Monument record MDO18096 - Maumbury Rings standing stone

A large stone is said to have formerly existed on the west side of the entrance to Maumbury Rings. It was buried in the early 19th century and reburied slightly deeper in 1846. An excavation in 1879 failed to find this stone.

A 'great stone' is said to have formerly stood on the western side of the entrance to Maumbury Rings, but was apparently an obstacle to cultivation and was buried quite near to the surface early in the 19th century. But apparently was still a problem for agriculture, so in 1846, its position was lowered to a depth of 3ft (1) .

A trench was dug across the entrance in 1879 to find the stone, but without success. (2)

The stone is said to be conglomerate. (3)

The status of this stone is unclear, it may have been a prehistoric monolith, but it is not shown on any pictorial views of Maumbury Rings, nor is it mentioned in Stukeley's description of the monument (4) (5). The source of knowledge about this stone seems to be the recollection of a number of old people, in particular Nat Seal, a well-known local shepherd, who remembered seeing the stone, which had a chain attached to it. Apparently it was lying on the ground, or only partly covered and one day Farmer Masters' plough became entangled in the chain and to prevent it happening again, the stone was buried in the entrance. (6)

The stone is not shown on 18th century views of Maumbury (Stukeley- others?)

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 592 (Monograph). SDO150.

<1> Gray, H St George, 1908, Interim report on the Excavations at Maumbury Rings, Dorchester, 1908, 259 (Article in serial). SDO9388.

<2> Pope, A, 1885, The Amphitheatre at Dorchester. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 66-69 (Article in serial). SDO9397.

<3> Bradley, R, 1976, Maumbury Rings, Dorchester: The Excavations of 1908-1913, 15 (Article in serial). SDO9387.

<4> Stukeley, W, 1723, Of the Roman Amphitheater at Dorchester (Bibliographic reference). SDO9440.

<5> Stukeley, W, 1776, Itinerarum Curiosum, 163-175 (Bibliographic reference). SDO9441.

<6> Moule, H J, 1901, Dorchester Antiquities, 7 (Bibliographic reference). SDO9439.

<6> Moule, H J, 1906, Dorchester Antiquities, 26 (Bibliographic reference). SDO9552.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:26PM