Boiling mound

 

Thought to be Bronze Age in date 2500BC to 700BC there are in excess of 1600 boiling mounds or burnt mounds in the New Forest, mounds of severely fractured burnt flint. It's believed they're the result of heated stones placed in wooden troughs or leather bags filled with water, in order to.....?  Well, it could be to cook with, or brew, or tan, for a sweat lodge, or for all  manner of things domestic, or the prehistorians catch all, ritual. There was some research into Irish burnt mounds suggesting they were used in the textile production process. This mound, 4m or so in diameter, has a narrow path cutting through it, creating a natural sondage clearly showing the burnt flint deposit in section, a nice cross section of the entire feature, from the thin covering horizons down to the prehistoric ground surface the it sits on. Nice.

Smokin'

I love the smell of distant wood smoke in the air, it reminds me of camping, festivals and of sitting around a fire with friends; I'm not so enamoured though when the wood smoke dominates the air, especially as suffering a degree of seasonal asthma/chestiness. The forestry were burning off the detritus remaining from previously thinned or cleared areas amongst The Knowles which border Acres Down. Plumes of smoke rose above the tree line, although due to the still nature of the morning they immediately slumped back into the stands, choking them, and making for difficult breathing. We altered our route accordingly, and made haste for fresher forest climes.

View from Acre's Down

 The view over Wick Wood and The Knowles from Acre's Down.

Acres Down

The view over the forest from Acres Down this morning. 

Forgotten paths

A fading monument to a lost forest from a different time, a long neglected foot bridge, on a long forgotten foot path. These simple wooden remains now stand in isolation, no hint of the path they once served is discernible.  You'd easily miss this feature if you walked a few meters either way, just as you'd so easily miss all those other signs of past activity which are scattered throughout the forest.