Re: Wolstonbury: henge or hillfort | Forum

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Wolstonbury: henge or hillfort

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tiompan Apr 13, 2011 20:53:02

Replying to Sanctuary

Sanctuary wrote:

tiompan wrote:

Resonox wrote:

tiompan wrote:

Resonox wrote:

tiompan wrote:

According to one of the plans Wolstonbury has a pond within the enclosure .

Just out of curiousity...is it a natural pond or a dew pond?

Dunno , the plan is not too detailed and there is a suspicion that if it was natural it may have not been noted .

So is that an indication that the enclosure would've been built around the pond rather than the pond created later. Could raised ditch circles be an early dew pond/rainwater trap design??
Isn't it the case that lot of what are categorized as hillforts aren't defensive...or weren't originally defensive....but used as a basis for a defence by later residents...so what does that mean their original purpose was?
Surely "defensive" doesn't have to mean against warring factions...why not just defence against the elements or loss of livestock???

Yep it's apparent that the "defence " in many cases is display . In the Irish enclosures the pond was a later creation . Henges and water whatever their altitude seem to associated . Does anyone know the original purpose of any prehistoric monument ?

I've always believed that Neolithic man believed in the Afterlife George and that water played a huge part of that belief, hence many monuments were built near to it. Water cleansed the body and by definition purified it and the soul prior to beginning its journey into the next world. It represented the border between this world and the next!

Sorry should have been a bit clearer about the water /henge connection . It is just that even when not close to water courses henge ditches show signs of having being silted and even today are seen to hold water .

tjj Apr 13, 2011 21:38:05

Replying to tiompan

Was out walking at the beginning of the week around the village of Brimpsfield in Gloucestershire; at the end of the walk I suggested we have a quick look at the village church which was set apart from the village and accessed only by a field path. Walking up to the church there was on the left something that looked very similar to a hillfort - earthworks surrounded by a deep ditch. It was in fact the remains of Brimpsfield Castle which was built in the 12/13th century and later destroyed. Set alongside the church (also Norman) both were on an escarpment overlooking the surrounding countryside. A wind picked up as we walked towards the church and there was a sense of a 'time-shift' - I couldn't lose the hillfort image but can find nothing to suggest either church or castle were built on a more ancient site.

History is a continuation of pre-history when all is said and done and I wondered if the model for medieval castles, encircled by a defensive moat was based on the hillfort principle. Just musing, sorry if I've wandered off topic.

Resonox Apr 14, 2011 05:58:40

Replying to tiompan

tiompan wrote:

Sanctuary wrote:

Proximity to water...whether natural or "created"/collected is a necessity for day to day existence...and as a sustainer of life it isn't surprising or unfeasible that it would have significance bordering on reverence.