La Sergenté, Jersey, United Kingdom

La Sergenté is a Neolithic (4500 - 3250BC) passage grave leading into a circular chamber of diameter of 3.3m. The chamber walls are of dry stone construction and stand to a height of 75cm but originally would have risen to about 1.5m forming a vaulted roof. The fallen remains of this roof were found during excavtion in 1923. The chamber was paved with flat granite slabs except for a small partitioned off area on the west side.Parts of four, round bottomed, early Neolithic bowls, a few flint chips and fragments of charcoal were recovered during excavation. Though the style is unique to the Channel Islands this simple tomb is very similar to examples found in Brittany and Normandy.

References:

Prehistoric Jersey

Prehistoric and archaeological sites in United Kingdom

User Reviews

Sonja Latimer (3 years ago)
Perfect spot for stunning views, great dog walks and golden sunsets. Amazing dolmen, another treasure.

thomas seddon (4 years ago)
Literally a keyhole shaped home in the ground. You will gain nothing by setting this. It's of a popular dog walkers path and the views around are great. Go for the walk and the views but don't make an effort just to see a stone lined hole in the ground.

Ritch Emilee (4 years ago)
Beautiful, serene, amazing. With a commanding view of the entire west coast, built before ancient Egypt was even an idea.

DreamTech Oz (4 years ago)
One of my favorite sites on the island, there are also some great views from this spot.

Dne Murray (5 years ago)
A stunning archaeological site. It's hard to get your head around the fact that it's 6,500 years old. A fine example of a Neolithic passage. Easy to get to, though Satnav greatly helps.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright joiseyshowaa

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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