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metaphysical link to, and veneration of, water. His theory is based on proximity to the River Kennet which is also characteristic of
Silbury Hill. Rivers in the Neolithic period were a vital means of transport. Geologist Isobel Geddes links the positioning of the mound as an expression of water worship. Nigel Bryant suggested the mound was a monument to the Earth goddess. The period in which the mound and the others in Wiltshire were constructed coincided with the appearance of early
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by H.C Brentnall, a schoolmaster at the college, and fuelled Hoare's original case for prehistoric origins of the mound in opposition to the idea that it was a burial site for Merlin or constructed solely to accommodate the Norman castle. Brentnall suggested that the impregnation of chalk on the antlers made it unlikely that they could have been buried after the mound's construction. Two Roman coins were recovered from his 'castle ditch'.
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the overgrowing of trees on the mound as a danger: if one fell, it could risk destroying the entire mound. In 2016, the restoration targeted the removal of the tree canopy, stabilising the earth with grasses, laying fresh soil, and the injection of a gel on top of the mound in order to hold the structure together. Removal of trees and planting of hedges was completed in 2020.
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263:. The basal diameter is 83 metres (272 ft), and it measures 31 metres (102 ft) across the top. The structure of the mound has changed over time, often to accommodate the various functions that it has served. By 1654, it had been integrated into the grounds of the stately home built adjacent to it. The occupants, the
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there has been renewed interest in the site pertaining to its restoration and preservation as a culturally and historically significant site in
Wiltshire. Additionally, its relation to the nearby Silbury Hill has generated scholarly interest in how the mound constitutes part of a larger archaeological complex in Wiltshire.
267:, landscaped the mound and cut or re-cut a spiral path that progressed around the mound from the base to the summit. The walkway is a little over 1.5 metres (5 ft) wide, requiring four circuits of the mound to summit it. Concrete steps are built into the south side of the mound, allowing modern access.
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The restoration effort has been intended to address the risk of collapse and maintain the structural integrity of the mound. Structural conservation has been done as a response to the growing dangers of destabilisation by tree roots. Peter Carey, who managed part of the restoration works, highlighted
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The interest in investigating the mound has brought it into a broader discussion of how mounds can be used to learn about the people that lived in this part of
Neolithic Britain. These questions have been asked from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. Archaeologist Jim Leary has suggested a
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where he placed the two sites within a larger archaeological complex. Hoare suggested that the site was of prehistoric origin. In 1892, a publication of recent excavations at
Marlborough College included an antler found in the slopes of the mound. Additional antlers were found in the years afterward
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Most recorded investigation and speculation about the mound have occurred from the late 18th century to the present day. The methodologies used by investigators have varied from the use of traditional excavation to modern coring. One of the first investigations was made by
William Stukeley in 1776,
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The
Marlborough Mound Trust was founded in 2000 and is the main financial backer of the restoration of the mound. The trust strives to conserve it and promote education about it; it declared expenditure of £87,600 for the 2018 financial year. It also supports academic investigations into the mound
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Several academic archaeologists and historians such as Joshua
Pollard and Jim Leary have discussed understanding the construction of the mound not in terms of the finished product, but rather as a series of stages. This series is speculated to have taken about a century: a series of smaller mounds
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Since construction, the mound has functioned as the motte for a Norman Castle, a garden feature for a stately home, and the site for a water tower within
Marlborough College. Today, only the earthworks remain; at its base is a grotto which was part of an 18th-century water feature. In recent years
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surveyed the mound in 1999. The
Marlborough Mound began to be thought of as a possible comparative site to Silbury Hill in 2008. Extracting dateable material from the mound was thought to be best achieved by taking cores from the mound. Geotechnical Engineering Ltd took six cores, two taken from
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incorporated the mound into the gardens of the stately home: there was a cascade and a canal, fed from a water tower at the top of the mound, and three pools outside the entrance to the grotto reflected sunlight inside from the surface of the water. This usage forms part of a tradition of garden
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After the last Duke of
Somerset on that branch died, the stately home became a coaching house, the Castle Inn, which was operating from 1751. At the height of trade, forty-two coaches passed through the Castle Inn each day as Marlborough was conveniently located on the road from London to Bath.
