Durrington Walls Archaeological Site

Address: Durrington Walls, near Amesbury, Wiltshire, England

Hours: Open access (daylight hours)

Admission: Free (scheduled tours or events may have fees)

Durrington Walls is a major Neolithic henge enclosure near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, notable for its very large bank and ditch and associated prehistoric settlement remains. It is one of the largest henge sites in Britain.

The principal feature is the circular bank and ditch enclosure, roughly 500 metres in diameter, enclosing an area that has produced evidence of Neolithic timber houses and large-scale feasting deposits. Archaeological excavations have revealed extensive traces of settlement and activity contemporary with the later stages of Stonehenge.

Constructed in the late Neolithic period, around the third millennium BCE, the enclosure and associated settlements are interpreted as part of the ritual and domestic landscape linked to Stonehenge. Subsequent centuries left little later structural superimposition, preserving large areas of Neolithic archaeology.

Durrington Walls lies on Salisbury Plain near the village of Durrington and the town of Amesbury, within the broader Stonehenge World Heritage landscape and a short distance northeast of Stonehenge itself.

• Scale: The enclosure is one of the largest Neolithic henge sites in Britain, with a bank and ditch roughly 500 metres across and extensive internal archaeology.
• Context: It lies within the Stonehenge landscape and is often visited in conjunction with nearby prehistoric sites rather than as an isolated attraction.

Durrington Walls is a short drive from Amesbury and about 15 minutes by car from the Stonehenge visitor centre (A303 corridor). Public buses run from Salisbury to Amesbury; from there local taxis or a 25-40 minute walk reach the site.

• Go at dawn or dusk for light and near-solitude; the site is open landscape rather than a staffed museum.
• Listen for the faint hum of sheep and tractors - the henge sits in ordinary working farmland, and most modern significance comes from archaeological layers, not infrastructure.
• Combine a visit with Stonehenge (7-10 minutes' drive) to feel the ritual landscape that spans prehistoric Salisbury Plain.