Still a notable Sussex landmark, Chanctonbury Ring is the subject of numerous paintings, postcards, and photographs due to its picturesque beauty. The small, Iron Age hill fort has been used during various periods in history, though now it stands as a place to be admired and a tranquil setting for the avid walker to those themselves in though. It rises 783ft above sea level, occupying a prominence on the northern edge of the south downs. A large portion of the weald below can be seen from its peak, with the old Ridgeway across the downs passing just to the south.
In 1790 a young man named Charles Goring planted a crown of Beech trees on the top of Chanctonbury Ring, giving it its most recent fame. At the time, the locals were not happy with Charles for planting the trees. Later, however, they came to see them for what they are; a beautiful addition to the landscape. Sadly, most of the Beech trees were blown down during the hurricane of October 1987. Since then, numerous trees have been replanted, but it will be some time before they will have matured to reflect the magnificence of their predecessors.
The outer Ring of the fort is has an area of approximately 550ft by 400ft and is oval in shape. There are two entrances; one in the south-west and one in the east. The fort dates back to the early Iron Age, sometime circa 6BC or 5BC. This has been estimated thanks to the carbon dating of animal bones and pottery discovered in the area. Several Roman coins have also been found within the Ring. They date back to the time of the emperor Nero, 54-68AD, up until the time of the emperor Gratian, 375-383AD. Unfortunately many of these coins have been lost to treasure hunters. The Ring has suffered on numerous occasions since its creation, mainly being disturbed by tree roots. During World War II dugouts were cut into the Ring in the ‘L.D.V. pattern’.
Just a few inches below the surface of the Ring are the remains of Roman buildings. This is evidence that Chanctonbury was rebuilt on by the Romans. It is thought that a building discovered in the centre of the Ring may have been a temple due to its similar design to that of the temples at Lancing Ring. It is likely that this temple was used between mid 1AD to 4AD. Some have theorised that the temple was dedicated to Mithras, the deity of a mystery religion known as Mithraism that became popular among the military of the Roman Empire during the same period. There are two sets of walls to the temple, both being made of flint and brick plastered together with mortar. The floor between the inner and outer walls is constructed of hard rammed chalk, and there is even the possibility of mosaic in some places. Pieces of mosaic have been found near the inner wall, as well as large quantities of roof tile. These probably only covered the inner section of the temple, the outer section most likely being a courtyard. The entrance to the temple is thought to have been to the east as there appears to be no outer wall along this section. This would have pointed towards the entrance in the eastern rampart.
The first dig to explore the history of the fort took place in 1977. The trees within the camp were due to be replanted, so it was the ideal time for archaeologists to do a study before the planting began. They wanted to learn the nature of the Iron Age fort and were surprised to discover Neolithic flintwork and some Bronze Age pottery. The Neolithic flintwork consisted of polished flint axes, arrowheads, and scrapers. These discoveries altered the age of the fort so that archaeologists then knew it dated further back in history. In fact, very little Iron Age material was found, even though this was the era the fort was first thought to be from. Even though 10% of the interior of the fort was excavated, only one post hole and a shallow pit was found to date back to the Iron Age. The pit contained pottery from the early Iron Age, animal and human bones, and pieces of unworked, dark, red flint. These were the only pieces found on the site, along with a piece of granite originally from Cornwall. It was then theorised that, rather than the single pit being used for rubbish, it was perhaps rather a votive feature. This meant that the chances of the fort having been used for military purposes was more and more unlikely. Cubes of green sandstone were discovered to the south of the temple that represented an area of pavement. This caused some dispute as it was thought that the area around the temple was cleared of topsoil when it was used due to an unusual layering of rubble, then oyster shells, then bare chalk bedrock being found. The presence of a pavement conflicted with this idea. The oyster shells are thought to have been part of the ritual site, as similar deposits of shells have been found at other temples, such as Hayling Island in Hampshire.
Though before the dig it was thought that the fort was once a settlement, there was a lack of evidence to support this theory. New ideas were formed about the enclosure. Perhaps it was a refuge for a nearby settlement in times of conflict or severe weather, a stock enclosure, or even a ritual centre. As the Roman’s reused the site for their own temple, the latter is thought to be the most likely purpose of the fort.
There is a lot of interesting folklore associated with the Ring. The most common has the same idea, but many different versions. It says that if you were to walk or, in some tellings of it, run seven times around the Ring on a dark or moonless night without stopping, the Devil would appear and offer you a bowl of milk, soup, or porridge. Some say you must run backwards, or anti-clockwise. The night you would need to do this is disputed to be Midsummer’s Eve at 7pm, May Day Eve, at midnight on any night, or to do the run within the time it takes a clock to strike midnight. The construction of the Ring is also credited to the Devil. It is said that it is a clump of earth that was thrown from his spade as he built Devil’s Dyke.
In 1979, a strange alter was discovered at the site. This gave new meaning to the superstitions that the area was a venue for Witchcraft and black magic. The form of the alter was a 5 pointed star made of flints within a circle of flint. Thick pieces of parchment were between each star point bearing black candlewax.
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