EDO3746 - Maumbury Rings, Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester; excavation 1879

In May 1879, the Dorset Antiquarian Field Club tried to find the large stone that was said to have stood at the entrance to Maumbury Rings and which was buried in a hole in the ground because it was an obstacle to cultivation (1). This stone was said to have been on the west side of the entrance and was buried quite near the surface in the early 19th century. In 1846 it was reburied to a depth of 3 ft (2). A trench "some 8 to 10 feet deep was dug across the northern entrace from east to west, and another toward the centre of the arena" (1). No trace of the stone was found, but a 'roadway' "some 5 or 6 feet wide and as deep, formed in the solid chalk, was discovered" (1). The stone is said to be conglomerate (3).