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As the 20th century progressed, the finding of medieval artefacts as well as a review of previously assembled evidence caused there to be some questioning of the prehistoric origins. In 1955 and 1956, excavations on the western side found refuse from the medieval period, which included Norman
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Sample cores taken in 2010 by Geotechnical Engineering Ltd provided information about the natural materials used in the mound's structure. These materials included several varieties of clay in several colours such as chalky, pale silty and yellowish brown, as well as flinty gravel. Samples of
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invested in the renovation of the castle, particularly the residential areas, and the chapel of St Nicholas. After his death, Marlborough lost favour as a royal residence. The castle fell into disrepair after it was no longer used from 1370. It was observed to be ruinous after 1541.
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pottery. As late as 1997, it was concluded that the mound fitted within the size range of a medieval motte. An analysis of available evidence concluded that without additional findings the mound was 'essentially a medieval construction'.
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The restoration of the mound is in part a response to the state of disrepair of the mound, as well as the renewal of scholarly interest in the mound and the site. In the 1980s, work commenced on restoring the shell grotto, supervised by
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mounds which were prominent in Britain from the end of the 16th century. The shell-decorated grotto is the only remaining relic of these features. It was used as a bicycle shed once the mound ceased to be incorporated into the gardens.
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The 19th and early 20th centuries are characterised by traditional archaeological techniques. The hypothesis that Marlborough Mound was archaeologically connected with Silbury Hill was first posited in 1821 by
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boreholes made at the summit. In a paper by Jim Leary, Matthew Canti, David Field, Peter Fowler and Gill Campbell, the age of the mound was dated to the second half of the third millennium. The earliest date (
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fort once occupied the site where the mound is located, based on the finding of Roman coins. Roman artefacts were found in subsequent investigations by A.S Eve in 1892 and H.C Brentnall in 1938.
507:
Leary, Jim; Canti, Matthew; Field, David; Fowler, Peter; Marshall, Peter; Campbell, Gill (2013). "The Marlborough Mound, Wiltshire. A Further Neolithic Monumental Mound by the River Kennet".
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progressively enlarged with gravel and clay. Thus, scholars prefer to think about the Neolithic mound in terms of its stages of development and not as a finished product.
256:. It is near Silbury Hill (about 5 miles (8 km) due west of the mound), Hatfield Barrow, Sherrington Mound, Manton Barrow, and Marlborough Common barrow cemetery.
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In the 19th and 20th centuries the mound served as the site for a water tank for Marlborough College, established in 1843, which has since been removed.
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speculated in 2016 that the mound was either an oratorical platform used for social purposes by a community, or had ritual meaning to the community.
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Itinerarium curiosum, or an account of the antiquities, and remarkable curiosities in nature or art, observed in travels through Great Britain
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The mound is over 18 metres (59 ft) tall from the present ground surface and its summit has a height of 149.76 metres (491.3 ft)
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The mound is located on the western side of Marlborough within the grounds of Marlborough College, close to the confluence of the nearby
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The original purpose of Marlborough Mound is unknown as it dates from circa 2400BC, the Neolithic period, prehistoric times.
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charcoal were taken which allowed for radiocarbon dating, and these pieces provided the age of the mound as being Neolithic.
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in terms of height for such a monument. Modern study situates the construction date around 2400 BC. It was first listed as a
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The Seymours excavated a cavern and built a flint grotto and a spiral path to the summit. In the 18th century,
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became a royal residence. Stone was later used to strengthen it, around 1175. Between 1227 and 1272,
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Marlborough Mound is part of a complex of Neolithic monuments in this area, which includes the
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229:. Thus it is on private property, unlike other comparable archaeological sites in Wiltshire.
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Field, D, Brown, G (1999). "Field Survey of the Mount at Marlborough: An Earthen Mound at".
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In the late 20th to early 21st centuries, investigation into the mound continued. The
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882:"The Giants of Wessex: the chronology of the three largest mounds in Wiltshire, UK"
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Baggs, A.P.; Freeman, Jane; Stevenson, Janet H (1983). Crowley, D.A. (ed.).
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721:"Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 12 pp160–184 – Parishes: Preshute"
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The Marborough Mound: Prehistoric Mound, Medieval Castle, Georgian Garden
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18th-century depiction of Marlborough, with the mound in the bottom right
202:. Standing 19 metres (60 ft) tall, it is second only to the nearby
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792:"A SURVEY OF THE HIGHER SCHOOLS OF ENGLAND: MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE".
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This article is about Marlborough Mound. Not to be confused with
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was imprisoned and died in the castle in 1070. The neighbouring
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Eve, A (1892). "On recent excavations at Marlborough College".
