Description of Wayland’s Smithy

It is the ruins of the second, larger barrow at Wayland’s Smithy, which dates from about 3460–3400 BC, that visitors see today.

Part of the kerb of sarsen slabs surrounding the mound at Wayland’s Smithy
Part of the kerb of sarsen slabs surrounding the mound at Wayland’s Smithy

Mound

The trapezoidal mound at Wayland’s Smithy, just under 55 metres long, is made of chalk and earth. The perimeter of the mound is defined by a continuous kerb of sarsen stones. The long sides of the mound were originally flanked by steep-side ditches, from which most the mound material came.

The entrance to the stone-lined chamber of the second, later barrow
The entrance to the stone-lined chamber of the second, later barrow

Burial Chamber

Within the southern end of the mound is the burial chamber itself. The chamber consists of a narrow and partially constricted passage, leading to a pair of small side chambers aligned east–west. By the time the chambers were examined in 1920 they had been ransacked, but they still contained the jumbled remains of several people.

Entrance

At the entrance to the chamber a drystone wall forms a façade, and against this are set four large sarsen stones; there were originally six, three on either side of the entrance. The four remaining stones were found lying in front of the monument and restored in 1962.