Fyfield Down () is part of the Marlborough Downs, about north of the village of Fyfield, Wiltshire. The down is a 325.3 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, notified in 1951. The down has the best assemblage of

sarsen Sarsen stones are silicification, silicified sandstone blocks found extensively across southern England on the Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire; in Kent; and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset, an ...

stones in England, known as the Grey Wethers. The site is to be distinguished from another Fyfield Down also in Wiltshire, east of

Pewsey Pewsey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and i ...

and on the edge of

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but st ...

, near another place called Fyfield. The two places are only about apart.

Sarsens

The down has the best assemblage of

stones in England. The stones are known here as the Grey Wethers for their likeness to sheep when seen from a distance. They were noted by Col. Richard Symonds in his diary for 1644: "They call that place the Grey-wethers, because a far off they looke like a flock of sheepe."E. Herbert Stone, ''Stones of Stonehenge'', 2003:50]). They support a nationally important

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

flora. An alternative name for this natural rock feature is Mother's Jam.The Mother's Jam
, www.themodernantiquarian.com, retrieved 21 May 2013

The Polisher

On the west side of the down () is a recumbent sarsen stone with grooved markings.MONUMENT NO. 221769
, Pastscape, retrieved 21 May 2013 It is thought to be a prehistoric grinding bench for shaping, whetting, and polishing stone axe-heads, and is similar to other

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

examples in France.

Dolmen

To the east is a prehistoric

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

known as The Devil's Den (). It is the remains of a Neolithic passage grave which was reconstructed in 1921.

References

Sources

Natural England citation sheet for the site
(accessed 31 March 2022)

External links

Natural England website
(SSSI information)
Sarsen stones on Fyfield Down on geographImprovised music recorded on Fyfield Down
{{SSSIs Wilts geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1951 Hills of Wiltshire