We continued on the path through two high Iron Age banks, past grazing sheep and cows, went through two small gates and onto the access road to Old Sarum. The banks here are about 5000 years old and remained intact until the Roman invasion. They established a garrison in the Avon river valley below, called Sorviodunum. Edward Rutherford's wonderful book
Sarum explains all this in detail and worth the read if you are interested in ancient history, especially of this area. I intend to read it again after this trip and should better visualize the places he describes. After the Romans left the Saxons followed, using it as a stronghold against marauding Vikings, and then the Normans who constructed the moat and castle for King Henry I within the old earthworks. The first cathedral was built here in 1092, burned down after five days of being consecrated and replaced by a larger cathedral around 1190. Because the soldiers didn't get along with the church it was decided by the Bishop in 1219 to rebuilt a few miles south. A settlement grew up around this new cathedral - the new town of Salisbury (New Sarum). We could still see the remains of both the castle and the second cathedral, an outline of the walls on the grass. The views were spectacular as the sun broke through every once in a while through the clouds and we could see to the south the spire of the new Cathedral in the distance and green and yellow fields to the north. We were all alone in the silent and ancient place and it was easy to feel the history oozing from the very rock and ground we stood on. Regrettably we couldn't stay longer as we had a tour of the Cathedral tower soon but it was inspiring to be able to walk in and on Salisbury's origins.
gws
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| view from atop the site |
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| Marie sitting in the palace ruins |
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| view of the cathedral grounds |
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| outline of second cathedral, 1190 AD |
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| Marie walking over site of cathedral |
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| view of New Sarum from Old Sarum |
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| Marie walking along the ridge above the Norman ditch |
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| view north toward Stonehenge and Amesbury |
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| Marie along perimeter of Old Sarum |
'Sarum, barren, dry and solitary, exposed to the rage of the wind, and the church stands as a captive on the hill where it was built like the ark of God shut up in the profane house of Baal'
Peter of Blois, 1135-1203
