The Fosse Way Standing Stones

Alongside a section of the Fosse Way in Wiltshire, three standing stones surmounted by a cap stone can be found arranged in the style of an ancient burial chamber.

The Fosse Way is an ancient Roman road that ran for 182 miles linking the Roman settlements at Exeter and Lincoln, via the other Roman settlements at Ilchester, Bath, Cirencester and Leicester. The name of the Fosse Way derives from the Latin word for ditch and for the early part of Roman rule in Britain the Fosse Way marked the western border of Roman control. The Fosse Way may have started life as a defensive ditch and then latterly been converted into a road, or the initial construction may have been a road supported by a ditch - the jury is still out on that one.

The standing stones in question can be found on the Bannerdown Road as it passes between Batheaston in Somerset towards Colerne in Wiltshire. Whilst these standing stones look like an ancient monument they are actually a fairly modern construction that marks the point where the boundaries of the counties of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Somerset historically met. The stones were erected in February 1859 and were erected over three slightly older stones dating from 1736, each of which are said to be inscribed with the initials of one of the three counties (i.e. G, W & S).

A quick Internet search reveals that this is not the only “Three Shires Stone” in the country and other tripoints (a point where three counties meet) are also marked with monuments, whether these be standing stones, oak trees or a wood!

If you ever visit the Three Shires Stones on the Fosse Way, do keep your eyes peeled. Apparently nearby in a dry stone wall there are a few carved words that tell the story of an unfortunate person who was murdered on the Fosse Way. My brief inspection of the wall failed to uncover the inscription, but a more careful eye may be able to discern the inscription and the tale that it tells.

The Three Shire Stones on the Fosse Way.

Pictures: Wiltshire (August 2015).

Inspiring Tolkien

The Vyne is a 16th century country house that is just outside of the village of Sherborne St John (a couple of miles north Basingstoke in Hampshire). The Vyne was originally built for Lord Sandys (King Henry VIII's Lord Chamberlain) and in 1653 The Vyne became the property of the Chute family. The Chute family handed the property over to The National Trust in 1958 and today the house is open to the public. The house displays a number of interesting artefacts, one of which is the “Ring of Silvianus”.

The Ring of Silvianus (named after the British Roman citizen who was believed to have owned it) is an inscribed gold ring that dates from the 4th century, which was found in 1785 in a field near the village of Silchester (about 5 miles north of Sherborne St John). Silchester is home to the ancient Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum, which was first occupied by the Romans in 45 AD and today extensive sections of the town walls and an amphitheatre can still be found. Shortly after the ring’s discovery it came into the possession of the Chute family and was held in their private collection.

It was the discovery of another artefact (a lead tablet) in the early 19th century at the site of the Roman temple dedicated to the god Nodens at Lydney in Gloucestershire, that provided some context to the ring. This lead tablet was inscribed with a curse that read:

"DEVO NODENTI SILVIANVS ANILVM PERDEDIT DEMEDIAM PARTEM DONAVIT NODENTI INTER QVIBVS NOMEN SENICIANI NOLLIS PETMITTAS SANITATEM DONEC PERFERA VSQVE TEMPLVM DENTIS."

Which translates to:

"FOR THE GOD NODENS. SILVIANUS HAS LOST A RING AND HAS DONATED ONE HALF (ITS WORTH) TO NODENS. AMOUNG THOSE NAMED SENICIANUS PERMIT NO GOOD-HEALTH UNTIL IT IS RETURNED TO THE TEMPLE OF NODENS."

The curse seemingly accusing a person named Senicianus of stealing the ring from Silvianus.

No connection between the ring and the curse was made until 1929 when the archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler discovered the details of the curse and linked the inscriptions on the tablet to those on the ring. It seems that Wheeler consulted with J. R. R. Tolkien who was a Professor of Anglo-Saxon history at Oxford University to assist in understanding the origins of the name "Nodens" that was referred to in the curse.

Wheeler exposing Tolkien to the details of the Ring of Silvianus, the cursed tablet and the archaeology of the Lydney area (which includes an Iron Age fort known as Dwarf's Hill) is theorised to have inspired Tolkien’s writings and the "One Ring" in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

The Vyne.

The Vyne.

The Silvianus Ring in its display case. 

A close up view of the inscribed ring. 

Another close up.

A copy of the "curse" tablet.

The curse translated into English. 

Visitor's views on whether the ring inspired Tolkien - a marginal "yes".

Calleva Atrebatum Information Board.

Entering the Amphitheatre. 

Mrs J in the Amphitheatre ready to be fed to the lions.

Amphitheatre Information Board.

A section of Calleva Atrebatum's walls.

On top of the wall.

Pictures, Hampshire (November 2013).

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