Ponter's Ball

Ponter’s Ball is a geomantic linear Earthwork lying south-east of the Tor on raised ground between what were once marshes. Nearly one mile long it runs from marsh edge to marsh edge and straddles the narrow strip of land that links the Isle of Avalon with the high ground rising eastward towards Shepton Mallet.


The monument seems to form an outward facing boundary to the Sacred Isle and its age and purpose has caused much interest.
Ponter’s Ball marks the boundary limit of agreat sacred enclosure. These earthwork enclosures are known as temenos and are found on the on the edges of all noteworthy pagan sanctuaries. The earthen bank has spread over the centuries but is still 30ft across and 12ft high in places.

The precise dating is ambiguous. Excavations have uncovered Iron Age pottery dated to the 3rd century, thus confirming the Glastonbury area as a Celtic Avalon, but does not mean that they actually erected the mound. Because of its size and geomantic positioning, it is reasonable to suggest the Bronze Age, or earlier as a period for its construction.


Research into the Glastonbury Zodiac has shown that the long single horn on the head of the Capricorn effigy is perfectly delineated by Ponter’s Ball.


Morgana West