Woolbury, or Woolbury Ring, is the site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

univallate hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

on Stockbridge Down,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England.

Description

The site is described as a strong hilltop camp covering 20 acres, with a single bank and ditch, and has commanding views over the surrounding area. The bank and ditch are well preserved to the west, the bank being 9 ft. high and 16 ft. above the bottom of the ditch. The eastern side has been ploughed out, and the ditch only remains to the north and south. The entrance is on the west side, the interior is down to permanent pasture.https://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/vol09/page075.html Hampshire Treasures website Only the southwest rampart (which includes the original entrance) is in

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

ownership; the rest is private land. The site is listed as a scheduled ancient monument no.52. There are a number of other archaeological sites in the area, including a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ke ...

mound of approximately 40m in diameter and 1.5m in height. Located at and recorded in an Anglo-Saxon charter as ''Heardulfe's Hlaewe'' or ''Heardulfe's Barrow''. The area is now subject to ploughing. In addition, several other

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

are to be found to the south of the hill fort.

Location

The site is located at , and to the east of the village of Stockbridge, in the county of

Danebury Danebury is an Iron Age hill fort in Hampshire, England, about north-west of Winchester (). Retrieved on 23 July 2008. The site, covering , was excavated by Barry Cunliffe in the 1970s. Danebury is considered a type-site for hill forts, a ...

hill fort lies close by to the West, over the

River Test The River Test is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for to Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of Stockbridge and Romsey. Below the village o ...

. The hill has a summit of 158m AOD.

White horse and cross

On the southern ramparts of Woolbury Ring is a

hill figure A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and r ...

of a horse. Whilst there are 17 white horse hill figures in England, with nine being nearby in Wiltshire, this is the only example in Hampshire. The horse was constructed crudely of rough flints, painted white and pushed into the ground to form the shape of the horse. The earliest documentation of the horse is in 1846. The horse for many years was covered by the surrounding bushes but in 1999, the site was cleared so the horse become visible again. There was also a hill figure of a cross nearby, only a few yards from Winchester Road, constructed using the same method. This was lost in 1944.

Description

Location

White horse and cross

References

See also