Mystery
The Money Pit
Not you. Not yet.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Beech clump on a hillfort with a hollow on its east side
- Legend from
- Local tradition (noted in VCH Berks, 1924)
- Best time
- Sunset over the Thames
- Tone
- Eerie
His spade hit iron. Then a raven croaked: 'He is not born yet.'
Castle Hill, the beech-crowned Iron Age hillfort of Wittenham Clumps, looks out over the Thames. On its eastern side is a hollow called the Money Pit. Tradition says treasure is buried there, guarded by a phantom raven. A villager once dug until his spade struck an iron chest. Then a raven appeared and croaked, 'He is not born yet!', meaning the man destined to find it. The digger dropped his spade, and the chest sank back into the earth. Nobody, so far, has been the right man.