Priddy, Somerset Probably one of the most extraordinary ancient landscapes in Britain, yet it is almost unknown. The circles are rather mysterious and look unfinished They seem to be all from the same period. Are they the burial mounds of great warriors after some battle 3,500 years ago in Stone Age times? The priddy circles are now barely visible (though very clear on Google Earth) are the Priddy Circles – huge circles cut into the ground. This is a bleak area so why was it also considered so sacred so long ago? The circles, which are generally known as the Priddy Circles, are actually in the parish of East Harptree and are sometimes referred to as the Harptree Circles.. There are four of them and they extend over 3/4 mile and it is con- venient to number them from south to north. The three southerly ones are close together but the fourth is separated from these by a gap more than large enough to have held a fifth circle. There is no single axis that will pass through the centres of any three of them. A preliminary report was published on the excavations of the south circle, to which circle all the excavations were confined (Taylor and Tratman, 1957). Since then more extensive excavations have been made in Circle I. These have confirmed that this one is a, and presumably the others are, henge monument(s) ofthe single entrance type ofAtkinsons (1951) class t. He did not include the circles in his list as there was then no evidence as to what they were and they had no observed entrances of ancient date.The construction of circle I is essentially two concentric rings of posts and stakes delimiting and supporting a bank of stones and earth. By analogy the structure of the other circles is the same. The ditch in all four circles is outside the bank. In this they are like Stonehenge. No finds were made so dating is by analogy only with Stonehenge phase I. The excavation of the entrance of circle 1 showed that there had been an earlier structure on the site. The circles occupy flat land, part of the Mendip plateau, around 900 ft. a.D. There is a gentle slope down from circle I to circle 3 and then a gradual rise to circle 4, which is practically at the same level as circle I . A slightly different orientation of the line of the circles towards the north would have put them on even flatter ground. They are domi- nated to the south by North Hill, which is one of the periclines where the Upper Old Red Sandstone is exposed. The circles them- selves lie either on Lower Lias (gl) or on Triassic deposits of Dolomitic THE PRIDDY CIRCLES, MENDU, SOMERSET. HENOE MONUMENTS 101 Conglomerate (f6), which here thinly covers the surface of the Carboni- ferous Limestone. Only parts of circle I actually lie on limestone (d1b). Circle 2, however, lies on a patch ofJurassic deposits (gIll). There is much evidence of mining in the area and workings have seriously interfered with the circles. Most of the area covered by circles 1-3 is now rough grassland but parts are being brought under the plough. Circle 4 has been ploughed many times. Vater is available in shallow pools within and without circle 3. There are considerable springs around the base of the Old Red Sandstone outcrop. In fact for the plateau of Mendip the area is well watered. Certainly there seem not to be many ley-alignments from Priddy Circles. Or perhaps events took place which stopped construction. Respect is Due
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 19:35:07 +0000
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