Going over the top Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Long Man: As the owner has not responded to my previous log requesting that they check this cache I am archiving it.

If you wish to email me please send your email via my profile (click on my name) and quote the cache name and number.

Regards

Andy
Long Man
Volunteer UK Reviewer - geocaching.com
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Hidden : 11/21/2008
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
4 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:


Ivinghoe Beacon; a brief history

The beacon has one of the earliest hill forts in Britain. Some of thelow ditches can still be seen today. Sir Alan Barlow excavated it in the 1960's. It was revealed to be a site of Bronze-Iron transition, an early hill fort made of ditches and a box like wooden rampart, but with bronze work finds rather than iron work. This dates back to 800-700BC, with evidence of a limited period of occupation; after little more than a generation, the settlement was abandoned, no doubt in favour of a less exposed locality. Thereafter the rampart was rapidly weathered away by the elements and the ditch in time almost obliterated.
The beacon is located along the Icknield Way (and more recently, the Ridge Way, but there seems to be plenty of info on that in other caches)
The Icknield Way was originally one of the flint-ways which scoured the hillsides and bridged the gap between Britain’s two largest Neolithic centres in East Anglia and on the Salisbury Plain in Wessex. The route ran largely through/along a transition zone between the stiff heavy clays in the vale with their impenetrable woods and the steep chalk slopes on the glacial clay with flints. This zone is called the Icknield Belt and it has much lighter, loamy soils formed from greensands. It was a gently sloping band of well drained and easy to work soils below the scarp slope. It made it easy to keep clear and easier to cultivate. The Icknield Way would have been a broad community way which wandered across a wide area according to conditions. It had two forks- a summer track and a winter track. The Lower Icknield Way ran below the escarpment, and was a more direct route, making a good summer track, but too muddy and water logged during winter. The Upper Icknield Way ran parallel, but further up the escarpment, and would have remained drier during the winter.
It was the lower route that became part of the Roman Icknield Way, and still has several lengths in the present major road network (B4009) The Upper Icknield Way has tended to remain in the minor road and bridle path, and is part of the Ridgeway. Some sections survive as delightful chalky lanes or wooded paths. The importance of the route increased into the Bronze Age, long before the Iceni after whom it is supposed the Saxons later named it.
During the early and middle Iron Age, settlements remained along the route way, with concentrations around the heads of gaps through the hills.
The Romans also settled along the route way with many examples of villas. They also extended the road network into and through the Chiltern valleys in an East to West direction.
The Icknield Belt remained an important frontier long after the Romans. It was during the Dark Ages that we see settlements once again more up the scarp and onto the plateau and dipslope.
BL:Harley MS3688, huges (1931)
Onto the cache;
You are looking for a tupperware bottle approc 20cm tall and 10cm wide, which was been expertly coloured in by Katy, aged 4 to blend in with the enviroment (!) It contains a log book, pencil and a few small bits.
The beacon is very high, with very steep sides. The grass and chalk can be very slippery when wet. The cache is located well off the main path, so care must be taken while searching for the cache.
Muggles permeate the area, but you should not be over looked by the summit viewing point, just be careful for orienteer’s who use nearby location quite regularly.
Please park responsibly in the designated car parks. Don't be tempted to park on the road, although this will shorten your hunt, it is illegal.
Also, bear in mind that the Beacon is a designated Site of Special Sientific Interest as well as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, please treat it with the respect and care it deserves
Just got a couple extra Hints/Spoilers for you.
A clue its only a general hint as to direction. It doesnt show the location of the cache.
A Spoiler shows the location of the cache. Its not 100%, and you will need to do a bit of hunting if you don't find the right starting point.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Jura lbh tb bire gur gbc, urnq sbe gur arnerfg pbire, naq xrrc ybj ba gur tebhaq.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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