Maumbury Rings in Dorchester started as a Neolithic henge (3000-1500 BC) before the Romans repurposed it as an amphitheatre. Nearby, post holes from a huge palisaded enclosure are even marked out in a Waitrose car park. Nearby Maiden Castle has colossal ramparts and beach pebble sling ammunition, and Mount Pleasant hides major archaeology under its topsoil. 🏟️
Maumbury Rings: Neolithic henge converted into a Roman amphitheatre
EnglandGeneral
Site mentioned
Key facts
- Maumbury Rings is a Neolithic henge located in the middle of Dorchester
- The Romans later converted the henge into an amphitheatre/arena
- Post holes from an enormous palisaded enclosure are marked out in the Waitrose supermarket car park in Dorchester
- Maiden Castle features colossal ramparts, ditch and banks, and piles of beach pebbles used as slingshot missiles
- Mount Pleasant is a topographically prominent prehistoric site with significant archaeology beneath the surface but little visible above it
Sources
Maumbury Rings Neolithic Henge / Roman Amphitheatrestone-circles.org.uk
View of the northern and western arc of the bank which measures between 4-5 metres in height. Satellite view of Maumbury Rings.
Maumbury Rings, Dorsetmegalithic.co.uk
The Neolithic Henge in the middle of Dorchester has been used as a Roman Amphitheatre and during the Civil War as a defensive artillary base.
Dorchester - the Home of Hillforts and Hengesvisit-dorset.com
Maumbury Rings is a giant henge ... Flagstones is a late Neolithic circular ring of unevenly spaced pits with chalk walls just outside Dorchester.
Maumbury Rings – Hiking & Cycling Routeskomoot.com
Maumbury Rings began life as a Neolithic henge over five thousand years old. A large circular earthwork, 85 metres in diameter, it is now a public open space
Maumbury Rings, Dorchesterhistoricengland.org.uk
The henge at Maumbury Rings survives as a substantial earthwork, largely due to its later use as a Roman amphitheatre and Civil War fortification (Fig. 2).
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