Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
An elevated (and later remodelled) medieval chapel may be the most noticeable thing in this picture of the beautiful La Hougue Bie near Grouville in Jersey, but the vast mound that this stone structure crowns has much older origins. The 12.2m-tall man-made mound (‘hougue’ in Jèrriais, the Norman French-derived language spoken on the island) covers a Neolithic passage grave, one of the largest and best-preserved in Europe. It was first built around 4000-3500 BC, and the grave’s main chamber sits immediately below the summit of the mound, with three smaller side chambers adding to its cruciform arrangement.
The chapel was not the only later construction project on the mound, though. In 1792, the chapel was incorporated in a Gothic Revival ‘castle’ by Philippe d’Auvergne. Known as the Prince’s Tower, this landmark stood on the summit until it was demolished in 1924. After its destruction, the Société Jersiaise carried out the first excavations on the mound, finding fragments of pottery, flint tools, beads, and the remains of at least eight people within the tomb. But it was not until later excavations, in the 1990s, that the original entrance to the nearly 10m-long passage was revealed, and it was found that the alignment allows the sun’s rays to shine all the way through to the tomb’s rear wall at the equinox.
Photo: Robin Briault, courtesy of Jersey Heritage Trust
More changes came to La Hougue Bie in the Second World War when an underground command bunker was built at the site during German occupation of Jersey. A more recent addition came last year, with the opening of a 20m-long replica Neolithic longhouse. Built by volunteers using replica tools and techniques like thatching, mud-daubing, and bark-stripping, the longhouse gives a sense of what life was like in Neolithic Jersey.
Main image: Chris Brookes
You must be logged in to post a comment.