and remains had been smashed against the chambers, says Julian Cope, "as if in a shamanic frenzy". Mmm. Yes. Well.
Andy Burnham has some information on West Kennet Longbarrow at http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~aburnham/eng/westk.htm.
| Visit date: | 27/12/1999 |
| Reporter: | Andy Burnham |
| Email: | aburnham@easynet.co.uk |
| Website: | http://www.prehistory.co.uk |
| Purpose: | Megalithic Meeting |
| Time since last visit: | 3 months |
| Nightlight remains: | Yes |
| Candlewax: | Yes - On stone surfaces. |
| Fire damage: | Yes - Candle scorching. |
| Soot damage: | Yes |
| Flowers: | Yes - Local. |
| Ritual remains: | Yes, paper prayer-type things. |
| Action taken: | Removed the night lights. |
| Comments: | Every time I go there there are lit nightlights - unbelievable. |
| Visit date: | 15/07/1999 |
| Reporter: | Hairy |
| Email: | hairy@free4all.co.uk |
| Website: | http://www.free0037121.free4all.co.uk |
| Purpose: | Personal |
| Time since last visit: | 3 months |
| Spoke to Land Spirits: | No |
| Nightlight remains: | Yes |
| Candlewax: | Yes |
| Joss sticks: | Yes |
| Incense remains: | Yes |
| Fire damage: | Yes |
| Soot damage: | Yes |
| Objects: | Yes |
| Flowers: | Yes |
| Left food: | Yes |
| Picnic remains: | Yes |
| Other marks: | Yes |
| Also found: | "Those bloody daft letters I mentioned above (one even complained about the letters!!!) [Please visit Hairy's web site for further information and an explanation of this comment - Sam] |
| Action taken: | Moved some of the junk. |
| Comments: | Paul Haskins - feel free to contact me any time if you need help! (if you visit my site and read my comments on w.kennet and stonehenge you'll see where I'm coming from) |
| Visit date: | 21/06/2001 |
| Reporter: | Andy Gates |
| Email: | andyg@ravenfamily.org |
| Website: | http://www.ravenfamily.org/andyg |
| Purpose: | Clean-up after Solstice revels |
| Time since last visit: | First visit |
| Spoke to Land Spirits: | Yes |
| And they said: | Had to keep a tight head in order to remain professional and calm, so wasn't really receptive. |
| Nightlight remains: | Yes |
| Candlewax: | Yes - Floor, stones, lichens affected |
| Joss sticks: | Yes |
| Charcoal incense block remains: | Yes |
| Fire damage: | Yes - Fire-pits outside. Party dudes. |
| Soot damage: | Yes |
| Damaged Lichen: | Yes |
| Objects: | Yes - Coins, joss, spell-bits, flowers, all sorts of stuff. Many. A carrier bag full. |
| Flowers: | Yes - Mostly local |
| Left food: | Yes |
| Picnic remains: | Yes |
| Cigarette ends: | Yes |
| Chalk marks: | Yes - Happy hippy spiral |
| Ritual remains: | Yes - A ring, spell-papers, nasty gunk sealing erosion holes, synthetic white ribbons tied to the rocks, feather bundles (wood pigeon, I think) |
| Also found: | Let me tip out my bag...scissors and an inflatable haemorrhoids comfort cushion…not only coins but also slot machine tockens (face value 0.004p, what a choice offering) |
| Action taken: | Cleared away the trash along with another ASLaN volunteer. Advised EH about the state of the place. Got them to radio NT, who went up to extinguish one of the fires and read the Riot Act to some late revellers. |
| Comments: | That's the first time the dreadful state of a site has reduced me to tears. The one scrap I can read is "To all my loved ones whom I have lost - all the grief and the pain and the sorrow all my [?]. Daddy, [list of other names], I beg you to rest here in this quiet place of mourning and internment may you [?] me clean & free forever more." Ghost dumping. She chose a suitable site, at least, but how rude is that? I twas on a piece of Eagle Creek Travel Gear notepaper - American tourist then. |