The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Hollingbury Hillfort

Hillfort

Miscellaneous

Found this reference to stones at Hollingbury.

"One word in conclusion, on those earthworks to which I have alluded as, in my opinion, possessing strong claims to be considered of Druidical origin. I refer to the earthworks of Cauburn (sic) and Whitehawk Hill. Others may have possessed similar pretensions, and more particularly Hollingbury, in the vallum and within the inclosure of which portions of Druidical stones are still to be found; and at the southern most of its two western portae, the remains of an upright stone of this kind still stands, projecting a little above the sod, precisely in the position of the two stones at Stonehenge. "

from Turner, E. 1850 Military Earthworks of the South Downs with a more enlarged account of Cissbury, one of the principal of them. Sussex Archaeological Collections Volume 3: 173-184.

Well I don't buy a megalithic monument at Hollingbury for a second but the presence of (presumably) sarsens stones on the hill is interesting. They could have naturally occurred there, the hill being capped with remnant Tertiary deposits, they could well have been included in the fabric of the hillfort. What is clear is that nothing remains of the stones now, unless some lie recumbant beneath the turf, a fact unlikely given the thin soil depth. As with the supposed megaliths at Church Hill and barrows at Whitehawk they remain a mystery, a part of Brighton's lost prehistory.
Posted by Paravellean
5th May 2005ce
Edited 5th May 2005ce

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