<< Our Photo Pages >> Figsbury Rings - Hillfort in England in Wiltshire

Submitted by Bladup on Sunday, 14 April 2024  Page Views: 16295

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Figsbury Rings Alternative Name: Chlorus' Camp
Country: England County: Wiltshire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Salisbury
Map Ref: SU18833382  Landranger Map Number: 184
Latitude: 51.103375N  Longitude: 1.732438W
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
 4

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I have visited· I would like to visit

rvbaker2003 visited on 3rd May 2025 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 4

FrothNinja visited on 1st Oct 2016 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 4

graemefield visited on 6th Aug 2012 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

wildtalents visited on 1st Jul 1999 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 You can drive, slowly, up to a car park very near the rings. It's a popular dog-walker site so if you meet someone on the way to or from the site it can get a bit fraught. The outer ring has henge-like banks though quite some distance from the ditches if I recall correctly. There's a wide flat causeway and then another ring roughly concentric with the outer one. A double causeway leads to a central platform. Almost like an amphitheatre in some ways. There are great views of the Salisbury district.

coin visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

attlebax AngieLake JimChampion have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.4 Ambience: 3.8 Access: 4.4

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, Looking West over the Northern part of the fort (Vote or comment on this photo)
A circular fort high on a hilltop with fantastic views. It has the outer bank and ditch separated by a wide space from an inner ditch. Why have an inner ditch in a fortification? It is almost as if it is a fort and henge combined. Rather strange.

Access Well-signposted from the A30, to the east of Salisbury. Drive up the narrow bumpy track to a generous car park. The track is unsuitable for coaches, and long vehicles might have trouble with the sharp right-turn into the car park at the top of the track.

Text by Thorgrim.
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Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by rvbaker2003 : Figsbury Ring entrance approached from the car park (Vote or comment on this photo)

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by rvbaker2003 : One of the entrances (Vote or comment on this photo)

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : A 3D view of the digital terrain model of Figsbury Rings by Rouven Meidlinger (Vote or comment on this photo)

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, The inner enclosure looking South East (Vote or comment on this photo)

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, Looking South East over the Western entrance causeway (Vote or comment on this photo)

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, South Western side looking South East

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings from the West

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, Looking South East over the North Eastern side of the fort

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, North West side looking West (3 comments)

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Long winter shadows at Figsbury Rings

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, Looking South over the Eastern side of the fort

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, Eastern side looking South East over the Eastern entrance causeway

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : The older central Bronze age part of this fort/settlement/enclosure

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, Eastern side looking North West

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, Looking over some of the interior of the fort towards the Western entrance

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, Eastern side looking South over the Eastern entrance

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, South East Side looking North East

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, South West side looking North East

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Defences at Figsbury Rings

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, The slight mound/barrow at the center of the rings

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, Western side

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Midwinter sunrise at Figsbury Rings

Figsbury Rings
Figsbury Rings submitted by Bladup : Figsbury Rings, At the South looking North East

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"Figsbury Rings" | Login/Create an Account | 5 News and Comments
  
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Street View by coldrum on Friday, 26 March 2010
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Re: Figsbury Rings by JimChampion on Saturday, 16 December 2006
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From The Ancient History of Wiltshire by Sir Richard Colt Hoare (published 1812) p217-218:


CHLORUS'S CAMP, but in Mr Aubrey's Monumenta Britannica, as well as in Mr Camden's Britannia, it is noticed under the title of FRIPSBURY. What the origin of the latter name is, I am at a loss to conjecture. The former may be derived from the British Genearl CONSTANTIUS CHLORUS, to whom, perhaps, the construction of this camp may be attributed. In Kennet's Parochical Antiquities, I find this earthen work alluded to, and some history given of its supposed founder. "After the death of Carausius, in the year 297, the Emperors Dioclesian and Maximian succeeded to the government of the empire, and in order to withstand the rebellions that broke out in divers parts of it, elected Galerius Maximus and Constantius Chlorus as their generals. The latter having defeated the usurper Allectus, got a good footing in Britain, and a good governor he was, and some forwards up on the downs as far as New Sarum, where, upon the side of the downs he built a fortification, the rampers wheror still appear very apparently, and is called CHLOREN, after the name that the Britons gave him, be reason of his long train carried up after him; it standeth in Wiltshire, upon the north corner of CHLORENDON Park, now called Clarendon, which taketh his name thereof;

...

The situation of this camp is delightful and the prospect from it pleasing and extensive. Its form is circular, and the area comprehends nearly fifteen acres; the circuit of the ditch is four furlong 198 yards , and the height of the vallum 46 feet; the principal entrance lies towards the east, where there are some slight traces of an outwork; it had an exit on the opposite side towards the west. One peculiarity attends to this earthen work, and which must immediately arrest the attention of every eye accustomed to view the ancient specimens of castrametation. I allude to a deep and irregular ditch within the area of the camp, which forms a circle within a circle, and appears to have been excavated for the purpose of procuring materials to raise the vallum of the outward ramparts; for it is evident at first sight, that a large supply of soil has been brought here for that purpose. Dr Stukeley, in his Itinerarium Curiosum, has given a rude sketch of this camp and at page 138 has noticed also this ditch within the area of the camp, which he supposes was once "a lesser camp, but enlarged by CHLORUS, by removing the earth of the inner vallum to the outward, or new circumvallation;" but I am rather inclined to think, that there originally was no inner camp, but the ditch was merely excavated for materials to raise the ramparts of the camp.


Engraving of the camp's plan, from Wiltshire County Council website.
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Re: Figsbury Rings by JimChampion on Sunday, 23 January 2005
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The National Trust information board at the site (which is now only just readable) says:

Figsbury rings was built during the Iron Age, about 500 B.C. as a defence in times of emergency. Its strategic siting is on a promontory of chalk downs, 150 metres above sea level. The outer bank may have had a palisading or perhaps some other defensive superstructure, but no evidence for this is known.

The position of the inner ditch is curious; it was probably never part of the defences, but as a quarry, provided material for the construction of the bank. The outer defensive ditch does not appear to be deep enough to have provided all the chalk rubble for the bank. However, the internal quarry ditches are usually dug immediately behind the banks of such forts; so this one may have served some additional and now unknown function. The fort has two entrances, at the east and the west; that at the east has an additional low bank and ditch to afford it better protection. These entrances would probably have had gates and guardrooms, perhaps even guard towers, as the gates are often the most vulnerable part of a defence.

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Re: Figsbury Rings by Thorgrim on Sunday, 07 March 2004
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Condition:5
Ambience:5
Access:5
The track from the A30 is intimidating as it goes past private houses and is deeply rutted. Just drive up to the large car park at the top. Observe the dire MOD warnings and follow the short NT path to the hillfort and the fantastic views.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Figsbury Rings by JimChampion on Sunday, 23 January 2005
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    The access track from the A30 was awful today (very wide and very deep puddles) and the car park was deeply rutted too. The concrete strips set across the track to prevent water erosion are becoming steps. This is in contrast to the site itself which is in very good condition, albeit highly baffling.
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