Thornborough Henges - Cursus

Cursus

The cursus is the oldest and largest ancient monument at Thornborough. It is almost a mile in extent and runs from Thornborough Village, under the (later) central henge and terminates close to the River Ure in a broadly east/west alignment.

Cursuses are perhaps the most enigmatic of ancient monuments. They typically comprise two parallel ditches, the larger of which can be a mile or more in extent, cut to create a "cigar shaped" enclosure. Typically, burial mounds and mortuary enclosures are found alongside cursus monuments indicating that they probably had a ceremonial function.