Old Sarum

Aerial view gives lets you see the entire hill.

Old Sarum has been a place to visit for 5000 years.  Bronze age folks came to bury their dead.  In the Iron age, a ring fort was built on the hill.  The Romans were next, followed by the Vikings.  The Saxons defeated the Britons before William the Conqueror took it over to build his own majestic fort.  The original cathedral was started by one of William's brothers.

The entry to the fort.  When William built his fort, there was a draw bridge here.

The dry moat around the fort.

All that remains of the cathedral is the outline and a few stone walls.

Unfortunately, there was a shortage of water on the site, so after several years, a new catherdral was built in nearby Salisbury, with the one on Old Sarum deactivated.  Once the cathedral was gone, the village soon moved, too.

Inside the fort the basic walls are still visible. 

No one wanted the inside rubble.

Several of the rubble walls are quite high.

King Henry VIII finally gave the fort to a friend, who dismantled what was left for salvage, leaving only the tumbled stone interiors of the walls.  Recycling again!

Looking off to the new Cathedral in Salisbury consecrated in 1258.