Woodhenge – Timber Circle and Ritual Landscape Guide

Bottom line: Woodhenge is a carefully planned timber monument that helps decode how people moved, gathered, and made meaning across the Stonehenge landscape.

Fast Facts

What Was Woodhenge?

• A monument of six concentric rings of timber posts, not stone.
• Central features likely framed movement, sound, and sky cues.
• Its geometry shows planning and social coordination similar in spirit to Stonehenge.

Plan and Materials

• Post rings set out with care; posts may have varied heights.
• Timber implies a different ritual tone from stone—more ephemeral, more renewable.
• Proximity to Durrington Walls links Woodhenge to feast and gathering spaces.

Image Highlights

How It Fits the Landscape

• Think in routes: River Avon, Durrington Walls, Woodhenge, and Stonehenge form a ritual constellation.
• Movement between timber and stone may have marked life-cycle or seasonal transitions.
• Alignments and sightlines need not match Stonehenge to be meaningful—they shape different moments.

Evidence and Excavation

• Excavations and surveys define the post holes and ring geometry.
• Experimental archaeology helps model construction and crowd flow.
• Geophysics (magnetometry, LIDAR) maps surrounding features.

Visiting Tips

• Woodhenge is subtle—read the plan on the ground; use on-site diagrams.
• Pair the visit with Durrington Walls to feel scale and context.
• Go early or late for quieter light and easier orientation.

Bottom Line

Woodhenge complements Stonehenge: timber and stone together tell a bigger story of gathering, movement, and shared time.

See Also

• The Ritual Landscape
• The Avenue and River Avon
• Who built it?