Sweet Track in the context of "Glastonbury"

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⭐ Core Definition: Sweet Track

The Sweet Track is an ancient trackway, or causeway, in the Somerset Levels, England, named after its finder, Ray Sweet. It was built in 3807 BC (determined using dendrochronology – tree-ring dating) and is the second-oldest timber trackway discovered in the British Isles, dating to the Neolithic. The Sweet Track was predominantly built along the course of an earlier structure, the Post Track.

The track extended across the now largely drained marsh between what was then an island at Westhay and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) or around 1.1 mi. The track is one of a network that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Various artifacts and prehistoric finds, including a jadeitite ceremonial axe head, have been found in the peat bogs along its length.

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👉 Sweet Track in the context of Glastonbury

Glastonbury (/ˈɡlæstənbəri/ GLAST-ən-bər-ee, UK also /ˈɡlɑːst-/ GLAHST-) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, 23 miles (37 km) south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. The town is less than 1 mile (2 km) across the River Brue from Street, a village which is now larger than Glastonbury.

Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town has been inhabited since Neolithic times. Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue and Sharpham Park approximately 2 miles (3 km) west of Glastonbury, that dates back to the Bronze Age. Centwine was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey, which dominated the town for the next 700 years. One of the most important abbeys in England, it was the site of Edmund Ironside's coronation as King of England in 1016. Many of the oldest surviving buildings in the town, including the Tribunal, George Hotel and Pilgrims' Inn and the Somerset Rural Life Museum, which is based at the site of a 14th-century abbey manor barn, often referred to as a tithe barn, are associated with the abbey. The Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century.

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Sweet Track in the context of Causeway

A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Track in the Somerset Levels, England, which dates from the Neolithic age. Timber causeways may also be described as both boardwalks and bridges.

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Sweet Track in the context of Post Track

The Post Track is an ancient causeway in the valley of the River Brue on the Somerset Levels, England. It dates from around 3838 BCE, making it some 30 years older than the Sweet Track in the same area. Various sections have been scheduled as ancient monuments.

The timber trackway was constructed of long ash planks, with lime and hazel posts spaced along three-metre intervals. According to Coles, the heavy planks of the Post Track were rarely pegged. The track follows closely in line with the Sweet Track and, before the planks were dated, it was posited that it served as a construction platform for the Sweet Track. It is speculated that it led to places of spiritual significance. It is likely that the route was intended to be a permanent fixture, with the track being updated, maintained, and eventually replaced as it succumbed to the elements. Some of the wood planks were also reused in the Sweet Track when it was built, making the specific dating more complex.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Causeway ← Post Track ← Glastonbury
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Ancient trackway → Causeway → Somerset Levels → Dendrochronology → Timber trackway → Neolithic British Isles → Post Track → Marsh → Westhay → Shapwick, Somerset → Jadeitite →