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<< Our Photo Pages >> Wandlebury - Hillfort in England in Cambridgeshire

Submitted by vicky on Wednesday, 15 July 2009  Page Views: 25462

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Wandlebury
Country: England County: Cambridgeshire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Cambridge  Nearest Village: Stapleford
Map Ref: TL493534  Landranger Map Number: 154
Latitude: 52.158691N  Longitude: 0.181157E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3

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Wandlebury
Wandlebury submitted by Thorgrim : The banks survive, but the centre of the hillfort was landscaped in the 18th century and now contains residential and other buildings - all part of Wandlebury Country Park in the mysterious Gog Magog Hills (Vote or comment on this photo)
Hillfort in Cambridgeshire. Two massive banks and ditches enclose a circular area of 6.5 hectares. In the 3rd century BC, only the outer ditch and rampart defended the site.

Strengthened in the 1st century BC when an inner V-shaped ditch and rampart were added, the rampart was given a strong timber outer facing.

One of many shallow storage pits contained the burial of an infant whose legs had been removed from the body before the flesh had time to decay. It is possible that Wandlebury was strengthened in the 1st century BC by the Iceni to resist Belgic expansion from the Chilterns.

Note: Archaeology day coming up this weekend, see comments
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Wandlebury
Wandlebury submitted by Thorgrim : The body of a child was found buried in one of the storage pits. The legs had been removed before the flesh had time to decay - ritual sarifice? (Vote or comment on this photo)

Wandlebury
Wandlebury submitted by Thorgrim : Beltane. The Devil's Dyke Morris Men "Dance up the Sun" at Wandlebury in the Gogmagog Hills on the 1st May. A truly pagan event, but be there well before 5am. (16 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Wandlebury
Wandlebury submitted by Thorgrim : Wandlebury hillfort in the country park (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Wandlebury
Wandlebury submitted by Thorgrim : This notice is all that shows where the lost hill figures were. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Wandlebury
Wandlebury submitted by Thorgrim : TC Lethbridge investigated 18th century reports and old stories of giant hill figures on the Gog Magog Hills near Cambridge. He investigated by pushing iron rods into the hillside looking for disturbed chalk. He found these figures and removed the turf. Then in the 1950's he wrote up his research in this book. He was ridiculed and forced to resign from his post of Director of Excavations of the ... (12 comments)

Wandlebury
Wandlebury submitted by Thorgrim : The circular ditch can be walked, but there are places where it has been filled in.

Wandlebury
Wandlebury submitted by Thorgrim : Two massive banks and ditches enclose an area of 6.5 hectares.

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 100m W 272° Gog and Magog Giants Hill Figures* Hill Figure or Geoglyph (TL492534)
 720m SSE 148° Wormwood Hill* Round Barrow(s) (TL497528)
 1.6km ESE 106° Copley Hill* Round Barrow(s) (TL509530)
 1.9km ESE 117° Babraham* Long Barrow (TL510526)
 2.2km NNW 341° East Pit Nature Reserve* Ancient Village or Settlement (TL485555)
 2.9km NNW 348° The Kingship Stone, Cherry Hinton Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (TL486562)
 3.1km WNW 287° Nine wells* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (TL46305420)
 4.4km WSW 247° Little Shelford Crosses* Ancient Cross (TL453516)
 5.4km E 81° Mutlow Hill* Round Barrow(s) (TL5466354380)
 6.2km NW 318° Cambridge Fitzwilliam Museum* Museum (TL44955790)
 6.4km NW 319° Cambridge Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology* Museum (TL450581)
 7.2km SW 216° Chronicle Hills Barrow Cemetery (TL452475)
 8.2km SW 219° Thriplow Round Barrow(s) (TL4431646901)
 9.2km SSW 211° Thriplow Ring Ditch Misc. Earthwork (TL44784537)
 9.7km SSW 209° Thriplow Heath 1 Round Barrow(s) (TL4479044782)
 10.1km NE 34° Bottisham Cursus Cursus (TL547619)
 10.8km SE 145° St. Botolph's Well (Hadstock)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (TL55864478)
 11.4km SSW 212° Thrplow Heath 2 Round Barrow(s) (TL4362943549)
 11.6km S 187° Valance Farm Round Barrow(s) (TL4823241818)
 11.8km WSW 239° Shepreth Cursus (TL393471)
 11.8km WNW 284° The Mazles Turf Maze (TL377559)
 12.5km WSW 240° Shepreth Cursus (TL387468)
 12.6km SE 134° Bartlow Hills* Barrow Cemetery (TL586449)
 14.1km WSW 237° Meldreth Hoard Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry (TL3761845415)
 14.2km NE 39° Devil's Dyke, Cambridgeshire* Misc. Earthwork (TL580646)
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"Wandlebury" | Login/Create an Account | 16 News and Comments
  
