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| The Stone Circle at Crickley Hill, complete with central ‘altar stone’. It marks the NW end of the Long Mound and the underlying Cairn, which can be seen in the background. |
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| The strange pattern of grooves in the top of the Cairn under the Long Mound. |
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| Excavating the Long Mound in 1990. The edges of the Mound were marked with stone slabs, some with special find underneath. The Stone Circle is under the turves in the background, commanding the view over the Severn Valley. |
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| The Neolithic platform, dating to about 3400BC, which lay underneath the Stone Circle. The shape of the rectangular ‘shrine’ building can be seen in the lighter stone in the foreground. |
New research reveals the long and complex story of the Crickley Hill Long Mound
Newly published research finally reveals that an enigmatic monument at Crickley Hill near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire was a religious or ceremonial complex dating back to the Neolithic period of about 3400 BC. What is extraordinary is that it continued to be used and was rebuilt numerous times over the next 3000 years, and perhaps even longer.
The spectacular site on the edge of the Cotswolds is famous for its views and an Iron Age hillfort of 5-700BC, but settlement there began 4000 years earlier. 25 years of excavation ended in 1993, with post-excavation work continuing since then.
The latest part of the site story has just been published, as Volume 3 of the excavation report. It explains the Long Mound valley, a shallow depression which held a 100 metre long earth mound. When excavated, a previously unknown stone circle was found at the north end, and underneath the mound were several earlier stone cairns and other clearly religious features.
Philip Dixon, the dig director, said It has taken us thirty years of research and analysis, but we can finally explain how this monument was built and used.’
The first development was a stone platform about 15 metres across with a small ‘shrine’ building, dated to 3400BC. Later this was destroyed, to be covered by a 30m long stone cairn with a strange pattern of grooves carved into the top. This was extended three or four times over several thousand years. When each new section of cairn was added, each in a different style, the previous segment was deliberately covered by an earth mound, starting at the north end and extending as each new segment of cairn was added. The last part to be added covers an Iron Age posthole with a C14 date of about 400BC, giving a period of use of more than 3000 years.
Hearths, platforms, apparently ceremonial deposits and lines of pits were found associated. The stone circle was built at the northern end of the mound, with a large ‘altar stone’ at the centre. It seems all of this was used for religious or ceremonial purposes, perhaps including sacrifices and feasts at various times.
It isn’t clear whether the site was in use continuously, but frequent rebuilds and additions show there was a long period of activity. It is very unusual for one place to have been actively used for religious purposes for such a long time. The mound, still clearly visible on site, continued to be used as a place to deposit special items, definitely in the Roman period and probably later. There are no other monuments in Britain which look like the Crickley Long Mound.
Crickley Hill Volume 3: The Long Mound Valley is published by the Crickley Hill Archaeological Trust. 320 pages and over 250 colour illustrations: £25 plus £5 postage and packing. For a copy, please email [crickleybooks@gmail.com](mailto:crickleybooks@gmail.com).
