tjj wrote:
bladup wrote:
tjj wrote:
tjj wrote:
I've just been dipping into An English Countryside Explored - The Land of Lettice Sweetapple which is about the West Overton, Fyfield, Manton areas - written by archaeologists Peter Fowler and Ian Blackwell.
I couldn't get over the feeling I had read something in the above book about Manton Down long barrow and have just come across it beneath a black & white photo very similar to the ones posted by Bladup.
"Discarded long barrow, Manton Down, as dumped in 1996 - the end (or just another phase?) of a long story of abuse of a chambered long barrow which was a Scheduled Ancient Monument supposedly protected by law; but it made the big mistake of being in the way of agricultural land improvement in the 1950s and has subsequently been totally destroyed. This presumably final resting is about a quarter mile (c.400m) from the place where these stones were built into a tomb some 6000 years ago, a tomb which was respected by prehistoric farmers when cultivating their fields 2000-3000 years later. And 3000 years later again - progress? What progress?"
This is wrong , as confirmed by barker who saw the destruction first hand, the bulldosers flattened the mound and moved the kerbstones to the side of field , he says the huge stones are exactly where they have always been at 14787135, confirming the above information as wrong, you can't beat first hand accounts can you, thanks to him we now know the truth, thank you mr barker for knowing the truth and not letting it drop, [ after going, i believe you ] otherwise we'd be in the territory of 'it's in a book so it must be true', i wish i had a penny for every piece of misinformation written in books [the truth is out there and it isn't normally in books], i think the whole thing was cooked up to stop people visiting, the brambles and hawthorn had grown over the whole thing and we thought they looked like they had been planted like this on purpose, and if people think they are moved stones it makes it easier for them to move them in the future if they so choose to. Get yourselves down there, as my pictures don't show everything there, even though it's collapsed it's all [the chambers] pretty complete, and would make a lovely reconstuction one day. All i ask is for people to judge it with their eye's, because if they believe whats in the books they may never go and look.
I wasn't trying to diminish your discovery in any way; the quote posted was written by two archaeologists who spent a long time working in the area to produce a modest but meticulous book, albeit first published in 1998. I have every intention of noting your grid reference and taking myself up there at the earliest opportunity (I live a bus ride from Avebury).
PS:
'Lettice Sweetapple' of the title lived in a cottage around 200 years ago (at the time of publication). She had inherited some strip land holdings which she thought she would hold for life until they were taken from her by the clearance and enclosure of land in 1802 when rents were increased and small plots of land were bought up by a wealthy landowner. And in so doing changed an ancient landscape which had up until then altered little over millennia.
No problem i appreciate the truth as much as anyone, you've all been great, like i said it's all positive, no matter what, the stones themselves are right and are some lovely shapes, very typical chamber stones!! so well worth a look, hey i bet its never a problem having a reason to go visit that area is it!! i visit from lincoln regularly and am moving to cornwall next month and am pretty pleased it's about the same distance away, but i'll have a lot more to visit locally.
