I concluded last month’s column just east of Avebury at the Sanctuary, a Neolithic and Bronze Age site that is also the start and end point of the Ridgeway, an 87-mile route rich in archaeology that runs between there and Ivinghoe Beacon across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire (see http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/the-ridgeway). During Easter 2024, I walked it south to north, and below I share some of the highlights from the sites I visited along the way which have also featured in the pages of Current Archaeology over the years.
Rolling Stones and White Horses
I begin by heading north from the Sanctuary across Fyfield Down, where CA 16 (September 1969) reported on fieldwork begun there in 1959 by Peter Fowler, revealing a wealth of sites ranging from the Neolithic to the medieval. A few miles further on is the Hackpen White Horse, visited as part of a wider survey of chalk-cut hill figures in CA 234 (September 2009); and slightly further still is the first in a series of fine hillforts along this section of the route: Barbury Castle. Much to my surprise, this edifice has only had one proper mention in the magazine, when Nicola Turto shared a magnificent cake baked in its shape in CA 336 (March 2018). From Barbury, you can look out across a virtually 360° view, and historically the route continues due east to Chiseldon, where CA 214 (January 2008) reported on a find of 12 Iron Age cauldrons; CA 230 (May 2009) had more on this site in the context of the Roman occupation of Britain.
However, the modern-day Ridgeway turns south-east to pivot below the village of Ogbourne St George, through an area rich in history but within which Current Archaeology has never stopped. The path curves south and east in a great arc (crossing the A346, which follows the line of the Roman road from Cirencester to Marlborough) and climbs back up on to the chalk downs towards Aldbourne, visited in my column in CA 411 (June 2024) for its associations with the Second World War. The Ridgeway then rejoins its historic line at Liddington Castle, another fine Iron Age hillfort that Current Archaeology has not yet visited – surprisingly so, since it was partially excavated in 1976 by a team from the University of Birmingham.
