Summary : A circular earthwork enclosure, one of the four so-called Priddy Circles (see ST 55 SW 4). This, the northernmost of the group, is separated from the remainder by a gap of some 350 metres, through which passes the Roman road RR45b (Charterhouse to Old Sarum). Only some two-thirds of the earthwork circuit is present, and boreholing in 1956-9 suggested that the remaining third - the side facing west - was never enclosed (ie the enclosure was left unfinished). It has been speculated that abandonment may have been related to the extensive evidence for subsidence in the vicinity (see ST 55 SW 4 for details). If complete, the enclosure would have had a projected diameter of up to 190 metres. Within the area of the projected enclosure are a group of mounds interpreted as barrows (see ST 55 SW 6 for details). No dating evidence has ever been recovered from the Priddy Circles. This and the external ditches notwithstanding, they are generally assumed to represent henges or similar monuments. |