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Unfortunately the term ritual has been used (and often) abused ad infinitum. it has become a standing joke amongst archaeology students, that one only has to attribute any evidence which is not readily understood to ritual activity. For clarity's sake: this is how the author understands and uses the term ritual:

  • ritual is an activity which is carried out according to a set pattern

  • ritual includes spiritual, religious and pseudo-religious behaviour

  • people can have personal rituals:, e.g.  always having a cup of coffee before breakfast, etc.

  • graduation ceremonies, the state opening of parliament, etc are examples of modern rituals.

It follows from this definition, that there are rituals within any society. From an archaeological point of view it is, however, nearly always impossible to elucidate the nature of these rituals. Many may not leave any evidence to be found beyond the structures in which they took place. Many more may not even have taken place within structures, or have required any artefacts in their conduct. As an analogy, imagine a visitor from Mars looking at European cathedrals. Our hypothetical alien might realise, that these buildings have a special, non-functional significance. He might even understand that churches, whilst smaller play a similar role. But, this would not mean that he has grasped the principles of Christianity. In other words: the alien would recognise that a ritual is taking place, but would not understand the nature or purpose of the ritual. In many ways, the archaeologist faced with prehistoric ritual is in the position of that alien.

Stonehenge as it might have looked after its final phase of construction. It was aligned along a solar axis. An avenue led from the entrance of the monument towards the river Avon.

Structures such as Stonehenge and the many other henges in the Wessex landscape almost certainly were the setting of some ritual activity. Similar monuments and monumental landscapes are also known from other areas of England and continental Europe, although they are not all of the same date. Current ideas include that large sections of the population may have been excluded from some ritual areas (such as the henges), but that other rituals, such as those surrounding cremations, would have been more public affairs. Another current theory suggests that the position of barrows and other monuments within the landscape was governed by spiritual beliefs. According to this theory, the Bronze Age Wessex landscape itself become a ritual setting: a ritual landscape.