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Wandlebury Ring Guided Walk with storytelling, September 4, 2013 by Andy B on Sunday, 09 June 2013
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Wandlebury Ring Guided Walk by Cambridgeshire Archaeology

Wednesday, September 4, 2013, 7:00pm

Meet at the Education Centre at Wandlebury Country park.

A guided walk of the outstanding nature reserve and scheduled monument, intermittently inhabited since the Bronze Age and home to the monumental 17th-18th century Godolphin stable blocks. Lead by Head Ranger Jon Gibbs followerd by storytelling with Maureen James.

Free entry, car park charges apply.
[ Reply to This ]

[No Subject] by Andy B on Sunday, 10 February 2013
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Also copy of the article from the Sunday Times 1978

In the Gogmagog Hills, just four miles south-east of Cambridge there stands an ancient and colossal earthworks called Wandlebury Fort. Shrouded in mystery and now shaded by a canopy of trees, this most eerie place is a popular summer-time picnic area. Few people munching their sandwiches on a balmy afternoon pause to wonder why a group of men toiled countless years ago to create the great mound; fewer still know of the old legend.

http://www.goldenageproject.org.uk/wandlebury.php

Included on site page as this is an important piece of social history about the alternative study of this site
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Re: Wandlebury Hillfort by JohnLindsay on Sunday, 22 July 2012
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Gogmagog and Gog produced no hits on the pastscape site, but it is promoting the new book on causewayed enclosures by Whittle which I am after.


http://www.pastscape.org.uk/News.aspx?id=NewsItem33


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Re: Wandlebury Hillfort by JohnLindsay on Sunday, 22 July 2012
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The friends of Fleam Dyke and Roman Road have a booklet produced with Heritage Lottery funds and in collaboration with the Ramblers for walking from Cambridge to wherever, with some bus information, but you need to make the journey on the archaeobus13 to see where the stops actually are. Then there is bus17 which is one per two hours to Little and Great Wilbraham, abd, I haven't found it yet, apparently a bus16. Finding out about bus16 is my task.

But in the meantime, 2006 Proc.prehistoric.society has article on causewayed enclosure excavation in 1975, so that needs to be added to the near Gogmagog thing.
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Re: Wandlebury by JohnLindsay on Sunday, 22 July 2012
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As part of the festival of archaeology, I'm making archaeobuses, and this is bus13, from Cambridge to Haverhill, two an hour, with a stop outside Wandlebury.

Complete accident got me to cabridge public library, where I again by accident found Lethbridge, the Routledge edition which has the Cerne Giant on the front cover and neolithic on the flap.

This got me to Gogmagog, which is a space matter, not the same as Gog Magog. Gog as a search tool is particularly useless, space depends on how the site is implemented.

Now grid has returned, perhaps in html5, and this is a good grid matter, which is a words and things matter

We need archaeobus13 as a string thing.

