Wormy Hillock Henge, also known as The Dragon's Grave, is a small

henge There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork that are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

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. It is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

located in the Clashindarroch Forest. It is a low, circular bank in diameter which almost surrounds a wide platform in the centre. There is one gap in the bank at the southeast end of the henge.

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.

Legend

According to legend, Wormy hillock henge was the location of a buried dragon or monster. 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. This legend is the source of the names of the mound: ''Wormy Hillock Henge'' and ''The Dragon's Grave''.

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 The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...

) in a steep valley in the Clashindarroch Forest. The henge comprises a circular bank, in diameter, enclosing an oval area long by wide. The bank itself ranges from broad and high up to thick and high. Wormy Hillock falls into the sub-category 'mini-henge' or 'hengiform' as it is less than 20m in diameter (see

main article). The area enclosed by the bank is around , and the average for a

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The ...

is around . Inside the bank is a small platform in diameter surrounded by a deep ditch crossed by several causeways. The southeastern one is apparently related to the wide hole in the bank at the same

angular position In geometry, the orientation, angular position, attitude, bearing, or direction of an object such as a line, plane or rigid body is part of the description of how it is placed in the space it occupies. More specifically, it refers to the imag ...

. This site is similar to several others in Dorchester, Oxon, England. 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. Currently, the site is completely overgrown by grass and heather.

Gallery

File:Dragon's Grave 2.jpg, alt=>A front view of the burial mound, showing the small valley plain., A front view of the burial mound, showing the small valley plain. File:Dragons Grave 1.jpg, alt=>A panoramic photograph showing the circular bank in front of the burial mound., A panoramic photograph showing the circular bank in front of the burial mound. File:Dragon's Grave 3.jpg, alt=>A side view panoramic photograph of the Wormy Hillock burial mound, showing the small river which runs next to it., A side view panoramic photograph of the Wormy Hillock burial mound, showing the small river which runs next to it.

References

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External links