Plumberow Mount Multi-Cache
grimmerscotting: taking down.
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An off-set cache placed close to the scheduled ancient monument of Plumberow Mount.
PLEASE NOTE: The above coordinates are for a bench near to the Mount where you can rest awhile whilst working out how to project a waypoint to find the final cache location. According to Multi Map, the actual cache is located 322 feet from the above coordinates on a bearing of 271 Degrees. Due to tree cover, I could only get a accuracy of about 35ft so you may need to widen your search, I've made the hint as obvious as possible.
The best way to find Hockley's most ancient relic of the past is to park at the location shown by Hockley Church and follow the footpath & your GPS. It's one of my favourite footpaths in the area and takes in some fine views across the Crouch Valley. It's about a mile to the cache so will take you about 20 minutes to walk it and if you haven’t done so already, you can find the Hockley church micro (GC1PAQE) & the bonus cache (GC1QQCB) on your way.
If time is short, drive almost to the end of Plumberow Avenue and on your left hand side you will find a childrens playground with a large public open space behind, at the top of which is a mound of earth known locally as Plumberow Mount.
We know that the Plumberow area has a long history for it is mentioned twice in the Domesday Book and was a small settlement in medieval times . Unfortunately the Domesday Book throws no light on the origins of Plumberow Mount.
In 1913 an archaeological excavation was undertaken by an enthusiastic, although amateur, group of local antiquarians calling themselves the Morant Society. The Society hoped to uncover a rich royal burial similar to the one recently excavated on Mersea Island. Three trenches were cut into the mound meeting at the centre, where a wooden post was discovered. Unfortunately there was no rich treasure, only some shards of Roman and Saxon pottery and a single Roman coin dated AD48. Disappointed, the Morant Society filled in their trenches and went home.
Ever since then the true purpose of the Mount has been the subject of great speculation. It has been suggested that with its fine views over the Crouch valley it was one of the Romano/British signalling stations set up to protect the Saxon Shore after the Romans left Britain. Or maybe it was a pagan religious site, as it was not unusual for heathen altars to be set up on hills. It is a fact that the early Christian missionaries were instructed to build their churches on the sites of heathen sanctuaries. It is very noticeable that, with the exception of Hawkwell and Rochford, all the ancient churches in the area are built on hills!
What the builders of Plumberow Mount intended when they toiled away with their primitive tools to erect this great mound of earth, we shall probably never know. But its importance to the people of Hockley and south east Essex cannot be denied. Being a little worst for wear after nearly two thousand years, Hockley Parish Council, with support from English Heritage and Essex County Council, has erected a fence around the mount although there is a small gap to allow pedestrian access.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
lrf, vg'f gur bgure fvqr bs gur urqtr, ng purfg yriry.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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