Cissbury Ring 4.19

Cissbury Ring is a hill fort on the South Downs, in the borough of Worthing, England, and about 5km from its town centre, in the county of West Sussex. It is the largest hill fort in Sussex, the second largest in England and one of the largest in Europe overall, covering some 60 acres (24 hectares). The earthworks that form the fortifications were built around the beginning of the Middle Iron-Age possibly around 250 BC but abandoned in the period 50 BC - 50 AD.The site of the fort contains a Neolithic mine, one of the first flint mines in Britain. Around 200 shafts were dug into Cissbury hill over around 900 years of use. Shafts were up to deep with diameters at the surface. Up to eight galleries extended outwards from the bottoms of the shafts, often interconnecting with one another. There is concern that the site is being irreversibly damaged "by illicit use of metal detectors", police say.StructureThe ditches and banks are the remains of a defensive wall that enclosed 65acre of land; the inner band of the wall is over a mile around. The ditches are said to be as deep as three metres and were filled with loosened chalk and covered with timber palisade. The 600 foot (184 m) hill is open to the public. From the top, one is able to see to the west Selsey, Chichester Cathedral, the Spinnaker Tower and the Isle of Wight. To the east, one is able to see Brighton, the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head. Cissbury Ring is the highest point in the borough of Worthing.