The dried up hollow at the foot of the earthwork may be a later pond. It did have a vibe though. Several large stones seemed to line its sides, maybe the remnants of something built from something else.
Image credit: Chance - June 2008
Chance
View showing the highest point of the earthwork at it’s furthest end. The hill side slopped away behind the picture, giving a natural defence. The area was also wooded now, but the earthwork may have once extended round the hills contours.
Image credit: Chance - June 2008
View looking along the rampart. The oak trees, although pretty, were undermining the earthwork and had invited badgers to build a set within their roots.
Image credit: Chance - June 2008
View looking along the rampart towards the valley. The two twisted ash trees mark the mid point of the earthwork, where the two sections merge. To the left of this is the dried up hollow or pond.
Image credit: Chance - June 2008
Wiltshire Downs
The cuckoo’s double note
Loosened like bubbles from a drowning throat
Floats through the air
In mockery of pipit, lark and stare.
The stable boys thud by
Their horses slinging divots at the sky
And with bright hooves
Printing the sodden turf with lucky grooves.
As still as a windhover
A shepherd in his napping coat leans over
His tall sheep-crook
And shearlings, tegs and yoes cons like a book.
And one tree-crowned long barrow
Stretched like a sow that has brought forth her farrow
Hides a king’s bones
Lying like broken sticks among the stones.
Wiltshire Downs – Andrew Young (1885-1971)
The “Happy Day” Stone and the Church.
One of the polystyrene stones used on the 1976 HTV Children’s drama, The Children of the Stones.
This stone was displayed during the 70th anniversary of the Alexander Keiller Museum opening in 1938.
Apparently, a local barn contains a dozen more of these fake stones which are pressed into service around the Avebury henge when required by visiting film makers. One such being the 1998 rock movie, Still Crazy
Image credit: Chance - June 2008
The “Happy Day” Stone and the Barn.
One of the polystyrene stones used on the 1976 HTV Children’s drama, The Children of the Stones.
This stone was displayed during the 70th anniversary of the Alexander Keiller Museum opening in 1938.
Image credit: Chance - June 2008
Fieldnotes – Conkwell Stone Circle – Sunday 20-01-08
O.S. Map: Bristol & Bath inc. Keynsham & Marshfield.
Sheet Number: 155 – 1:25000 – ISBN: 9780319239773
The easiest route to this site is as follows;
Leave the A4 at the Bathford roundabout and travel down the A363 towards Bradford-on-Avon. After a mile, you will come to a cross roads with a sign for Warleigh. Take the B road and travel past the Manor school, and up Warleigh Hill. When you reach the top of the hill you will cross the county line into Wiltshire. Just past this, the road comes to a tee junction. Park your car off the road, and the site is to the right.
At first sight this site looked a tip. When me and Scubi63 visited back in January, it contained the remains of an abandoned camp with two tents and much rubbish. I had a copy of Guy Underwood’s 1946 report of his excavations, which includes all the documentation I could find on the site.
The sketch made by Guy was a bit poor so I re-drew it and have posted it up here, together with a detail from the overall site plan. We didn’t have a lot of time and being January; the light would have gone by 5 o’clock in the afternoon. We uncovered enough of the stones to be certain it was the correct place, although some, like the centre stone, No.1 did seem to be missing. A detailed probing of the undergrowth would be needed to update the record.
The following comes from Guy Underwood’s notes from 1946.
No Man’s Land.
This site was illustrated in W.A.M., December. 1945, p. 231, when attention was called to the possibility that certain stones might be the remains of a Stone Circle. It is at the S.W. corner of the main site, and it was this site that called my attention to the main site, and may be associated with it.
Surface quarrying has disturbed the site. Most of the stones north of the road, are of local surface ragstone. Most of those on the south, and No. 1 and 10 to the north, are of finer material and come from lower levels. Some bear stalagmitic deposits indicating the action of water for long periods. These stones, several of which weigh over a ton must therefore have been brought to the site, which occupies the highest point for some distance round. They are printed black on the plan.
Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine Vol. 51, p447 Guy Underwood
Re-drawn map of Conkwell Stone Circle taken from from Guy Underwood’s plan of 1946.
Local ragstones are shown as hollow shapes and the imported stones as solid.
Image credit: Chance after Guy Underwood - 1946
Conkwell Stone Circle – Stones lie in the hedgerow beside the road. On Guy’s map, these would be No. 23, 24 and 25.
