Wayland’s Smithy Long Barrow: A Walk into the Neolithic

Join Stone Temple Gardening and Hedley Thorne of Wessex Ways Podcast for a morning walk to Wayland’s Smithy, the great Neolithic long barrow beside the Ridgeway in Oxfordshire. We approach the monument on foot, explore its façade, passage and chambers, and look closely at the immense sarsen stones: their archaeology, restoration, natural forms and the strange animal-like shapes that emerge as you move around them. Wayland’s Smithy was not built all at once. Beneath the later long barrow lay an earlier mortuary site and oval barrow, making this a place where death, stone and memory were remade across generations. Hedley’s drone footage reveals the Smithy in its wider chalk landscape: an island of trees amid fields, ridge and distant horizons. With grateful thanks to Hedley Thorne of Wessex Ways for his knowledge, company and drone footage. Part 1 of our Wayland’s Smithy–Uffington landscape walk. Part 2 will continue to Uffington White Horse and the surrounding monuments. Look closely. Think independently. Keep the wonder. ☕ Support Stone Temple Gardening Stone Temple Gardening is built through fieldwork: walking, filming, photographing and testing prehistoric landscapes on the ground. If this work interests you, you can support future site visits, filming and independent research here: https://ko-fi.com/stonetemplegardening Every contribution helps keep STG independent and its research freely accessible. Thank you! #WaylandsSmithy #LongBarrow #Neolithic #Archaeology #Uffington #Ridgeway Tags Wayland's Smithy, Waylands Smithy, Wayland's Smithy long barrow, Neolithic long barrow, Neolithic archaeology, Oxfordshire archaeology, Ridgeway, Uffington, Uffington White Horse, ancient monuments, chambered tomb, Stone Temple Gardening, Hedley Thorne, Wessex Ways, prehistoric Britain, British archaeology Thumbnail Picture by Hedley Thorne Music: Meditation Relaxing and Chill Artist: Ivymusic Source: Pixabay Licence