Definitions for "Cursus"
A long, linear enclosure formed by a parallel bank and/or ditch. They are thought to have been used for ceremonial processions, as like many megalithic monuments they are aligned with the midsummer sunrise. The spread of these monuments is quite extensive. Examples have been found as far apart as Norfolk and the Orkneys. Some of them run for miles across the landscape. The Dorset Cursus on Cranbourne Chase runs for six miles and is the longest known. The name comes from the Latin for racecourse, as early investigators of these monuments thought they were Roman structures used for Chariot Racing.
a major undertaking for any Neolithic society, but the Rudston complex boasts no less than four, the greatest concentration in the country
Cursus was a name given by early British archaeologists such as William Stukeley to the large parallel lengths of banks with external ditches which they thought were early Roman athletics tracks, hence the Latin name 'Cursus', meaning 'Circus'. Cursus monuments are now understood to be Neolithic structures and may have been of ceremonial function.