Waulud's Bank
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Waulud's Bank is a possible
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
henge A henge can be one of three related types of Neolithic Earthworks (archaeology), earthwork. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ditches ...
in
Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Borough of Luton, Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The current council ward is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torqu ...
, Luton, England dating from 3000 BC. The Waulud's Bank earthworks are in the north of Luton on the edge of Leagrave Common, with central
Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Borough of Luton, Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The current council ward is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torqu ...
to the south east and Marsh Farm to the west. The
River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...
runs alongside on the western side, its source located within the vicinity of the surrounding marsh. Archaeological excavations in 1953, 1971 and 1982 date the site to around 3000 BC, in the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
period, although there was evidence of earlier
mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...
hunter/fisher activity in the immediate area. The 'D' shape of the earthwork is almost identical to that of Marden Henge in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
, both sites have a river forming one side, and each produced neolithic grooved-ware pottery. Waulud's Bank lies on a glacial ridge near which runs the prehistoric Icknield Way. Initially it was probably a domestic enclosure used for cattle herding. It has been suggested that it later became a henge monument, although the position of its surrounding ditch outside its timber-faced bank would be unusual. Evidence suggests that the site was briefly re-used in the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, during the Roman occupation and in medieval times. The enclosure consists of a bank and external ditch of around 7 hectares with a turf-revetted chalk and gravel bank faced by a wooden stockade. No entrances have been identified. Most external features have been destroyed by a 19th-century gravel quarry on the south, and the dumping of tons of chalk and top-soil along the eastern side during building construction of Marsh Farm in the 1970s. Geophysical surveys in July 1985 and January 2009 failed to reveal any very positive indications of internal features. The bank stands high in places; on the north side the excavated ditch was wide and deep. Finds included neolithic
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
, animal bones and flint arrow heads, some on display at Stockwood Heritage Centre, Luton Museum. The building at the edge of Waulud's Bank was a one time farmhouse called Marsh Farm House, the occupants of which owned the area that later became Marsh Farm.


Myths and legends

The source of the
River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...
is known as the 'Five-Springs' and lies in the north-west corner of Wauluds Bank. According to legend, the Celtic god Lug (or ''Lud'' or ''Lyg'') presided over the springs. Lug is the Celtic god of light, and the name 'Lea' may be derived from this name. The town now known as Luton is named after this river which may mean the river of the god Lugus. ''Ton'' is an
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
name for a town or large settlement. So Luton could mean "the town on the river of Lugus", although this is speculation. The
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
record claims that Waulud may be a corruption of the name Wayland (the smith) who was a Norse god, also known as Wolund, Weyland or Weland (see also Wayland's Smithy). The record also mentions that "some early writers" believed Waulud's Bank to be a place called Lygeanburgh (the similarly sounding Limbury meaning a fortified place on the river Lea is nearby). This was one of four settlements mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle captured by Cuthwulf, (Prince of
Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...
) in 571. Lygeanburgh and Limbury were almost certainly the same place, but so far there has been no excavated evidence to link them directly with Waulud's Bank. There are no foundations for rumours that a substantial Roman villa once existed in Bramingham Road which borders Waulud's Bank. As mentioned above the site is close to the point where the prehistoric Icknield Way fords the river Lea, and about in distance from Watling Street in Dunstable - also connected with Roman history.


References

* {{Luton History of Bedfordshire Buildings and structures in Luton Stone Age sites in England Tourist attractions in Bedfordshire Parks and open spaces in Bedfordshire Archaeological sites in Bedfordshire