Era 2: Pre-Stonehenge neolithic landscape 4000-3000BC
Robin Hood's Ball
Long Barrows
Situated on a hilltop approximately 3km north west, Robin Hood's Ball was two rings of banks and ditches enclosing an oval space. It is the only local example of a Neolithic "causewayed enclosure" and is probably the earliest prehistoric enclosure in the area. It may have served as a ceremonial enclosure for meetings.
The early Neolithic farmers buried their dead in long barrows - fifteen of which lie within a radius of about 5km of Stonehenge. This confirms that the area was one of special significance even before Stonehenge was built. The long barrows of the area vary in length from 20m to 80m and all but one is longer than 30m. A long barrow may have been the tomb of all the members of a single family (apart from children who died very young), but was more likely used only for the burial of selected people if special importance, belonging to a group of neighbouring or related families.