I’ve sent you (hopefully) a couple of old map images of the area from the mid 19th century one of which clearly shows a circular feature in about the right position for the pond. What they also show are the existence of several old chalk pits which gave me a Homer Simson 'doh!' moment. We’ve been talking about chalk drums while missing the obvious – the geology of whole area is chalk. Checking on the OS map there isn’t a source of water shown for miles around, in fact nothing between the Gypsey Race itself and the modern drainage systems after the land drops away further to the north (and also the location of Starr Car). I’m not much good at geology but I’m guessing a hole dug in chalk won’t hold water unless it’s lined with clay and you have to get the water into it in the first place. Due to it’s location at the foot of four hills I suppose it could fill with run-off in heavy rain other than that it may be the local farmer who was filling it.. Note the use of the word *was*, checking on the google satellite image on the Folkton page there ain’t no pond no more matey. What there is is a concentric crop marked circle about where the pond was, also when I was there the whole area was just grass now it looks like it’s under cultivation, depending on how old the google image is.
So my thoughts are that the pond is a disused chalk pit that was lined with clay and kept filled with water for the use of livestock, the question still remains when was it cut? It could just be fairly modern but flicking through Canon Greenwell he says that several of the barrows that he excavated in the Folkton area had graves incorporating large chalk slabs - that chalk had to be dug somewhere, why not from our 'pond'? Also to the east and west are a couple of linear earthworks which are often thought to be associated with bronze age cattle farming in areas a little further south. (I checked the SMR and they are not scheduled, so no clues there, although something to the south called ‘The Camp’ is which I seem to think might be Iron Age). If they were rearing cattle here they would have to have a reliable source of water so it’s possible that they lined a pit with clay and kept it filled somehow. If there were cattle here then maybe the face/birds/eye brow motif of the drums are in fact cattle horns? To be honest the more I look at the drums the more I think the carvings are just decorative geometric patterns, apart from the face ones – when I turn them upside down then I see a cleavage – but maybe that’s just me :-)
-Chris
 Reply | with quote | Posted by Chris Collyer
12th July 2009ce
18:20 |
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Re: The drum carvings (megadread)