Stonehenge Cursus, WiltshireDorset Cursus terminal on Thickthorn Down, Dorset
This article is about the monumental Neolithic structures. For the four-volume breviary, see Liturgy of the Hours. For other uses, see Cursus (disambiguation).
Cursuses are monumental Neolithic structures resembling ditches or trenches in the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.[1] Relics found within them indicate that they were built between 3400 and 3000 BC, making them among the oldest monumental structures on the islands. The name 'cursus' was suggested in 1723 by William Stukeley, the antiquarian, who compared the Stonehenge cursus to a Roman chariot-racing track, or circus.[2]
Cursuses range in length from 50 yards (46 m) to almost 6 miles (9.7 km). The distance between the parallel earthworks can be up to 100 yards (91 m). Banks at the terminal ends enclose the cursus. Over fifty have been identified via aerial photography while many others have doubtless been obliterated by farming and other activities.[3]
The Stonehenge Cursus is a notable example within sight of the more famous Stonehenge stone circle. Other examples are the four cursuses at Rudston in Yorkshire, that at Fornham All Saints in Suffolk, the Cleaven Dyke in Perthshire and the Dorset cursus.[4] The Bures cursus and the Metlands cursus are in Bures St Mary, Suffolk, and were detected from cropmarks. They are situated just above the floodplain of the north bank of the River Stour, Suffolk.[5] On 21 December each year the sun rises over Lodge Hills, Wormingford, and shines down the length of the Metlands cursus.
In the summer of 2023 excavation began at a cursus discovered near Drumadoon in the Isle of Arran in 2019. It is believed to be the only complete example in Britain. Archaeologists from Glasgow University co-led by Dr Kenneth Brophy and local volunteers began excavating at the site in August. Brophy judged the Arran cursus the most significant he had seen in his career.[6]
^McOmish, 1999
^The Stour Valley: a Prehistoric Landscape, Colchester Archaeological Group
^Peter James and Nick Thorpe (November 1999) "Ancient Mysteries", p,316-9.
^Champion, 2005
^The Stour Valley: a Prehistoric Landscape, Colchester Archaeological Group
the islands. The name 'cursus' was suggested in 1723 by William Stukeley, the antiquarian, who compared the Stonehenge cursus to a Roman chariot-racing...
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cursus honorum. Diagram of the cursus honorum Archived 2008-12-25 at the Wayback Machine Livius.org: Cursus honorum...
The Stonehenge Cursus (sometimes known as the Greater Cursus) is a large Neolithic cursus monument on Salisbury plain, near to Stonehenge in Wiltshire...
extent of the cursus publicus is shown in the Tabula Peutingeriana, a map of the Roman road network dating from around AD 400. The cursus publicus was...
The Dorset Cursus is a Neolithic cursus monument that spans across 10 km (6¼ miles) of the chalk downland of Cranborne Chase in east Dorset, United Kingdom...
Cursus Barrows is the name given to a Neolithic and Bronze Age round barrow cemetery lying mostly south of the western end of the Stonehenge Cursus,...
In cursu honorum (lit. 'in a course of honors') is a Latin phrase that refers to specialized study at the undergraduate level. Generally, a small percentage...
and exits. The terminal point of a cursus is an area that is either square or rounded in shape. The Newgrange cursus can be found approximately 100m east...
monuments in Troqueer parish. Curriestanes is an earthwork cursus. While familiar from cursus sites in England, these types of monuments are less common...
The Patrologia Graeca (PG, or Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca) is an edited collection of writings by the Church Fathers and various secular...
cursus honorum, the sequence of offices pursued by the Roman who chose to pursue a political career. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla regulated the cursus...
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus (c. 155 BC – c. 91 BC) was an ancient Roman statesman and general, he was a leader of the Optimates, the conservative...
civilistischen Cursus I (1 ed.). Berlin: August Mylius. Hugo, Gustav (1798). Lehrbuch des Naturrechts (in German). Vol. Lehrbuch eines civilistischen Cursus II (1 ed...
head Nationality Roman Occupation Statesman Known for Gang violence Office Cursus honorum up to praetor (including tribune of the plebs) Political party Optimates...
course in ecclesiastical Latin). Harsch, Ulrich (1996–2010). "Ludus Latinus Cursus linguae latinae". Bibliotheca Augustana (in Latin). Augsburg: University...
Yorkshire, England. The site includes many large ancient structures including a cursus, henges, burial grounds and settlements. They are thought to have been part...
Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri...
tombs in the surrounding landscape. In approximately 3500 BC, a Stonehenge Cursus was built 2,300 feet (700 m) north of the site as the first farmers began...
Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri...
Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri...
Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri...
called the publication of the Cursus "a milestone in the teaching of thomistic philosophy." The Thomist praised the Cursus for adhering faithfully to "the...
Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri...
Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri...
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