February 1999
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Introduction
Hidden Monuments?
There are still some secret, private places in the Wiltshire landscape. Places of quiet pilgrimage. The Devil’s Den is one of them.
There are in fact several megalithic monuments that are rarely visited, not commonly known, but that are contemporary with the Avebury complex. Almost certainly they were parts of a huge megalithic site of which Avebury was perhaps the centre. Why is it that they seem hidden away in the countryside?
When we discovered that there was perhaps much more to this landscape, we decided to seek it out and to make an active effort to get to know some of these secret places and photograph them in the belief that a greater familiarity with them may help us further understand the context of the mysteries that surround it.
Mark Fussell and our nine year old daughter Kayleigh accompanied us on our visit, on a cold but bright day in February.
Arrival
We arrived at a water logged and muddy farm track, on the opposite side of the A4 to the entrance of Clatford farm. There is a sign by the gate, it once read "Devil’s Den ½ mile", but now only a few indiscernible letters remain and by virtue, the site, for all intents and purposes, is hidden.
Mysterious Information
It was a curiosity to us why very few books have illustrations of this monument and why those that do often give a very vague description of it’s location, if any description is given at all. In fact we had recently read an article in a UFO journal which expressed doubt that the monument still exists at all - well it does.
It didn’t take long to walk the half mile, or so, along the farm track. Before long we came to a farm building on our right and then as the track bent around to the left we caught our first sight of a solitary stone monument up ahead in a field to our left.
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A Secret Doorway In The Landscape
It was a revelation to see even from a distance. It looked like a secret doorway in the landscape, perched on a small rise in a farmers field. It was quite unreal. As we drawn nearer we could see that a few stones had been removed from the site (probably by the farmer) and put in a random heap at the side of the field, these stones had at one time been laid close to the monument. We had seen an illustration showing William Stuckeley’s engraving of the monument made in the 1720s which shows these stones around the monument and on a much steeper rise that today. The now shallower rise is no doubt due to the farming which takes place in the field and it may have de-stabilised the monument at some point as (on closer inspection) it presently has a rather ugly concrete support on one side to hold one of the stones more securely in place. This however does not detract much from the beauty and ambience of the place, to which its solitary location adds much. No roads here or much noise (apart from the wind) this singular dolmen at over 6ft in height quietly dominates all that surrounds it.
We were very much surprised at how little is actually known about these mysterious megalithic monuments. Their purpose is still continually debated by academics and laymen alike, as too is the method by which some of these huge stones were moved and hoisted on top of one another. The capstone of the Devil’s Den is approximately 2½ to 3ft thick and around 10ft square, many believe that stones such as these were once covered with an earthen mound, although this is far from conclusive.
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A Sad Development
The one saddening feature of this exquisite place is the fact that it is on private land to which the public have no access and although the monument is not too far away from the side of the field you will need to have the farmers permission to enter (if you can get it).
This sad realisation seemed almost tragic to us, it was little wonder that the sign by the roadside had gone un-repaired for so long and that many books gave little or no information to help locate the monument. There are in fact several other important megalithic sites which are on private land including the East Kennett longbarrow and several groups of standing stones, to all of which the public has no approach.
A Secret Heritage
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It seems that there is a secret and hidden heritage to which most of us do not have access, concealed from view by a practice of silence and collusion. We can’t help wondering if this is right. Should these important and enigmatic sites be coveted away, or should we all have the right to ponder firsthand the mystery of our past, free for all?
Be Seeing You!
Karen & Steve
