On the Site of the Battle of Ethandun

Extract

Three places are now recognized as possible sites of the battle of Ethandun: Edington, on the Polden Hills in Somerset; Edington, near Westbury in Wiltshire; and Heddington, about six miles south-east of Chippenham, also in Wiltshire. The object of the present paper is to endeavour to disprove the possibility of Edington on the Polden Hills being the scene of the battle, and to show that an overwhelming mass of evidence favours Edington, near Westbury.

The latest and most complete argument in favour of the Polden Hills as the site of the battle is to be found in Messrs. Whistler and Major's Early Wars of Wessex. After a careful examination of the evidence and of the topography of this site, I am of opinion that the plan of campaign suggested by these authors is most unlikely, if not altogether impracticable, from a military point of view.