Salisbury Plain,
undulating, mostly grass covered chalk plateau, c.300 sq mi (780 sq
km), Wiltshire, S England. It is noted chiefly as the site of
prehistoric monuments, of which Stonehenge is the most famous. The
region is also an army training ground.
The region of Wessex
covers most of south-western England and contains much of
Britain’s richest archaeology. In fact Wessex is regarded,
more than any other region, as the cradle of England.
There is a deep
heritage to this ancestral land, stemming from a strong Stone Age
legacy. At its heart lies a fertile plain where an impressive
spectrum of Neolithic and Bronze Age sites bear testament to the
skills and ideals of societies who first made this region a centre
of prehistoric power and prestige. The famous centrepiece is, of
course, Stonehenge, where recent investigations have begun to
reveal how this World Heritage monument was originally integrated
into a wider landscape of even older sites and
monuments.
Another landscape
cluster of impressive ancient sites occurs around Avebury, Silbury
HIll and West Kennet. Indeed, the museums at Salisbury, Devices and
Dorchester display the treasures excavated from numerous mounds and
monuments throughout Wessex. By later prehistory the continued
success of the region led to the development of impressive Celtic
hillforts, such as Maiden Castle in Dorset, Danebury in Hampshire
and Old Sarum in Wiltshire. Their massive earthwork ramparts
reflect the warlike nature of tribal society before the arrival of
new social and economic conditions with the Roman
Empire.
