Ponter's Ball Dyke
Encyclopedia
Ponter's Ball Dyke is a linear earthwork located near Glastonbury
in Somerset
, England
. It crosses, at right angles, an ancient road that continues on to the Isle of Avalon. It consists of an embankment with a ditch on the east side. It is built across the ridge of land between Glastonbury and West Pennard
. Both ends of the ditch and dyke disappear into moorland, formerly swamps.
The current visible remains extend to just over 1 kilometer. It is bisected by the A361 and crossed by three public footpaths. The gap where the road runs through the dyke is staggered, suggesting that the gap is original.
It was excavated in 1909 by Arthur Bulleid, and again in 1970 by Peter Poyntz Wright and the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. Bulleid's excavation just north of the road revealed that the bank was 9 feet high and made of layers of yellow and grey clay, while the ditch was 12 feet deep in hard blue marl. Neither excavation found significant objects with the exception of fragmentary pottery of prehistoric and medieval origin.
Interpretation of the site is not clear. It is possible that it was part of a longer defensive barrier associated with New Ditch
three miles to the south-west which is built in a similar manner. It has been suggested that it part of a great Celtic sanctuary, probably 3rd century B.C., while others date it to the post-Roman period and connect it with the Dark Age
occupation on Glastonbury Tor. The 1970 excavation suggests the 12th century or later.
It is also claimed that Ponter’s Ball delineates the long single horn on the head of the Capricorn effigy in the Temple of the Stars
, an alleged ancient temple thought to be situated around Glastonbury.
The name Ponter's Ball is said to be derived from "pontis vallum", Latin meaning "the bridge over the ditch."
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It crosses, at right angles, an ancient road that continues on to the Isle of Avalon. It consists of an embankment with a ditch on the east side. It is built across the ridge of land between Glastonbury and West Pennard
West Pennard
West Pennard is a village and civil parish east of Glastonbury in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Coxbridge and Woodlands.-History:...
. Both ends of the ditch and dyke disappear into moorland, formerly swamps.
The current visible remains extend to just over 1 kilometer. It is bisected by the A361 and crossed by three public footpaths. The gap where the road runs through the dyke is staggered, suggesting that the gap is original.
It was excavated in 1909 by Arthur Bulleid, and again in 1970 by Peter Poyntz Wright and the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society. Bulleid's excavation just north of the road revealed that the bank was 9 feet high and made of layers of yellow and grey clay, while the ditch was 12 feet deep in hard blue marl. Neither excavation found significant objects with the exception of fragmentary pottery of prehistoric and medieval origin.
Interpretation of the site is not clear. It is possible that it was part of a longer defensive barrier associated with New Ditch
New Ditch
New Ditch is a linear earthwork of possible Iron Age or Medieval construction. It partially crosses the Polden Hills in woodlands approximately south-west from the village of Butleigh in Somerset, England....
three miles to the south-west which is built in a similar manner. It has been suggested that it part of a great Celtic sanctuary, probably 3rd century B.C., while others date it to the post-Roman period and connect it with the Dark Age
occupation on Glastonbury Tor. The 1970 excavation suggests the 12th century or later.
It is also claimed that Ponter’s Ball delineates the long single horn on the head of the Capricorn effigy in the Temple of the Stars
Temple of the Stars
The Temple of the Stars is an alleged ancient temple claimed to be situated around Glastonbury in Somerset, England.-Origin:The temple is claimed by some to depict a colossal landscape zodiac, a map of the stars on a gigantic scale, formed by features in the landscape...
, an alleged ancient temple thought to be situated around Glastonbury.
The name Ponter's Ball is said to be derived from "pontis vallum", Latin meaning "the bridge over the ditch."