Earth Works Gazetteer

History, the ritual landscape and geometry once resonated very much as one. Faint traces of our ancestors whose silent whispers in the landscape once conveyed so much awe and splendour now sadly lie silent, their purpose and meaning largely forgotten, for in general there is a present day lack of any real sense of connectedness. Read More »

This concentric ring hillfort dates from the Iron Age, and according to archaeologists was built to stem an invasion from the Northeast of the country. Read More »

ASSAP (The Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena) in partnership with Mysterious Britain & Ireland is opening up its long running Project Albion to enable members of the public to directly contribute towards it. Read More »

Cleaven Dyke was thought to be a Roman defensive structure until excavation revealed that it was in fact a Neolithic Cursus (a ceremonial earthwork), which must have been one of the largest - and most Read More »

The Devil's Ditch which possibly dates from the Iron Age, though was probably recut in the Middle Saxon period, is a two long ditch with low flanking banks. Read More »

Two giant earthworks named the Devil's Dyke and the Slad, enclose and area of around 40 hectares to the South of St Albans. The area was excavated in 1932 by Sir Mortimer Wheeler, and the ditch was found to have had an original depth of nearly thirteen metres making it a huge undertaking. Read More »

The Tor has been associated with magic and mystery for thousands of years. It seems likely that early man used the tor for rituals, and maze like path has been identified spiralling around the tor seven times. Professor Philip Rahtz dated the terraces to the Neolithic period, and concluded that they may have been part of a maze. Read More »

Grims Ditches are a series of linear earthworks that stretch along part of the Berkshire border, to the Southeast of Wantage and Southwest of Chilton. Read More »

The Heydon Ditch is a large earthwork that runs from Heydon to Fowlmere and has been dated to Saxon times, although it may have earlier origins. Read More »

The Hill of Tara – ancient seat of the Kings of Ireland – is the focal point in a complex landscape of ancient monuments dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. It is a stirring setting where mythology and history fuse together, and has been revered as a holy site for thousands of years. Read More »

This is the largest Iron Age Hillfort in Britain, consisting of a spectacular series of bank and ditch defences enclosing an area of 45 acres. These fortifications cover the much earlier site of a Middle Neolithic Causeway Camp from around 3000BC. The camp was enclosed by two lines of ditches, the remains of which are indistinguishable. Read More »

This hillfort that covers 9 hectares or 22 acres was occupied in Roman times, and it is said to be haunted by ghostly Roman soldiers. They have been seen on a road near to the camp. The camp itself sits upon a bronze age settlement and evidence of post Roman occupation has also been found. Read More »

Local folklore suggests that if you walk around the Iron Age hillfort seven times at midnight, the Devil will appear on a large black horse and grant one wish.

Only brave people should attempt this as the Devil will always try to trick people into losing their souls to him.