I concluded last month’s column just east of Avebury at the Sanctuary, a Neolithic and Bronze Age site that is also the start and end point of the Ridgeway, an 87-mile route rich in archaeology that runs between there and Ivinghoe Beacon across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire (see www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/ trails/the-ridgeway). During Easter 2024, I walked it south to north, and below I share some of the highlights from the sites I visited along the way which have also featured in the pages of Current Archaeology over the years.
ROLLING STONES AND WHITE HORSES
I begin by heading north from the Sanctuary across Fyfield Down, where CA 16 (September 1969) reported on fieldwork begun there in 1959 by Peter Fowler, revealing a wealth of sites ranging from the Neolithic to the medieval. A few miles further on is the Hackpen White Horse, visited as part of a wider survey of chalk-cut hill figures in CA 234 (September 2009); and slightly further still is the first in a series of fine hillforts along this section of the route: Barbury Castle. Much to my surprise, this edifice has only had one proper mention in the magazine, when Nicola Turto shared a magnificent cake baked in its shape in CA 336 (March 2018). From Barbury, you can look out across a virtually 360° view, and historically the route continues due east to Chiseldon, where CA 214 (January 2008) reported on a find of 12 Iron Age cauldrons; CA 230 (May 2009) had more on this site in the context of the Roman occupation of Britain.
However, the modern-day Ridgeway turns south-east to pivot below the village of Ogbourne St George, through an area rich in history but within which Current Archaeology has never stopped. The path curves south and east in a great arc (crossing the A346, which follows the line of the Roman road from Cirencester to Marlborough) and climbs back up onto the chalk downs towards Aldbourne, visited in my column in CA 411 (June 2024) for its associations with the Second World War. The Ridgeway then rejoins its historic line at Liddington Castle, another fine Iron Age hillfort that Current Archaeology has not yet visited – surprisingly so, since it was partially excavated in 1976 by a team from the University of Birmingham.
Heading north-east, the path then crosses an example of what future archaeologists will surely ponder: the great 20th-century linear earthworks of our motorway system – in this case, the M4. CA 25 (March 1971) reported on fieldwork led at this time by RESCUE along the M4 and M5, with hundreds of sites identified in this proto-planning landscape. However, in terms of the Ridgeway, it is best to cross quickly back up into the chalk downs of the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. There are archaeological heavy-hitters ahead: Wayland’s Smithy and Uffington Castle lie a few miles further north-east, both in the care of the National Trust. CA 142 (March 1995) first visited these sites with David Miles, a name that has become synonymous with them thanks to his book The Land of the White Horse (2019). David returned in CA 359 (February 2020) to tell that full story, and included the work of one my favourite local artists, the supremely talented Anna Dillon, whose paintings feature many archaeological sites and monuments, as on the cover of David’s book (see http://annadillon.com). Wayland’s Smithy, meanwhile, was visited in depth in CA 209 (May 2007) and CA 347 (February 2019), the former in relation to its dating and the latter as part of a wider exploration of the Neolithic.
DEVILS AND DITCHES
Just south-east of Uffington and the Ridgeway lies Rams Hill, a Bronze Age and Iron Age site investigated by Stuart and Peggy Piggott (later Guido) in 1938 1939, and again by Richard Bradley and Ann Ellison in the 1970s: CA 36 (January 1973) and CA 42 (January 1974) reported on their fieldwork here. The site sits at the north-western end on their fieldwork there. The site sits at the north-western end of the Lambourn Valley, which CA 333 (December 2017) and CA 356 (November 2019) show to have been a fertile and well connected Roman farming landscape thanks to the study of the villas there, especially at Boxford, near Newbury.
Continuing eastwards, the Ridgeway soon comes to Segsbury Camp, due south of Wantage. CA 388 (July 2022) visited this Iron Age encampment in the context of a wider survey of hillforts at this time, and CA 352 (July 2019) reported on an unusual find from the same era at nearby Childrey: a ‘deviant’ burial of a woman placed with her arms draped over her head, her hands together, her legs bent up with the knees apart, and her feet detached, placed still articulated by her right arm. The Ridgeway there gradually curves south-east through open chalk grassland, the placenames making clear its ancient farming uses.
Just to the north is Harwell, which for many years was synonymous with radiocarbon dating from archaeological sites across the country thanks to it being the home of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) laboratories; for context on that scientific history, see CA 209 (May 2007). The Ridgeway then dips beneath the A34 near Ilsley before heading on to cross the Thames at Streatley and Goring, before following the east bank of the river north. The pickings there are thin – there are no significant mentions of any sites in this part of Berkshire or Oxfordshire in Current Archaeology. Only where the Ridgeway turns sharp right, east out of the valley at Wallingford, do references re-emerge: for example, at the medieval castle there in CA 35 (November 1972), CA 50(May 1975), and CA 310 (January 2016), and on prehistoric sites around the town in CA 121 (September 1990). There, the Ridgeway picks up the line of the prehistoric linear earthwork known as Grim’s Ditch, along which it meanders for much of the rest of the route into Buckinghamshire. Part of this story is told in CA 163 (June 1999).
WILD WOODS AND WINDING PATHS
At Nuffield, the Ridgeway turns north-east up into the Chilterns chalk for the final third of the route. The topography of the walk changes markedly, and so too does its archaeology. The settlements of this area have been well studied, for example in CA 381 (December 2021) as regards its medieval peasant communities. There have been some interesting single discoveries, too, notably that of the Watlington Viking Age hoard (a cache of coins, arm-rings, and silver ingots) in 2015; see CA 311 (February 2016). The trail picks up the route of the Icknield Way there, part of the longer ancient Ridgeway, and at Lewknor crosses the last but one of the great modern markers along its way: the M40; see CA 35 (November 1972) for reports of fieldwork along its route at this time.
The route continues just to the south of Chinnor as the next major settlement along the way, known for its late Bronze Age pottery sequences; see CA 67 (June 1979). It then edges along the fringes of Princes Risborough, a town that Current Archaeology has never stopped to examine. The wooded hill slopes around there in the Chilterns National Landscape are spectacular, especially in autumn, but, less pleasingly, it is through this area that a final modern milestone must be reached and crossed – that of HS2, scything through the landscape just outside Wendover. CA 389 (August 2022) reported on an Anglo- Saxon cemetery discovered along its route near there, and CA 136 (October 1993) reported on an earlier infrastructure impact in this area when the A41 was dualled between the M25 and Tring, revealing a previously unknown Neolithic village.
The Ridgeway then heads into the final glorious section through the National Trust’s Ashridge Estate, with its expansive views north-west, including towards Pitstone Windmill, which was examined in CA 71 (April 1980). A final sharp ascent leads up to Ivinghoe Beacon, which has a rich history dating back to at least the Bronze Age and Iron Age; see CA 20 (May 1970).
As I hope you have experienced through this column, the Ridgeway is an archaeological tour de force: I highly recommend a visit. I walked it in sections across eight days; others do so much faster, but it is equally suited to day-trips for stand-alone circular walks, with easy access and excellent signage. I look forward to seeing you out and about along it.
About the author
Joe Flatman completed a PhD in medieval archaeology at the University of Southampton in 2003, and since then has held positions in universities, and local and – most recently – central government. Since March 2019, he has been a Consultancy Manager in the National Trust’s London and South-East Region, leading a team working on Trust sites across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. You can follow him on X: @joeflatman.