Image credit: Chance - Jan 2008
Conkwell Stone Circle – Stone No.9. This stone had been smothered in ivy, but was exactly as shown in Guy’s map of 1946.
Image credit: Chance - Jan 2008
Conkwell Stone Circle – Stone No.35. Again, this stone had been smothered in ivy, but was also exactly as shown in Guy’s map of 1946.
Image credit: Chance - Jan 2008
Conkwell Stone Circle – Stone No.8, 7 or 6. Although not buried, this stone was smothered in moss and leaf litter. Would require a second opinion as to which No. it is on Guy’s map of 1946.
Image credit: Chance - Jan 2008
Conkwell Stone Circle – Stone No.27.
This stone was biggest of the bunch at 6 feet in length. It had a “vibe”.
Image credit: Chance - Jan 2008
Conkwell Stone Circle – General view of the circle from the centre beside where stone No.1 stood on Guy’s map of 1946, looking towards the road that bisects the site.
This abandoned camp and tents seem to had been here for some time. They probably had no idea it was an ancient site. The “No Man’s Land” status refers to it lying on the Wiltshire/Somerset county border. I was told this was an area known in the past for squatters.
Image credit: Chance - Jan 2008
The Northern or Moon Circle
Stone No.207, The Half-a-day Stone reclines in the forground while the Stone of Many Faces, No.206 looks on. The background shows Stone No.201, The Broken Hearted Stone and Stone No.50, The Horse’s Head Stone, of the outer circle.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Looking West from Kitchen Barrow, towards Furze Knoll and Morgan’s Hill.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The Kitchen Long Barrow showing the remains from the only known excavation. Not recorded.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The Eastern side ditch of the Long Barrow looking towards Tan Hill.
A hare’s des-res.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The track up to Kitchen Long Barrow looking South towards the farm
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Stone 10 – The Winter Queen’s Stone
Another aspect of the Goddess Tara is shown on the face of the Winter Queen Stone, as she looks out upon the mid-winter sunset.
Also shown are stones; number 9 – the back face of the Barber Stone, number 8 – The Unmoved Stone and number 7 – The Watcher of the South.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Cromlech in Clatford Bottom; “The Devil’s Den”
From “Guide to the British and Roman Antiquities of the North Wiltshire Downs”. by Revd. A. C. Smith, M.A. – 1884
Image credit: Revd. A. C. Smith, M.A. - 1884
Fallen Cromlech on Manton Down
From “Guide to the British and Roman Antiquities of the North Wiltshire Downs” by Revd. A. C. Smith, M.A. – 1884
Image credit: Revd. A. C. Smith, M.A. - 1884
Fox Barrow looking north west towards towards Churn Knob and Churn Hill
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Fox Barrow looking over the county hedge line north, towards Several Down and the Ridgeway
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Fox Barrow looking south east towards the gallops and Compton Down
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Fox Barrow looking along the hedge which marks the county line of Oxfordshire and Berkshire.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Looking towards Furze Knoll and the summit, from the Southern gate.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The inner enclosure of Furze Knoll. An ancient flint mine or a gateway to the underworld.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The Wansdyke with the Radio Masts.
The site was only used after Alexander Keiller brought Windmill Hill to prevent the B.B.C. building the first radio transmitter outside London in 1924.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The Wansdyke snakes down to Baltic Farm and across Bishops Cannings Down.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Furze Knoll, with it’s guardian enclosing beech trees, sits on the top of the downs. If the Avebury region is sacred, then this high point must have been marked by something special.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The Wansdyke snakes up to the summit of Morgan’s Hill between the radio masts and Furze Knoll.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
This is the site of two Bronze Age Round Barrows. Now the North Wiltshire Golf Club. They might still be there somewhere.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The Bronze age round barrow NMR No. 45564 with Furze Knoll in the background.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The edge of the downs looking towards Calne showing linear features possibly strip lynchets (or trackways).
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The fosse caused the Roman Road and the Wansdyke merge, looking east
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Disc barrow 608 looking east towards Martinsell Hill
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Disc barrow 608 looking into the Pewsey vale as seen from barrow 609
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Picked hill on the left and Woodborough hill on the right as seen from the barrow 608
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Disc barrow 608 stands 3ft high and is 33ft in dia.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
The original disc barrow 608 looking towards Huish.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Looking east towards Martinsell Hill
Image credit: Chance - May 2008
Huish hamlet at the bottom of Draycott Hill and the glass pyramid which may be a modern masonic temple.
Image credit: Chance - May 2008