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Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
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megalith6
46 posts

Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
Aug 15, 2013, 10:53
Once within sight of the long barrow vanished hill figures have been recorded at Fox Hill.

http://m.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/10594307.The_hills_have_eyes____and_a_spear/

The spear and owl theme is very reminiscent of Lleu and Blodeuwedd's saga in the Mabinogion collection of medieval stories, so I'm wondering if there is a connection?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blodeuwedd

There's plenty of archaeological evidence at Fox Hill. Lleu's story line requires a water course which could be provided by the Liden Brook from which Liddington derives its name.
Evergreen Dazed
1881 posts

Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
Aug 15, 2013, 13:51
Yes, there was a lively discussion about this on the news section a few days ago. Its a well endowed spaceman hoisting a, somewhat bendy, stone upright.
Mystery solved.

Seriously though, v intriguing.
tjj
tjj
3606 posts

Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
Aug 15, 2013, 21:48
I must admit I found this story initially quite exciting - although I live locally I rarely buy the local paper and came across the link via Dorset County Museum's FB page - so they must have given the story some credence.

I have just been looking at Alfred Williams's little book 'Villages of the White Horse' published 100 years ago this summer. He visited and wrote about customs and folk-lore of the 'spring-line' villages going towards Uffington and writes quite a bit about the White Horse. No mention of this figure though or any associated folk-lore. Like someone else said, I'd love it to be true but accept it's highly unlikely.
GLADMAN
949 posts

Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
Aug 15, 2013, 22:49
Reminded me (a bit) of Lethbridge's claims at Wandlebury in Cambridgeshire............
m6
32 posts

Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
Aug 16, 2013, 18:03
Hi,

I've seen the photo (embargo till published unfortunately) and Wiltshire also notes the site:-

http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/smr/getsmr.php?id=19979

The article's author, Bryn Walters, is a Roman history academic. These figures were deeply etched into the hill side which explains how they survived the initial ploughing but by 1970 they'd been completely erased.

There's no trace of any local folklore that I can find which would account for them but that's unremarkable considering all the documented sites we know about which would have been topics of conversation for generations at the time, yet all that marks them today is silence.

I am optimistic however that something may eventually come to light - there is so much remaining from the past in this region. These hill figures must surely have constituted some form of visual dialogue between Liddington Camp and Long Barrow?

The ancient story of an owl, and legendary spear throwing, were reworked by Alan Garner into his story of 'The Owl Service'

http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_garner_owlservice.html
tjj
tjj
3606 posts

Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
Aug 16, 2013, 20:57
m6 wrote:
Hi,

I've seen the photo (embargo till published unfortunately) and Wiltshire also notes the site:-

http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/smr/getsmr.php?id=19979

The article's author, Bryn Walters, is a Roman history academic. These figures were deeply etched into the hill side which explains how they survived the initial ploughing but by 1970 they'd been completely erased.

There's no trace of any local folklore that I can find which would account for them but that's unremarkable considering all the documented sites we know about which would have been topics of conversation for generations at the time, yet all that marks them today is silence.

I am optimistic however that something may eventually come to light - there is so much remaining from the past in this region. These hill figures must surely have constituted some form of visual dialogue between Liddington Camp and Long Barrow?

The ancient story of an owl, and legendary spear throwing, were reworked by Alan Garner into his story of 'The Owl Service'.
http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_garner_owlservice.html


Interesting! If there were to be any parallels I would opt for the Cerne Abbas Giant rather than the legend of Blodeuwedd (the woman created from flowers who was later turned into an owl). Are you saying the photo you have seen is rather different to the image which appears in the news link?
megalith6
46 posts

Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
Aug 18, 2013, 00:17
tjj wrote:


Interesting! If there were to be any parallels I would opt for the Cerne Abbas Giant rather than the legend of Blodeuwedd (the woman created from flowers who was later turned into an owl). Are you saying the photo you have seen is rather different to the image which appears in the news link?


The photo has been well represented by the line drawing shown at that Swindon article. The trouble is, there's a lot of archaeological activity at Foxhill and the big shape that the spear thrower is facing (I think) may be part of an earthwork, and not necessarily a part of the hill figure art? I guess a step towards unraveling some of this would be a proper survey up there, that would at least show up some of the deeper marks so that they can be isolated from the figures, which have entirely vanished now, a disaster.

Cerne Abbas Giant of disputed antiquity, it may be quite recent. However, there is definite prehistoric archaeology at Cerne higher up that hill, which the Giant has (dreadful pun coming up) rather overshadowed. Cerne is an interesting site, there was a vast religious house there til Henry 8 threw his toys out the pram and demolished all the monasteries, after removing all the plate and stripping the roofs of lead of course. I would hazard a guess there was something big going on at Cerne before the Church arrived on the scene, and they 'absorbed' it by dominating the whole area with their presence?

Ric
nigelswift
8112 posts

Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
Aug 18, 2013, 08:15
m6 wrote:
I've seen the photo

What is the significance of the dotted and solid likes on the sketch? Do they both show features that are visible on the photo?
Rhiannon
5290 posts

Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
Aug 18, 2013, 09:25
If Bryn Walters is such an archaeologist, why is the Swindon Advertiser piece full of such utterly speculative stuff as "And today it can be revealed that for the best part of 3,000 years a hillside near Swindon was the site of an epic chalk carving of a giant spearman." - Even if a figure was ever there, what proper archaeologist would encourage them to print that it's 3000 years old?

"For many years – possibly several centuries – it was located alongside an equally impressive chalk figure thought to depict the Saxon god Woden." - what's this all about then, one figure not enough? OH I SEE you can't have Woden in a neolithic carving can you, he's not been invented yet because he's Saxon apparently? So that bit was later, ok?

If this isn't all utter bilge I will eat my copy of the Owl Service. Please don't drag medieval Welsh stories into it. It's got nothing to do with the Mabinogion, that is Welsh - the names are all Welsh, the places are specifically mentioned eg Dyfed, Ardudwy, Dinas Dinlle, Caer Arionrhod, the river Cynvael, and lots of the action goes on near the sea. Not Swindon. Which is not named at all and is a very long way from the sea.

I wouldn't mind, but all this does nothing for the public profile of actual prehistory, it just makes anyone interested in it look like a fruitcake in association. In the 1970s it wouldn't have been a 'man with a spear' it would have been an astronaut you know. He looks like an astronaut to me, with his space helmet. I think the site was like the Nazca lines, it was a message to the space aliens to land near Swindon.
Sanctuary
Sanctuary
4670 posts

Re: Foxhill Farm, nr Liddington.
Aug 18, 2013, 10:08
Rhiannon wrote:
He looks like an astronaut to me, with his space helmet. I think the site was like the Nazca lines, it was a message to the space aliens to land near Swindon.


:-)
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