<< Our Photo Pages >> Fyfield Down - Ancient Village or Settlement in England in Wiltshire

Submitted by Thorgrim on Monday, 29 September 2003  Page Views: 28070

Multi-periodSite Name: Fyfield Down
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 0.4 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Wiltshire Type: Ancient Village or Settlement

Map Ref: SU142710  Landranger Map Number: 173
Latitude: 51.437821N  Longitude: 1.7971W
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
 5 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 5 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.
 3 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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I have visited· I would like to visit

SumDoood would like to visit

NDM visited on 4th Mar 2023 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3

GemmaJ visited on 8th Sep 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3 Stunning atmospheric landscape filled with naturally occurring sarsen stone. It can be reached via Marlborough, Avebury and The Ridgeway. The Polisher's Stone is situated within the reserve in a field adjacent to The Ridgeway, I also came across Devil's Den here whilst hiking and what looked to be some kind of settlement. A great place for a lengthy dog walk, however, mind the cows when they're roaming as I had a few hairy incidents with them.

graemefield visited on 16th Jun 2017 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 3

custer visited on 16th Jan 2011 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 3 Fantastic to see fields of sarsens scattered around a lovely gentle sloped valley. Amazing that it still remains like this. A great walk, lovely setting.

Ogham Bladup ocifant cultwhore have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.75 Ambience: 4.5 Access: 3

Fyfield Down
Fyfield Down submitted by winnits : Fyfield Down - original home of the Stonehenge Sarsen stones - still very much unspoiled with an almost prehistoric feel, filled with Sarsen Stones, Thistles and Heather. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Settlement in Wiltshire

Perfect prehistoric landscape littered with sarsen stones, identical to those taken to build Avebury and Stonehenge. Accessible by good tracks from Avebury and the Ridgeway.
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Fyfield Down
Fyfield Down submitted by Thorgrim : Fyfield Down is where the sarsens came from. There they still are, huge, grey, recumbent and waiting in their natural state. How incredible to think of those massive things being taken to Avebury and even further to Stonehenge! The enormity of the journey struck home. I had read books about levers and rollers and sledges, but now I really understood because I was in the landscape and so were the ... (3 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by Bladup : The Polisher. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by Bladup (Vote or comment on this photo)

Fyfield Down
Fyfield Down submitted by winnits : Cat on a Sarsen on the Fyfield Downs. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by Blingo_von_Trumpenstein : Close up of beautiful serpentine neolithic highly polished (understatement) point butted axe head sitting in the bowl of the Fyfield Down polissoir. The stone is as smooth as the axe. Final polishing possibly completed using leaves and pig fat. This axe looks amazing nowadays - how must it have looked 6,500 years ago? Enjoy (6 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by Blingo_von_Trumpenstein : Polissoir with beautifully polished neolithic stone axe in situ. Approx 6,500 years old Serpentine highly polished 'ritual' axe - no signs of hafting, use or wear. Almost certainly from Britain. This polishing stone is surely for point butted 2 sided axes. Thin butted and thick butted axes just do not fit into the grooves (thoroughly tested). (4 comments)

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by TheCaptain : Another beautiful September day trip to this special place

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by JimChampion : December 2019. "The Polisher" on Fyfield Down. Visited it during a long winter solstice walk around the area. Easy to find once you've found the nearby triangular stone mentioned by others. GPS was pretty useful too! I think I started posting on this site at the end of December 2004, almost 15 years ago. Technology has moved on since then - In 2004 I'd only just got my first digital camera, maps w... (1 comment)

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by TheCaptain : On this beautiful September day, I sat and had lunch with the Polisher. I must have been here best part of an hour, watching the Red Kites circling, and didn't see another soul. It's really moving sat here, just where people would have been sat 5000 years ago. (2 comments)

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by TheCaptain : At long last, I have been to visit this fabulous stone.

Fyfield Downs Triangular Feature 0091
Fyfield Downs Triangular Feature 0091 submitted by JJ : Aerial Photograph copyright JJ Evendon

Fyfield Down
Fyfield Down submitted by winnits : Scenery on Fyfield Downs, a relatively short walk up the Ridgeway from Overton Hill brings us here to this unspoiled area of Downland.

Fyfield Down (Avebury)
Fyfield Down (Avebury) submitted by Bladup : Fyfield Down Cup Marked Rock within it's landscape

Fyfield Down (Avebury)
Fyfield Down (Avebury) submitted by Bladup : Fyfield Down Cup Marked Rock, Showing the manmade u/houseshoe carved into the rock

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by TheCaptain : At long last, I have been to visit this fabulous stone.

Fyfield Down
Fyfield Down submitted by ogham : Magnificent location on the rolling downs of Wiltshire.

Fyfield Down
Fyfield Down submitted by Bladup : Part of the Fyfield Down Settlement at about 140714.

Fyfield Down
Fyfield Down submitted by custer : Scatterings of sarsen stones all over the valley floor. Nice walk gentle slopes peaceful and still below the ridge out of the wind.

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by ocifant : The 'bowl' and grooves are incredibly smooth, compared with the rest of the stone. How many hours?...

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by Thorgrim : SU128715 The Polisher is a sarsen stone on Fyfield Down and is in close proximity to a settlement of the "Beaker Folk". Used to polish stone axes, it is not easy to find and has become something of a Holy Grail to Megaraks. This photograph gives significant clues to its location - the triangular stone and the lone tree are pointers. There is another pointer nearby which makes finding the Pol...

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by Thorgrim : The grooves are where the edges of stone axes were polished. The dished area at the top is incredibly smooth and was where the sides were polished. (1 comment)

The Polisher (Fyfield Down)
The Polisher (Fyfield Down) submitted by Thorgrim : Stone axes were often polished and given as high status gifts. Some have been found in graves showing no sign of wear or useage. It is a remarkable experience to sit quietly by this stone and touch the grooves and particularly the smooth dished area. The contact with those who worked at this stone is very real.

Fyfield Down
Fyfield Down submitted by traveller : Power of the stones? (4 comments)

Fyfield Down
Fyfield Down submitted by dawnrun : This stone is very close to the Polisher stone. (1 comment)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
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"Fyfield Down" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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Re: Fyfield Down by Anonymous on Monday, 27 October 2008
What is the meaning of Fyfield
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Fyfield Down by festus on Tuesday, 11 July 2006
(User Info | Send a Message)
This is a truely a fantastic and earie place to see,living close to the site i can visit all year round and in all weathers.
I can remember the first time i came across the valley of stones i stood there and was awinspired all alone on a cold winters day waiting for the sun to arise.
Near by along the valley of stones you will find the DEVILS DEN this is whats left of a barrow.
Other features around there are medieval settlements aswell as more modern 18th cen (modern) buildings and ancient woodlands nearby all carrying the mysteries of wiltshire .
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Fyfield Down by Thorgrim on Wednesday, 03 March 2004
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Condition:4
Ambience:5
Access:3
Fyfield Down is where the sarsens came from. There they still are, huge, grey, recumbent and waiting in their natural state. How incredible to think of those massive things being taken to Avebury and even further to Stonehenge! The enormity of the journey struck home. I had read books about levers and rollers and sledges, but now I really understood because I was in the landscape and so were the stones. I could see and feel the gradients, the twists and turns and above all - the distance.

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