Featured Title:
Standing with Stones DVD |
|
|
The Henge Monuments of the British Isles: Myth and Archaeology |
|
|
Login |
Don't have an account yet? You can create one. As a registered user you have some advantages like your own Home Page, configurable settings and your contributions link to your page. |
Who's Online |
There are currently, 81 guests and 3 members online.
You are an Anonymous user. You can register for free by clicking here |
Instant Chat |
| | | Registered users can chat here, live! | | |
|  |
Photo Pages: Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) - Hillfort in England in Wiltshire
|
Submitted by JimChampion on Tuesday, 30 December 2003 Page Views: 3381
|
 Site Name: Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) Alternate Name: Spelsbury
Country: England County: Wiltshire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Tisbury Nearest Village: Swallowcliffe
Map Ref: ST963283 Landranger Map Number: 184
Latitude: 51.054031N Longitude: 2.054165W
Condition:| 5 | Perfect | | 4 | Almost Perfect | | 3 | Reasonable but with some damage | | 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site | | 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks | | 0 | No data. | | -1 | Completely destroyed |
4
Ambience:| 5 | Superb | | 4 | Good | | 3 | Ordinary | | 2 | Not Good | | 1 | Awful | | 0 | No data. |
3
Access:| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access | | 4 | Short walk on a footpath | | 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk | | 2 | A long walk | | 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find | | 0 | No data. |
3
Accuracy:| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates | | 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map | | 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map | | 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village | | 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town | | 0 | no data |
no data
Internal Links:    
External Links:             
   Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) submitted by JimChampion
Hillfort in Wiltshire
Have you visited this site? Please add a comment below.
 Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) submitted by JimChampion
A profusion of bluebells, growing on the outer earthworks at the eastern corner of Castle Ditches. There are an additional two outer banks at the eastern corner, presumably to provide extra defences on the least-steep approach from the southeast. These may have continued along the southeast edge, beyond the original entrance, but any obvious evidence has been ploughed away in the intervening centu
 Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) submitted by JimChampion
This is the end of the central bank on the southeastern side of the hillfort, where the original entrance cuts through it. It is now overgrown with hazel, birch and beech.
 Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) submitted by JimChampion
This track winds its way through the multiple earthwork defences on Castle Ditches' southeast side, headed for the interior of the hillfort.
 Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) submitted by JimChampion
The original entrance to Castle Ditches hillfort winds its way through the many banks and ditches on the southeastern side. This view is on the way out of the hillfort, with the butt end of one of the huge banks to the left.
 Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) submitted by JimChampion
Bluebells and beech trees growing on the steep inner face of the outer bank, viewed from the track through the original entrance to the hillfort on the souteastern side. There is a deep ditch between the outer bank and the middle bank.
 Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) submitted by JimChampion
Looking southwest along the outer bank and ditch from the original entrance on the southeastern side of the hillfort. Rights of way pass by the hillfort, but the interior is privately owned.
 Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) submitted by JimChampion
View northwest towards Castle Ditches hillfort, with a field of bright yellow blooming rape in the foreground. On this side the hillfort is approached up a long gentle greensand hill from the foot of the chalk escarpment at Buxbury Hill and Swallowcliffe Down. The earthworks are multiplied on this side where it does not have a naturally steep scarps to protect it. The banks and ditches are now hea
 Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) submitted by JimChampion
Approaching the interior of Castle Ditches hillfort through the original entrance on the southeastern side. Along this side there is an additional inner bank, which can be seen here on the right and left where the track cuts through it. The interior is now used to rear game birds (hence the shelter on the left).
Search the web for Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) with
Google.
Search the web for Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) Hillfort with
Google.
Try a Google search for images of Castle Ditches (Wiltshire)
New: Google Scholar search for references to Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) |
|
 | |
Children Of The Stones DVD |
|
|
Auto-Translation (Google) |
|
Translate from English into:
|
|
| "Castle Ditches (Wiltshire)" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment |
|
| | Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content. |
Re: Castle Ditches (Wiltshire) (Score: 1)
by JimChampion on Friday, 11 May 2007
(User Info | Send a Message) | From The Ancient History of Wiltshire by Sir Richard Colt Hoare (published 1812) Chapter No. 11 - Station 8: Fovant.
CASTLE DITCHES; but probably its ancient name was SPELSBURY, as a village immediately beneath it, still retains that appellation. It is so surrounded by corn fields and wood, that I perceived no signs of it until I found myself almost within the area of the camp. Its situation is very commanding, and many beautiful points of view are caught from its summit. This earthen work is strengthened by a triple row of ramparts, which are covered on three sides with wood. I can only speak with certainty respecting one entrance, which was towards the south-east; but there is a narrow adit on the opposite side. The area within the entrenchment, contains twenty-three acres and three quarters; the circuit of the outward vallum is seven furlongs, eighty-eight yards; and the height of the ramparts is about forty feet. The entire area of this camp is under tillage, and the greater part of the ramparts is so concealed by thick copse wood, that no adequate idea of their strength and boldness can possibly be formed.
The northern side and western sides of this Station, which are bounded by the river Nadder, have been for many years in a state of successive cultivation In vain therefore we may search for those antiquities which come peculiarly within the scope of our inquiry. From the name of Tisbury, I should have concluded there had been some earthen work or bury in its immediate neighbourhood, but I have never gained intelligence of any that is nearer to it than the strong camp of CASTLE DITCHES which has already been described.
Engraving of the camp's plan on Wiltshire County Council's website.
| [ Reply to This ]
|
|
Main News
