View source for Cursus

{{short description|Neolithic earthwork}}
{{about|the monumental Neolithic structures|the four-volume breviary|Liturgy of the Hours|other uses}}
[[File:Stonehenge-cursus-stukeley.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A view of the Stonehenge Cursus , drawn by their documenter  and namer of the structures, William Stuckley in 1740]]
'''Cursuses''' are [[monument]]al [[Neolithic]] enclosure structures  comprising parallel banks with external [[ditch]]es or [[trench]]es. Found only in the islands of [[Great Britain]] and [[Ireland]],<ref>McOmish, 1999</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Loveday |first=Roy |date=September 2019 |title=Neolithic Fact-sheet 8, - Neolithic Cursus Monuments |url=https://www.prehistoricsociety.org/sites/prehistoricsociety.org/files/resources/ps-intros-neo-8-cursus-monuments.pdf |journal=The Prehistoric Society}}</ref> relics within them indicate that they were built between 3400 and 3000 BC, making them among the oldest monumental structures on the islands. The name 'cursus' was suggested in 1723 by the antiquarian [[William Stukeley]], who compared the Stonehenge cursus to a [[Roman circus|Roman chariot-racing track]], or [[Roman circus|circus]].<ref name="Colchester">''The Stour Valley: a Prehistoric Landscape''. Colchester Archaeological Group.</ref>

[[File:Stonehenge Cursus.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|[[Stonehenge Cursus]], Wiltshire]]
Cursuses range in length from {{convert|50|yd}} to almost {{convert|6|mi}}. The distance between the parallel earthworks can be up to {{convert|100|yd}}. Banks at the terminal ends enclose the cursus. Over fifty have been identified via [[aerial photography]] while many others have doubtless been obliterated by farming and other activities.<ref>Peter James and Nick Thorpe (November 1999). ''Ancient Mysteries''. pp. 316–319.</ref>

The [[Stonehenge Cursus]] is a notable example within sight of the more famous [[Stonehenge]] stone circle. Other examples are the four cursuses at [[Rudston]] in [[Yorkshire]], that at [[Fornham All Saints]] in [[Suffolk]], the Cleaven Dyke in [[Perthshire]] and the [[Dorset Cursus|Dorset cursus]].<ref>Champion, 2005</ref> The Bures cursus and the Metlands cursus are in [[Bures St Mary]], Suffolk, and were detected from [[cropmark]]s. They are situated just above the floodplain of the north bank of the [[River Stour, Suffolk]].<ref name="Colchester"/> On 21 December each year the sun rises over Lodge Hills, Wormingford, and shines down the length of the Metlands cursus.

In the summer of 2023 excavation began at a cursus discovered near Drumadoon in the [[Isle of Arran]] in 2019. It is believed to be the only complete example in Britain. Archaeologists from Glasgow University co-led by Dr Kenneth Brophy and local volunteers began excavating at the site in August. Brophy judged the Arran cursus the most significant he had seen in his career.<ref>{{cite news | title=Archaeologists uncover complete Neolithic cursus on the Isle of Arran | url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/04/archaeologists-uncover-complete-neolithic-cursus-on-the-isle-of-arran | first=Libby | last=Brooks | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=4 September 2023 | access-date=3 Mar 2025}}</ref>

== Function ==
[[image:Dorset cursus terminal on thickthorn down.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Dorset Cursus]] terminal on Thickthorn Down, Dorset]][[File:Tynwald Hill.jpg|300px|thumbnail|right|Tynwald Hill, Isle of Man]]
It has been conjectured that they were used in [[ritual]]s connected with [[ancestor veneration]]; or that they follow astronomical alignments; or that they served as buffer zones between ceremonial and occupation landscapes. More recent studies have reassessed the original interpretation and argued that they were used for ceremonial competitions. Finds of arrowheads at the terminal ends suggest archery and hunting were important to the builders and that the length of the cursus may have reflected its use as a proving ground for young men involving a journey to adulthood. [[Anthropology|Anthropological]] parallels exist{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} for this interpretation.

