Kennet Long Barrow and the tomb dust
Kaety was staring at the blue dot on Apple maps, and I was trying to navigate out of the car park. We were trying to find a tomb, but every time we typed in ‘Kennet Long Barrow’ it directed us to the middle of a roadless field.
So…we drove towards the field with high hopes.
I screeched to a halt and whipped into a ‘lay over’, which is what we’d call the shoulder of the road in the US, as I saw an ancient tomb in the distance. It was indeed in the middle of a farmers wheat field.
There was a track that lead up the hill to a 5000 year old tomb that had contained 36 bodies. At some point up the track our teen daughter asked in a slightly sarcastic and dry tone, “Why are we walking up this hill to see a mound of dirt?”
I looked over at her, “It’s not a mound of dirt, it’s a 5000 year old tomb?”
She replied, “Haven’t we been in like 40 graveyards during the trip?”
I smiled at her, “Honey this is better than a graveyard, this is a tomb you get to crawl into”
She started looking a bit worried, “Crawl into where the bodies were?”
I jumped up and down, “Yes, isn’t that great!”
The view was stunning and the tomb was just a small alcove, but still pretty amazing.
I had to do another round of laundry when we got home because I realized that I had limestone tomb dust ground into my pants. That stuff doesn’t just brush off!
Tips for visiting Kennet Barrow and the greater Avebury World Heritage Site:
Kennet Barrow is one site in within the Avebury World Heritage area. The trail head to the Barrow is literally a pull out along a somewhat significant highway. It took us several passes back and forth to convince ourselves that we had found it.
The path sends you through a livestock gate and then up a path that punches up the hill through a farmer’s wheat field. It looks like a place where you might not be allowed, but you are. Once you crest the top of the hill you will see the Barrow and supporting interpretive signage. The view from the top is pretty wonderful and if the season is right you can catch a view of the White Horse.
An amazing henge site is in the nearby village of Avebury, less than 3 miles away from the Barrow - don't miss it.
