St. Andrew's Fire and Burning Barrows

The Burning Barrow

In Scottish tradition, on this night, the eve of St. Andrew's, mysterious lights appear, hovering above the ground believed to be the burial site of hidden treasure.

Barrows or earthworks are often regarded as places, where hidden treasure can be found. On the Ridgeway Hill, near the Dorset village of Bincombe there is a bowl barrow that has been given the curious name of The Burning Barrow.

It was given this name due to an inexplicable event one night in the early 1980's. A woman told him in 1984, that she was riding pillion on her boyfriend’s motorbike travelling along the top road of Came Down. When they were both startled to see flames shooting upward and a bright orange glow emitting from one of the many barrows upon the Ridgeway.

Both the rider and the woman thought the area had some sinister air about it and didn't stop to find out what caused this unusual phenomenon.

The flames seen at the Burning Barrow could have been some form of luces del dinero (or Money Lights) as the are called in Mexico. Theses flames or ignis fatuus appear to hover above the ground, are said to mark the spot of treasure.