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La Victoire de Samothrace, Unknown, 190 BC
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West Kennet & Normanton Down - Neolithic Long Barrows

Stonehenge

Neolithic

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With the advent of agriculture, humans began to settle in permanent farming communities.

They also began to bury their dead in large communal tombs - long barrows.

These impressive structures are large earth mounds up to 70m long, flanked by 2 long ditches on either side.

Inside, they feature an entrance, a long corridor and several rooms branching off on either side.

They would typically be built on hills.

It's difficult to spot them - but building structures such as these would have required a tremendous amount of work.

First, the land would have needed to be cleared of trees, using simple stone axes.

Next the earth would have needed to be excavated using deer antlers.

Finally, massive multi-ton rocks would have needed to be carved out of quarries and transported to the site.

It's estimated that around 40,000 Neolithic long barrows have survived to this day.

West Kennet is one of the largest in the UK.

Over 1,000 years, around 50 people were buried here.

The barrow was then mysteriously sealed around 2000 BC, and a false entrance was created!

Another significant long barrow site is Normanton Down, near Stonehenge, which boasts the largest group of barrows in the UK - with one Neolithic long barrow and 40 Bronze Age long and round barrows.

As described by experts at Maeshowe, a famous long barrow on the island of Orkney, long barrows represent "an expression of genius within a group of people whose other tombs were claustrophobic chambers in smaller mounds".

Curious to learn more?

Follow up with the A.I :

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La Joconde, de Vinci (1519)

Next:

Windmill Hill - Causewayed Enclosures

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