The Société Jersiaise excavated the mound at La Hougue Bie during September 1924 and discovered the passage grave beneath.

The Société Jersiaise excavated the mound at La Hougue Bie during September 1924 and discovered a passage grave. Dr Arthur Mourant was said to have ridden around the area on his bicycle announcing the find, calling out ‘the allée couverte has been found’! He and the other Société Jersiaise members were the first people to step into the passage grave since it was closed up over 5000 years ago.

La Hougue Bie dates back to 4000-3500 BCE, when people in Jersey began to settle and farm and establish stone monuments as ritual and ceremonial places.

The Neolithic monument has a circular earth mound of 12.2 metres high and 58 metres wide, making it a dominant feature of the landscape. The 1924 excavation by the Société Jersiaise revealed an 18m long passage grave with three smaller side chambers, one of the largest passage graves in Western Europe. In the 1990s a team of archaeologists excavated the main entrance and forecourt area you see today with its impressive dry-stone walls.

Jersey has many dolmens and megaliths, and the Island is a significant location for prehistoric structures.

Images:

The excavation at La Hougue Bie in the 1990s Courtesy of Société Jersiaise

Dr Arthur Mourant at La Hougue Bie Courtesy of Société Jersiaise

Equinox

The chamber of the passage grave was probably a sacred place, both rituals and ceremonies may have taken place here. The structure aligns with the rising sun at the spring and autumn equinoxes – sunlight reaches the end of the passage grave if the weather is clear. This gives the stone at the far end a beautiful glow which may have had special meaning for the Neolithic people using the site.

Finds from La Hougue Bie

Objects found during excavations at La Hougue Bie give us insights into the lives of the Neolithic people who built and used the site.

Pottery

The remains of 19 pottery vessels, known as vase-supports, were excavated from the centre of the chamber. Some of these had decorative lines on them. It appears that the vessels were deliberately broken, perhaps as part of a ritual. The saucers show signs of burning, so they were used as lamps or for the ritual burning of offerings.

Human bone

A small amount of human bone from at least eight people was found scattered on the floor close to the side chambers. Of the eight people found, two were definitely female and four were definitely male. The evidence suggests that their bodies were exposed to the elements to decay or had previously been buried elsewhere.

Shell

Limpet shells were found on top of some of the capstones, placed there during the construction of the mound. The practice of putting limpet shells with human bodies seems to have been a uniquely Channel Islands custom.

Animal bone

Cattle, sheep, pig and bird bones were found scattered on the floor of the chamber. They may have been food offerings. The burial of cattle suggests people had a close relationship with their herds.

Personal ornament

Two beads were found. In some societies personal possessions are buried with the owner.

Tools

A number of flint tools were discovered including four transverse arrowheads.

Quern

A large broken quern was found buried beneath the slab at the entrance to the end cell. It might have had symbolic significance, possibly buried with seed and associated with ideas of renewal.

Cist

A small rectangular sunken box or ‘cist’, originally covered by three stone slabs, contained fragments of pottery and pebbles.

‘Cup marks’

Two stones of the side chamber are decorated with carved ‘cup marks’. Archaeologists don’t know why they were there or if they had any symbolic meaning.