Contemporary internal features are rare and it has been traditionally thought{{by whom|date=July 2019}} that the cursuses were used as processional routes. They are often aligned on and respect the position of pre-existing [[long barrow]]s and [[bank barrow]]s and appear to ignore difficulties in terrain. The [[Dorset Cursus]], the longest known example, crosses a river and three valleys along its course across [[Cranborne Chase]] and is close to the henge monuments at [[Knowlton Circles|Knowlton]].

The present-day [[Tynwald day]] ceremony on the [[Isle of Man]] involves the procession of parliament along a cursus-like structure, which is sometimes suggested{{by whom|date=July 2019}} as a related or continual folk tradition with the Neolithic cursus. Larger scale modern ceremonial analogs might include the [[National Mall]] in Washington, and [[The Mall, London]].

==Identification by aerial photography==
Numerous examples of cursuses are known and the discipline of [[aerial archaeology]] is the most effective method of identifying such large features following thousands of years of weathering and plough damage.<ref>English Heritage</ref> Some cursuses have only been identified through a first sighting of [[cropmark]]s visible from aerial reconnaissance; for example, the cropmarks at [[Fetteresso Castle|Fetteresso]] were the first indication of a cursus at that location in [[Aberdeenshire]], [[Scotland]].<ref>Hogan, 2008</ref>

== Etymology ==

'Cursus' (plural 'cursūs' or 'cursuses') was a name given by early British [[archaeology|archaeologists]] such as [[William Stukeley]] to the large parallel lengths of banks with external ditches which they thought were early [[Cursus (classical)|Roman athletic courses]], after the [[Latin]] word ''[[wikt:cursus#Latin|cursus]]'', meaning "course".

==See also==
*[[Avenue (archaeology)]]
*[[Cursus publicus]]

==Line notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*Jim Champion, [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146412148 "The Enigmatic Cursus"], ''Megalithic Portal'', 23 April 2005, ed. A. Burnham
*Loveday, Roy (September 2019). [https://www.prehistoricsociety.org/sites/prehistoricsociety.org/files/resources/ps-intros-neo-8-cursus-monuments.pdf "Neolithic Fact-sheet 8, - Neolithic Cursus Monuments" , The Prehistoric Society]
*C. Michael Hogan (2008) [http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/10937/fetteresso.html#fieldnotes "Fetteresso Fieldnotes"], ''The Modern Antiquarian''
*David McOmish, [http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba69/feat1.shtml "Cursus: solving a 6,000-year-old puzzle"], ''British Archaeology'', Issue no 69, March 2003, editor Simon Denison  ISSN 1357-4442
*Don Lipman, "Snow fences: do they still serve a purpose?", The Washington Post, 10 January 2013
* [https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/vast-neolithic-monument-found-on-isle-of-arran-6vktnxw53 The Times, Vast Neolithic monument found on Isle of Arran]
*[http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/world-heritage-site/map/cursus/ English Heritage: Cursus]
*Gerald S. Hawkins (with John B. White), ''Stonehenge Decoded'' Doubleday & Co Inc, Garden City, New York (1965)
* Loveday, R.  2006. Inscribed across the Landscape. The cursus enigma. Stroud: Tempus 
* Brophy, K. 2016 Reading Between the Lines. The Neolithic cursus monuments of Scotland.  London: Routledge Barclay, 
* A. & Harding J. (eds) 1999. Pathways and Ceremonies. The cursus monuments of Britain and Ireland. Neolithic Studies Group Seminar Papers 4. Oxford: Oxbow Books 
{{commons category|Cursuses}}

{{Neolithic Europe|state=expanded}}
{{Prehistoric technology}}

[[Category:Stone Age Britain]]
[[Category:Types of monuments and memorials]]