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and funded the coring project that took place in October 2010.
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Niche inside the Shell Grotto built into the base of the mound
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The Marlborough Mound Trust, registered charity no. 1081520
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Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art
768:"Grotto at base of south side of Castle Mound (1273151)"
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Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
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956:"Marlborough Mound - latest image of renovation work"
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Report of Marlborough College Natural History Society
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Report of Marlborough College Natural History Society
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Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine
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assumed control of the Marlborough area and assigned
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352:as he had relations with them through his mother,
286:A local legend was that the mound was the site of
910:, 5 September 2017, Retrieved 7 September 2017.
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865:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
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451:The mound in 2024 with reduced tree coverage
400:of the recovery of Roman coins at the site.
296:where now are the bones of the wise Merlin).
181:Earthworks remain, with 18th-century grotto
335:was made into a royal hunting ground, and
290:'s burial, given the motto of the town of
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989:Charity Commission for England and Wales
880:Leary, Jim & Peter Marshall (2012).
922:Whitaker's Shorts, Five Years in Review
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221:. It is close to the confluence of the
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509:Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society
833:Brentnall, H.C. (1912). "The Mound".
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752:(Doctoral thesis). Durham University.
550:"Castle mound, Marlborough (1005634)"
16:Neolithic mound in Wiltshire, England
7:
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294:'ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini' (
954:Hinman, Niki (12 September 2020).
772:National Heritage List for England
749:The Household knights of Edward I.
609:Marlborough Mound: The Mound Trust
555:National Heritage List for England
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1035:Archaeological sites in Wiltshire
56:Marlborough Mound illustrated in
813:The Ancient History of Wiltshire
631:Marlborough Mound Trust (2016).
410:The Ancient History of Wiltshire
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746:Ingamells, Ruth Louise (1992).
225:and lies within the grounds of
301:, the antiquarian, believed a
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1006:Barber, Richard, ed. (2022).
684:Biodiversity Heritage Library
1010:. Wodbridge: Boydell Press.
811:Hoare, Richard Colt (1812).
607:Marlborough College (2017).
682:(168): 133–143 – via
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645:Stukeley, William (1969).
635:, documentary film, 34:50.
329:Ethelric, bishop of Selsey
323:, to construct the wooden
321:Roger, Bishop of Salisbury
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668:Brentnall, H. C. (1938).
198:in the English county of
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217:, Silbury Hill, and the
194:monument in the town of
468:Marlborough Mound Trust
219:West Kennet Long Barrow
727:. University of London
725:British History Online
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348:then passed it to the
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245:The River Kennet near
237:Structure and location
121:51.416573°N 1.737374°W
633:The Marlborough Mound
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327:castle on the mound.
317:William the Conqueror
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925:. Bloomsbury. 2013.
670:"Marlborough Castle"
398:Itinerarium Curiosum
126:51.416573; -1.737374
62:Itinerarium Curiosum
581:Marlborough College
408:in his publication
227:Marlborough College
162:Marlborough College
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21:Marlborough College
1040:Hills of Wiltshire
766:Historic England.
521:10.1017/ppr.2013.6
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428:terminus post quem
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337:Marlborough Castle
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208:Scheduled Monument
1017:978-1-78327-186-3
960:This Is Wiltshire
932:978-1-4729-0616-8
577:"College History"
396:who wrote in the
188:Marlborough Mound
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168:Open to
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731:27 November
515:: 137–163.
443:Restoration
292:Marlborough
196:Marlborough
124: /
100:Coordinates
38:Marlborough
1029:Categories
777:23 October
477:References
109:51°25′00″N
44:, England
941:953083711
908:The Times
886:Antiquity
655:640029888
529:0079-497X
346:Edward VI
341:Henry III
315:In 1067,
210:in 1951.
200:Wiltshire
192:Neolithic
178:Condition
112:1°44′15″W
42:Wiltshire
841:: 23–29.
709:: 65–69.
821:8517399
279:Purpose
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939:
929:
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586:30 May
561:31 May
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288:Merlin
247:Axford
145:Height
906:" in
303:Roman
190:is a
158:Owner
1012:ISBN
967:2020
937:OCLC
927:ISBN
867:link
817:OCLC
779:2022
733:2019
651:OCLC
588:2019
563:2019
525:ISSN
137:Type
517:doi
148:19m
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
