This website created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
The Cissbury Moneyers
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Cissbury Ring northern escarpment — watercolour by Valerie Martin, 1997. |
Copyright Valerie Martin, 1997.
Text first published in Sussex Life, May 1998.
I have come to believe that the downs above Findon in West Sussex may hold treasure. Cissbury Ring (Map Reference TQ140080) covers some 60 acres and is a feat of early Celtic engineering. The immensity of the project can be viewed today and suggests it was built by a large number of well-motivated people who were moved by a common cause. The fort covers some 18 acres and is the largest of its kind in the area and one of a line of such forts stretching from Kent through to Dorset.
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Cissbury Ring from track leading to Chanctonbury — watercolour by Valerie Martin 1997. |
As can be imagined an immense quantity of chalky earth had to be manually excavated from the ditch to construct the ramparts. It is not know how many men were employed, but if a taskforce of a hundred men were involved full-time on the work, it would have taken them at least four years to complete the assignment. The result of their labours can be seen now — a hilltop surrounded by a great ring of earthworks.
This was an even more impressive sight from below in its hey-day as a mile long encircling defence wall of great solid timbers topped it. Originally there would have been around 10,000 of these massive lumber supports enclosing the fort, reaching an amazing height of approximately 15-ft. A construction of no mean feat.
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Sights around Findon. Here are Mandy Colbourne and Janine Martin with 5-year-old Welsh Cob, Magic. They can often be seen in and around Findon traversing the byways. In this photograph they are just off the prehistoric track and this is Magic's first time out with the carriage. Cissbury Ring can be seen in the distance. |
The sea-roving Saxons began a ravaging war in 477 A.D., culminating in conquest. The Chieftain, Aella, with his sons Cymen, Wlencing and Cissa, came ashore with their infantry on the south coast of Sussex, (near Selsey Bill). They set about conquering the coastal strip between the sea and the impenetrable Weald Forest. The war-like hordes trekked up the valleys and threatened the natives. These local tribes, abandoned by the Romans, boldly defended their kingdom. It took the Saxons a full eight years to conquer Chichester to the Pevensey area in the East.
The Stone House in Steyning has its foundations on the site of the Saxons’ original mint, which produced coins up to about 1100 A.D. During the reign of Aethelred II, (A.D. 1009-1016), and Cnut, (A.D. 1016-1035), the moneyers decided to transfer their mint from its original vulnerable base and sought a safer location. Possibly the worry of external threat, from sea faring Viking pirates, encouraged them to think about relocating their mint.
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Cissbury Ring from the north — watercolour by Valerie Martin 1997. |
The mighty protective embankments at Cissbury were still reasonably intact. It was an ideal position for an emergency mint on the high vantage point of the Cissbury eminence, rising to a height of 602 ft. From this time, it is thought that coins of the realm were minted in the comparative safety of the old Iron Age fort. The Cissbury Mint was more likely than not protected by a stockade and would have been under the direction of a "moneyer" in charge of the coin-making.
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Penny from the days of Cnut |
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View of Cissbury Ring in 2007 showing the Iron Age ramparts traversing the Ring. Directly below are Neolithic Flint Man's mines (under the gorse bushes). That's the South Wood in the right top corner. Photograph by Paul Farmer. |
To prove that the existence of the mint was in the area, some thirty Cissbury examples have come to light, and I am told they can be viewed at the Worthing Museum. Coins bearing the mint signatures "Sithe", "Sithsteb" and "Sithmes" are on the coins of Ethelred II and Cnut (1009-1023). Perhaps Cissbury Ring became an emergency mint and commercial centre at this time. No clues have been left on Cissbury to indicate the exact location where the money was struck, as at Steyning. However, there may still be one or two coins buried deep in the earth among the rabbit burrows to give a clue to the position of the ancient Saxon Mint. It was not unusual for old forts to be utilised in this way during times of danger.
Continue if you would like to read about Cissbury Ring's connection with the Spanish Armada in Armada Beacon site.
This is Findon Village — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created exclusively for documenting life in Findon.
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E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com |
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