Maumbury Rings
Encyclopedia
Maumbury Rings is a Neolithic
henge
in the south of Dorchester town in Dorset
, England
. It is a large circular earthwork, 85 metres in diameter, with a single bank and internal ditch and an entrance to the north east. The ditch was created by digging a series of funnel-shaped shafts, each 10 metres deep, which were so closely positioned as to create a continuous trench. Human and deer skull fragments were found in the ditch fill when it was excavated in the early 20th century.
Two thousand five hundred years after construction, during the Roman
occupation, the site was adapted as an amphitheatre
for the use of the citizens of the nearby Roman town of Durnovaria
(Dorchester). The entrance was retained and an inner enclosure built in the south west interpreted as being for the use of the performers. The inside of the henge was lowered, with the material produced piled onto the banks.
During the Civil War
the site was again reused as an artillery fort guarding the southern approach to Dorchester. The site as it exists today is a product of the remodelling during this era - the most significant modification was the large ramp opposite the entrance.
Its amphitheatre role was briefly revived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as a place of public execution. In 1685, at the close of the Monmouth Rebellion
, Judge Jeffreys
ordered eighty of the rebels to be executed here. In 1705 Mary Channing, a nineteen year old woman found guilty of poisoning her husband, was executed by strangulation and burning at the Rings. Thomas Hardy
used this event in his poem The Mock Wife, and recorded some details of his research into the event in his personal writings.
The monument is now a public open space, and used for open-air concerts, festivals and re-enactments.
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
henge
Henge
There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork which are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three types is that they feature a ring bank and ditch but with the ditch inside the bank rather than outside...
in the south of Dorchester town in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is a large circular earthwork, 85 metres in diameter, with a single bank and internal ditch and an entrance to the north east. The ditch was created by digging a series of funnel-shaped shafts, each 10 metres deep, which were so closely positioned as to create a continuous trench. Human and deer skull fragments were found in the ditch fill when it was excavated in the early 20th century.
Two thousand five hundred years after construction, during the Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
occupation, the site was adapted as an amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
for the use of the citizens of the nearby Roman town of Durnovaria
Durnovaria
Durnovaria is the Latin form of the Brythonic name for the Roman town of Dorchester in the modern English county of Dorset.-Romans at Maiden Castle:...
(Dorchester). The entrance was retained and an inner enclosure built in the south west interpreted as being for the use of the performers. The inside of the henge was lowered, with the material produced piled onto the banks.
During the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
the site was again reused as an artillery fort guarding the southern approach to Dorchester. The site as it exists today is a product of the remodelling during this era - the most significant modification was the large ramp opposite the entrance.
Its amphitheatre role was briefly revived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as a place of public execution. In 1685, at the close of the Monmouth Rebellion
Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion,The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion of 1685, was an attempt to overthrow James II, who had become King of England, King of Scots and King of Ireland at the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, and some...
, Judge Jeffreys
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem, PC , also known as "The Hanging Judge", was an English judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor .- Early years and education :Jeffreys was born at the family estate of Acton Hall, near Wrexham,...
ordered eighty of the rebels to be executed here. In 1705 Mary Channing, a nineteen year old woman found guilty of poisoning her husband, was executed by strangulation and burning at the Rings. Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
used this event in his poem The Mock Wife, and recorded some details of his research into the event in his personal writings.
The monument is now a public open space, and used for open-air concerts, festivals and re-enactments.
External links
- Location:
- Maumbury Rings site page on The Megalithic Portal
- Photos of Maumbury Rings from visit-dorchester.co.uk