Burley Old clearing

Last month I posted about an enclosed cleared area I'd come across in Burley Old Enclosure, and I'd speculated as to its purpose.  One proposition I put forward was it might have been ritual and in some way associated with other man made (or enhanced) features that felt congruous to each other. I visit the clearing today, and what I discovered certainly lends some credence to that hypothesis. There's a fallen tree that truncates part of the cleared area, on it had been placed a natural wooden plate, on which were the remains of an offering of seeds. Quite significant, as a couple of weeks ago it was Imbolc marking the beginning of Spring, seeds are often used in Imbolc rituals or as seasonal offerings. It's certainly a great woodland setting for a ritual. I wonder if there'll be any activity at the equinox? We'll see.

Clearing in the woods

I just love stuff like this. Someone, or more likely a group of folk have created a varying height stockade from branches and woodland detritus around an area they've then cleared of leaves and needles. I say a group of people as it's quite an extensive area and would have involved a lot of time and effort. The enclosed area has defined entrances, there are a couple of trees within the area including a mighty Douglas Fir, the ground's been meticulously cleared and the leaf litter piled against the wooden stockade. The site's quite well camouflaged, and easily overlooked if not paying attention, later in the year when the bracken grows up, you'd never see it. It's a really well executed affair.  As I said, I love stuff like this, it really grabs my imagination. What's it all about? Who? Why? It's a lot of work if it's without purpose. Of course, it could be a piece of art, and there's purpose fulfilled. Although I don't know. I feel there's more to it than that, it feels like it has a purpose beyond just being. The pagan in me says 'ritual' or some such, predictably, the prehistorian in me agrees (archaeology joke, there). There are no signs of a fire or anything like that, no signs of occupation, and no sign of any offerings. It could be that the purpose of the site has yet to be fulfilled, and what I'm seeing is a site prepared. Of course, if there were ritual involved, it could be that it may not be pagan at all, over recent years I've seen increasing evidence of marriage proposals out in the woods, from carved proposals to far more elaborate set ups.  I discovered the site towards the end of our walk, and I was on the clock, so only really gave a cursory investigation, and I may well have missed things. Interesting woodland feature though, I'll certainly keep my eye on it.