Cursus

A Neolithic ritual monument consisting of a long narrow enclosure or avenue delineated by banks and external ditches. William Stukeley coined the term for the Stonehenge example which is more than 3 km long. These monuments clearly represent a very considerable investment of labor for Neolithic communities, but their function remains unknown. This type of monument is found only in Britain, and belongs to the later part of the Neolithic. The Dorset Cursus (the longest known example) in Cranborne Chase is six miles long, 100 yards wide, flanked by banks and external ditch, and is the largest prehistoric monument in Britain.

A type of Neolithic earthen monument found in Britain, consisting of a long narrow enclosure or avenue delineated by banks and external ditches. The antiquary William Stukely was the first to identify a monument of this type, near Stonehenge, and he is responsible for the name: he compared the monument to a Roman racetrack. The Stonehenge example is more than 3 km long, but the longest known example, the Dorset cursus, is nearly 10 km in length. These monuments clearly represent a very considerable investment of labour for Neolithic communities; their function is unknown.