Battlefields›Battle of Woden's Burg
Early Medieval

Battle of Woden's Burg

592
England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
Outcome
West Saxon defeat.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records a battle fought in the year 592 at Woden's Barrow (Old English "Wōdnesbeorġ"), the Neolithic long barrow now known as Adam's Grave, near Marlborough, Wiltshire. The year entry states: "Her micel wælfill wæs æt Woddes beorge, 7 Ceawlin wæs ut adrifen." (There was great slaughter at Woden's hill, and Ceawlin was driven out.)

Ceawlin was king of Anglo-Saxon Wessex. In most versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle the entry does not record the identity of the force opposing Ceawlin but one version, Manuscript E, says they were Britons. Yorke, however, says the opponent was Ceol, Ceawlin's nephew. Ceawlin is recorded as dying the following year and was succeeded by Ceol; his son Cuthwine went into exile.

The Chronicle records a second battle on the same site in the year 715. The area was of strategic importance since it lay near the intersection of the ancient Ridgeway with Wansdyke.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Woden's Burg lies on Grey Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is chalk.

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Woden's Burg

This page covers Battle of Woden's Burg. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Woden's Burg

Adam's Grave: a long barrow on Walker's Hill
Adam's Grave: a long barrow on Walker's Hill
Scheduled monument · ~1 mi

Adam's Grave is a Neolithic long barrow situated on Walker's Hill in Wiltshire, England, dating to the early fourth millennium BCE. The monument comprises an earthen mound orientated roughly east to west, characteristic of the long barrow tradition of southern Britain's Neolithic period. The barr…

Maurice Pullin / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Knap Hill camp near Alton Priors
Knap Hill camp near Alton Priors
Scheduled monument · ~1.2 mi

Knap Hill camp is a Neolithic causewayed enclosure situated near Alton Priors in Wiltshire. The site dates to the early Neolithic period, approximately 3700 to 3500 BCE, and comprises a series of interrupted ditches arranged in concentric arcs across the hilltop, a characteristic feature of cause…

Simon Burchell / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Earthwork W of New Town Farm
Earthwork W of New Town Farm
Scheduled monument · ~1.4 mi

Earthwork W of New Town Farm is a scheduled monument located near New Town Farm in Wiltshire, occupying an area of 0.37 hectares. The site lies on White Chalk bedrock of the Maastrichtian period, typical geology of the Wiltshire downlands that has shaped settlement patterns across the region for…

Simon Burchell / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Two round barrows W of New Town Farm
Two round barrows W of New Town Farm
Scheduled monument · ~1.4 mi

Two round barrows W of New Town Farm is a scheduled ancient monument located in Wiltshire, comprising two Bronze Age burial mounds. The barrows represent typical funerary monuments of the Bronze Age period, when such earthen mounds were constructed to mark the graves of individuals or small group…

Simon Burchell / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Swanborough Tump
Swanborough Tump
Scheduled monument · ~1.5 mi

Swanborough Tump is a Neolithic long barrow situated near the village of Swanborough in Wiltshire. The monument consists of an elongated earthen mound aligned roughly east-west, characteristic of the long barrow tradition of Neolithic Britain dating to the fourth millennium BC. Like other monumen…

Bikeboy / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Group of barrows on Draycott Hill
Group of barrows on Draycott Hill
Scheduled monument · ~2 mi

Group of barrows on Draycott Hill is a Bronze Age burial monument located in Wiltshire. The site comprises multiple barrows arranged across the hilltop, representing a characteristic funerary landscape of the second millennium BC. Such barrow groups typically served as communal burial grounds for…

Simon Burchell / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Three bell barrows and a pillow mound 400m south-west of Knap Cottage
Scheduled monument · ~1.2 miles
Three bowl barrows 600m south-west of Knap Cottage
Scheduled monument · ~1.2 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Battle of Woden's Burg

Battle of Woden's Burg
715
~0 miles away
Marlborough Royalist Sack 1642
1642
~6.4 miles away
Captain Swing riots Wiltshire 1830
1830
~6.7 miles away
Battle of Roundway Down 1643
1643
~6.7 miles away
Aubrey Research

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Sources
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