Lethbridge doesn't seem to mention Watkins, perhaps he thought he was already too far out? The view from Sawston is the first thing to check. It would be rather good to get lots of people marking out the drawing on the hillside.
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Re: Wandlebury by ledgehammer on Friday, 01 July 2011
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A great site, at the end of the park you can get to a viewing area of Ely Cathedral, if its not cloudy which it often is. A great place from dowsing practice!!!
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Re: Wandlebury by Runemage on Monday, 24 January 2011
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Anonymous, your link doesn't work, the site you referred to is at http://www.troy-in-england.co.uk/






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Re: Wandlebury by Anonymous on Monday, 24 January 2011
It is worth noting, as a matter of interest, that it has been suggested that Wandlebury and the Cherryhinton War ditches might have been the site of ancient Troy.

It is not as crazy as it sounds. Look at troy-in-england.com and you will be surprised at the amount of "evidence" which has been put forward in support.
[ Reply to This ]

Roman road turned into mud by drivers by Andy B on Thursday, 14 May 2009
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Roman road turned into mud by drivers

TRAIL bikers and 4x4s are wrecking a Roman road by using it as a race track, say farmers and nature lovers.

Walkers using the pathway, which runs between Wandlebury and Horseheath, say they are appalled at the damage caused by motorbikes and vehicles in wet weather and want them banned.

They claim rare wild flowers, grass verges and ancient hedges containing several breeds of butterfly are being destroyed by those who use the 1,800-year-old route as a rally track.

Several cars have also been set alight at the nature spot, which is popular with ramblers and horse riders, while vehicle access has also led to several incidents of fly-tipping.

Members of the Friends of the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke, backed by local farmers, are collecting signatures in support of a vehicle ban for the road, which was built in the time of Emperor Hadrian.

Balsham farmer James Kiddy, who has repaired the road out of his own pocket, said: “It seems the muddier and wetter it is, the more these 4x4 enthusiasts like to drive on it.

“It’s very frustrating to see them damage the road like this, especially as they often ask me to drag them out of the mud with my tractor.

“We tried barricading the road with a few logs, but the county council took them away. Now the road is almost impassable because it’s so damaged.
“Even if we just shut it during the winter, it would make a massive difference.”

The route is one of the few surviving Roman roads in Britain and is part of a track that leads from Colchester to the West Country.

Former county archaeologist Dr Alison Taylor, who has conducted excavations on the site, said: “It’s quite unusual to have a Roman road because most of them have become modern tarmac roads.

“It was designed for horses and carts, as well as driving cattle, and is not suitable for heavy motorised vehicles.

“It was originally an Iron Age route built in the 1st century BC and then it became a Roman road. It’s an important part of Cambridgeshire’s history and shouldn’t be churned up by motorists.

“Its unique character also means it has been untouched by farmers, so it’s also home to many types of flora and fauna, which should be protected.”

Source:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=415581
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Sunday 19th July 2009 Wandlebury Iron Age Hillfort Archaeology Day by Andy B on Wednesday, 01 April 2009
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Wandlebury Iron Age Hillfort Archaeology Day
Sunday 19th July, 11am - 4.30pm
Take part in a range of activities for all the family, and learn about the history of the Iron Age hillfort during guided walks throughout the day.

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/leisure/archaeology/outreach/tours/outreach_familyevents.htm
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    Re: Sunday 19th July 2009 Wandlebury Iron Age Hillfort Archaeology Day by Skadi7 on Tuesday, 05 May 2009
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    Hiya! I am the food historian with Icenorum Living History, who are providing some of the activities on Archaeology Day at Wandlebury. We've done this a few times now and it's brilliant; good fun.

    We have reproduction weapons, armour and artefacts, plus a display of the kinds of foods found for sale at a roadside caupona (based on the archaeological record, so no anachronisms!), Roman lady's make-up and perfumes, clothes, some medicines, toys and I do a bit of story-telling too...

    Especially for children, we have a quern to try out (m'wahaha, free wheat grinding...), a coin-striking set up, and child-sized weapons and chainmail, and yes, there's adult sizes too, if anyone wants to feel what a full size chainmail shirt, helmet, shield, gladius and pilum are like to just stand around in, let alone march into battle wearing!

