Wormy Hillock Henge

Wormy Hillock Henge
A picture of the mound
Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Coordinates:
Built: During the Neolithic Period[1]
Architectural style(s): British pre-Roman Architecture
Scheduled monument
Official name: Wormy Hillock
Reference #: 3278[2]
Wormy hillock henge shown within Aberdeenshire

Wormy hillock henge is a small henge in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.[3] It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument[1] located in the Clashindarroch Forest.[4] It is a low, circular bank 16.5 metres (54 ft) in diameter which almost surrounds a 6-metre (20 ft) wide platform in the centre.[3] There is one gap in the bank at the southeast end of the henge.[3]

Contents

History

In 1891, James Macdonald, thinking that this mound was a "round for sheep", excavated the mound. However, this did not bring any archaeological finds.[4]

Legend

According to legend, Wormy hillock henge was the location of a buried dragon or monster.[4][5] In the legend, the dragon had been attacking villages in the neighbourhood, and the villagers eventually succeeded in killing the dragon. They then half-buried its corpse and mounded dirt over it, making a mound.[6] This legend is the source of the name of the mound: Wormy hillock henge.[5][6]

The site

Wormy hillock henge is located on the top of a mound in a haugh ("a piece of flat alluvial land by the side of a river", according to the Oxford English Dictionary[7]) in a steep valley[4] in the Clashindarroch Forest. On the top of the mound is a circular bank, 16.5 metres (54 ft) in diameter,[8] enclosing an oval area 13.5 metres (44 ft) long by 13 metres (43 ft) wide.[4] The bank itself ranges from 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick and 10 centimetres (3.9 in) high up to 4 metres (13 ft) thick and 60 centimetres (24 in) high.[4] Overall, this is a very small mound, since the area enclosed by the bank is around 140 square metres (1,500 sq ft), and the average for a stone circle is around 260 square metres (2,800 sq ft).[9]

Inside the bank is a small platform 6 metres (20 ft) in diameter surrounded by a 1 metre (3.3 ft) deep ditch crossed by several causeways.[4] The southeastern one is apparently related to the 1 metre (3.3 ft) wide hole in the bank at the same angular position.[3][4] This site is similar to several others in Dorchester, Oxon, England.[8] There are two small pits on the bank, and they may be much more recent than the rest of the mound. A large boulder is lying in the ditch right below one of the pits.[4]

Currently, the site is completely overgrown by grass and heather.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Dip, Jill Moody (2006). Electricity Act 1989 (Report). The Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/917/0052853.pdf. Retrieved 7 December 2010. 
  2. ^ The Diversity Team (September 2009). Moray & Aberdeenshire Forest District Strategic Plan 2009–2013 (Report). Forestry Commission Scotland. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/MAStrategyPlan.pdf/$FILE/MAStrategyPlan.pdf. Retrieved 7 December 2010. 
  3. ^ a b c d "Wormy Hillock Henge". Megalithic Portal. http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=22893. Retrieved 7 December 2010. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Wormy Hillock". Canmore Site Records. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/17295/details/wormy+hillock/. Retrieved 7 December 2010. 
  5. ^ a b MacDonald, James (1891). Place Names in Strathbogie. Dwyllie and Son. pp. 258–259. http://www.archive.org/stream/placenamesinstra00macd#page/259/mode/2up/search/Wormie. 
  6. ^ a b "Wormy Hillock Henge Monument". Attractions in Aberdeenshire. Britain Express. http://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=4397. Retrieved 7 December 2010. 
  7. ^ "haugh, n." Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press. 16 December 20.
  8. ^ a b "Aberdeenshire SMR – Wormy Hillock". Aberdeenshire Council Sites and Monument Record. Aberdeenshire Council. http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/smrpub/shire/detail.aspx?tab=main&refno=NJ43SW0001. Retrieved 7 December 2010. 
  9. ^ Burl, Aubrey (August 2000) [First published 1995]. The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany (2nd ed.). Yale University Press. pp. 36. ISBN 9780300083477. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=cL5KcoqiOnoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR10&dq=%22wormy+hillock%22&ots=Wwadkbt8rj&sig=oxJE-ox6HcF2TqJM9yRYeJOsbbk#v=onepage&q=%22wormy%20hillock%22&f=false. 

External links