Maumbury Rings
Maumbury Rings is a Neolithic Hengemonument in Dorchester ( United Kingdom ) on the road to Weymouth .
history
The complex is already mentioned by antiquarians of the 17th century. In the late 19th century, it was threatened by the construction of the London and Southwestern Railway , but was saved after a publicity campaign. 1908–1913, under the direction of Harold St. George Gray , curator of the museum in Taunton and student of Augustus Pitt Rivers , excavations took place, which were financed by donations. The finds were registered three-dimensionally, but no class affiliation was recorded. Preliminary reports appeared in 1908, 1909, 1910, 1913 and 1914. In 1976 Richard Bradley published the results. Before the excavation, Maumbury was partly interpreted as a sun temple. In Roman times, the complex served as an amphitheater for the nearby Durnovaria that could hold around 10,000 spectators . When installing the rows of seats, around three meters of earth were removed from the interior of the facility, thus destroying the entire Neolithic interior and the gate system. The theater was built between 70 and 150 AD, probably towards the end of the first century AD. It could also have been a military barracks and training complex for the Second Legion , comparable facilities can be found in Richmond and Chester . After the facility was closed, three people were buried here. In the third century AD, the facility was used again, as demonstrated by fragments of New Forest goods and coins from Carausius and Constantine I. Coins of Tetricus I , Tetricus II and Constantine II were found in the upper filling layers of the Roman post holes .
Modern times
In modern times, the earthwork served as a place of execution. So here in 1685 after the failed rebellion of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth , the illegitimate son of Charles II after the Battle of Sedgemoor, 80 insurgents were executed (so-called " Bloody Assizes " under Judge George Jeffreys). In 1708, nineteen-year-old Mary Channing, who allegedly killed her husband, a Dorchester merchant , was killed in front of 10,000 spectators. The incident is immortalized by Thomas Hardy in his poem 'The Mock Wife' and also described in his notebooks. Several scenes from Hardy's "The Mayor of Casterbridge" take place here. Three burials in the complex, one of them without a head, may be connected with the place of execution.
During the English Civil War , a fortification was built in the complex by order of the Parliament on July 19, 1642, despite the opposition of the Royalist High Sheriff of Dorset. The ramps excavated by Gray were probably used to bring guns into position. The fort was completed in 1643, but was taken by Lord Caernarvon without resistance in August of that year. In a report from 1649 the "fort" in Maumbury is mentioned.
literature
- Richard Bradley: Maumbury Rings, Dorchester: The excavations of 1908-1913 . (Oxford 1976).
- David Daiches and John Flower: Literary Landscapes of the British Isles: A Narrative Atlas . Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1981.
- Dorothy Eagle / Hilary Carnell (Eds.): The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to Great Britain and Ireland : New York, Oxford University Press 1981
- A. Hubbart / G. Hubbart: Neolithic dewponds and cattleways . (London 1905)
- Molly Lefebure : Thomas Hardy's World . (London, Carlton 1996).
- Harold Orel (Ed.): Thomas Hardy's Personal Writings . 225
Web links
- Maumbury Rings (Engl.)
- image
Individual evidence
- ↑ A. Hubbart / G. Hubbart: Neolithic dewponds and cattleways , London 1905
Coordinates: 50 ° 42 ′ 28.7 " N , 2 ° 26 ′ 24.7" W.