Tuesday 23 October 2012

Hambury Tout




Walking to Lulworth Cove, I glance up - to see a dark green hill to my right - shaped like a shallow dome - the bare turf is free of trees - its summit is outlined against the sky - short, springy, grass covers the chalk underneath - there are gorse bushes, I think, near the top - faint traces of pathways climb upwards, over what seems to be a bank, encircling the hill -

I stop, to look more closely - standing by a tangle of brambles - my view of the hill is framed by dark green leaves and writhing stems, the sharp thorns like tiny shark fins - I can just make out the shape of a tumulus - a burial mound - on the summit -

Some chieftain, or lord, was laid there with his gold rings and sword under the turf, within the chalk and flints - banners tore in the wind - songs were sung, words spoken -

On the OS Explorer Map for Purbeck and South Dorset, the tumulus is marked by the symbol of a star -















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