    We also have a reproduction firka, or pack, a wooden pole with crosspiece that the soldiers used to carry all their kit, and after carrying that little lot, you really appreciate how hard those guys were!

    If any Megalithics are at a loose end that weekend, come along! The Arch Unit guys really know their stuff and we aren't too embarrassing to acknowledge either : ). Honest. No, really. And we always welcome new recruits.....

    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Wandlebury Hillfort by coldrum on Wednesday, 20 February 2008
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Links:
http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/projects/wandlebury.html

https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=371612

https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=371672

http://www.cpswandlebury.org.uk/page3.html

http://www.sheshen-eceni.co.uk/wandle_bury.html

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Re: Wandlebury Hillfort by AngieLake on Wednesday, 14 December 2005
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In 'The Atlas of Magical Britain' by Janet and Colin Bord (1990)-
Guild Publishing (by arrangement with Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd),
Wandlebury Hillfort is described as follows:
"The hillfort is situated in the Gog Magog Hills, Gog and Mgog being either one or two legendary giants (see Guildhall, Greater London) said to be buried at Wandlebury. There was once a giant figure cut into the turf on the hill slope, still visible in the 18th century but now overgrown. In 1954 archaeologist T.C. Lethbridge attempted to relocate its outline by using soundings, and found that there had been a group of figures which he interpreted as Mogog the Earth Goddess, walking beside her chariot, preceded by the Spirit of Darkness poised for flight, and followed by the giant Gog. It is intriguing that a golden chariot is said to be buried under Mutlow Hill not far away (see Fulbourn), and that there was also said to be a giant horse buried under Little Trees Hill to the west. Are these legends perhaps distorted memories of the ancient hill figure?
There is also another tradition, recorded in Gervase of Tilbury's 'Otia Imperialia' (c.1211), 'that if a warrior enters this level space [on the hilltop] at the dead of night, when the moon is shining, and cries "Knight to knight, come forth"**, immediately he will be confronted by a warrior, armed for fight, who charging horse to horse, either dismounts his adversary or is dismounted.' He goes on to relate how one Osbert did as the legend said, met the knight, and was wounded in the thigh; his wound is said to have opened up on the anniversary of the contest every year.
Phantom black dogs also haunt this area: one runs over the Gog Magog Hills on winter nights, and another, the size of a small donkey, was seen about 60 years ago on the road 100 yards south of the earthworks. ...."
One thought sprung to mind, (black - and daft - humour of mine!) if someone living in one of the properties [that Peter says are built around here in recent years] turns over to their partner in bed, and says, "Nighty-night!", maybe they get a nasty surprise!
** In another book, 'Haunted Britain' by Antony Hippisley Coxe (Pan) 1973, a more likely version of the challenge reads: "Knight, TONIGHT come forth!" Hippisley Coxe adds:
"Robert, son of Hugh, according to Gervase of Tilbury in the twelfth century, overcame the ghostly giant.
The custodian who has been at Wandlebury for the past seven years has not seen it. "
After referring to T.C. Lethbridge's work, he goes on:
"Of the great mansion which once stood here, ironically, only the stable block remains. And the horse myth may still live in fact, as Lord Godolphin's famous Arab stallion is buried in the archway under the cupola."
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    Re: Wandlebury Hillfort by Thorgrim on Thursday, 15 December 2005
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    Thanks for that, Angie. It's really good to hear more about the legends of ancient places
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Re: Wandlebury Hillfort by Anonymous on Wednesday, 27 August 2003
i often visit the gog magog downs and recently wandered over the road to wandlebury... must say that there isnt that many old trees and the newer ones arent very neutral nor friendly! The grounds are beautiful and well preserved, hats off to the associations efforts. However, there is an underlying 'darkness' lingering from old... would be interested to know of the history so i can understand the nature of its ailment. i ask that any druid healers to visit the wood (esp anne copse) and see what they think. Thankyou, peace and love x ickleslaine x roguefraggle@hotmail.com x
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