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

Marden Henge (and Hatfield Barrow)

Henge

Folklore

Some time since, a young woman of the village, a member of one of the very few families who have resided on the spot continually for upwards of a century, told my son that a great battle had been fought ages ago on Marden down between men with red heads and men with black heads, and that the red-headed men won, she added that the dead were buried in a large cave on the down, and that nobody had ever dared to enter it. I have not been able to identify the cave, but it seems exceedingly probable that after the fight the slain were collected and buried with more than usual care, because the closest enquiry I have made has failed to trace any record of human remains, armour or weapons having been unearthed at any time in the neighbourhood.

[..]

In the barrow fields, beneath Camden's great sepulchral monument (Camden, writing in 1590, [says that] "the largest barrow in these parts, except Silbury, exists" in the parish), tradition says that great treasure is buried, and an old inhabitant assured me that once or twice it had been searched for ...
FromWiltshire Notes and Queries for March 1913.
Rhiannon Posted by Rhiannon
19th August 2012ce

Comments (0)

You must be logged in to add a comment