NOTES ON THE ONGAR ZODIAC

by JIM KIMMIS.

VIRGO	Virgo was the first figure found and has the clearest outline. Shonks Brook (see map) provides a connection with Nuthampstead Zodiac, where Pier Shonkes’s moat is found on Virgo. Roman road crosses hand, as in Somerset. The object in Virgo’s hand cannot be a wheatsheaf – don’t know what it is, though. The figure appears to be dancing(?) Note dedication to S. Mary Magdalene.
LIBRA	The Dove is aligned along the ‘Roman’ road and has the Cripsey Brook in its beak. Outlined mostly by roads and very clear on the OS map.
SCORPIO	It is possible, tho not very helpful, to draw in a Scorpion from the OS map – spread of building in Epping may have covered western part of figure.
SAGITTARIUS	Torso of Hercules, beheaded by railway line. There seems to be a quiver, as marked with darker shading. No obvious horse for him to sit on/fall off, however.
CAPRICORN	There is a goat/Unicorn visible on the OS map, but its head and forelegs have been obliterated by the medieval park of Navestock Hall. The A113 would mark the creature’s back, with the horn at a place called Little End.
AQUARIUS	Originally I had a phoenix/eagle here until someone pointed out the figure of a jug or pitcher tipped to one side. There is a moat on the ‘lip’ of the jug.
PISCES	One very visible fish made up of lanes that are superfluous in terms of transport/access. Place-name Hookend at eastern extremity. The whale may have jaws that enclose Chipping Ongar (and the Archer’s hand?)

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There are no satisfactory figures for the Spring/Summer side of the zodiac, which may be the fault of an airfield (now disused) around Norton Mandeville: (the Mandeville family has an estate on the Glastonbury Zodiac and I believe they were connected with the Templars).

Comparing these figures with a star map, the orientations of Virgo and the long Pisces fish are exactly right. The upper part of the Roding River corresponds with the Milky Way.

It is just possible that these figures are arranged in a kind of ‘frieze’ across the Roding Valley instead of the traditional circle. Or maybe the circle was never completed?