Wormy Hillock Henge
Historic site in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wormy Hillock Henge, also known as The Dragon's Grave, is a small henge in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.[2] It is a scheduled monument[1] located in the Clashindarroch Forest.[3] It is a low, circular bank 16.5 metres (54 ft) in diameter which almost surrounds a 6-metre (20 ft) wide platform in the centre.[2] There is one gap in the bank at the southeast end of the henge.[2]
| Wormy Hillock Henge | |
|---|---|
A picture of the mound; the henge lies in the left half of the photo | |
 Interactive map of Wormy Hillock Henge | |
| 57°21′48.32″N 2°55′3.40″W | |
| Location | Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| History | |
| Built | During the Neolithic Period[1] |
| Site notes | |
Architectural style | British pre-Roman Architecture |
Official name | Wormy Hillock, henge |
| Type | Prehistoric ritual and funerary: henge |
| Designated | 6 July 1973 |
| Reference no. | SM3278 |
History
In 1891, James Macdonald, thinking that this mound was a "round for sheep", excavated the mound. However, this did not bring any archaeological finds.[3]
Legend
According to legend, Wormy hillock henge was the location of a buried dragon or monster.[3][4] In the legend, the dragon had been attacking villages in the neighbourhood, and the villagers eventually succeeded in killing the dragon. They then half-buried its corpse and mounded dirt over it, making a mound.[5] This legend is the source of the names of the mound: Wormy Hillock Henge and The Dragon's Grave.[4][5]
The site
The henge is located to the south of the mound known as Wormy Hillock, on a haugh ("a piece of flat alluvial land by the side of a river", according to the Oxford English Dictionary[6]) in a steep valley[3] in the Clashindarroch Forest. The henge comprises a circular bank, 16.5 metres (54 ft) in diameter,[7] enclosing an oval area 13.5 metres (44 ft) long by 13 metres (43 ft) wide.[3] The bank itself ranges from 3 metres (9.8 ft) broad and 10 centimetres (3.9 in) high up to 4 metres (13 ft) thick and 60 centimetres (24 in) high.[3] Wormy Hillock falls into the sub-category 'mini-henge' or 'hengiform' as it is less than 20m in diameter (see henge main article). The area enclosed by the bank is around 140 square metres (1,500 ft2), and the average for a stone circle is around 260 square metres (2,800 ft2).[8]
Inside the bank is a small platform 6 metres (20 ft) in diameter surrounded by a 1 metre (3.3 ft) deep ditch crossed by several causeways.[3] The southeastern one is apparently related to the 1 metre (3.3 ft) wide hole in the bank at the same angular position.[2][3] This site is similar to several others in Dorchester, Oxon, England.[7] There are two small pits on the bank, and they may be much more recent than the rest of the mound. A large boulder is lying in the ditch right below one of the pits.[3]
Currently, the site is completely overgrown by grass and heather.[3]
Gallery
A front view of the burial mound, showing the small valley plain.
A panoramic photograph showing the circular bank in front of the burial mound.
A side view panoramic photograph of the Wormy Hillock burial mound, showing the small river which runs next to it.
