Rotherwas Ribbon

(c) Amanda Attfield, Herefordshire CPRE, 7th July 2007

They are building the road, they are building the road.
They are digging the place where they are building the road.
They have found part of a snake, deep in the ground,
and along the ground they’ve found more of a snake.
It’s a great snake, under the ground,
a two thousand year old serpent mound
like the ones in diddley boing de boing Ohio Idaho.
Or it might be four thousand years old, give or take,
what’s a few thou’ between friends
for a newly discovered ancient snake.

They are digging more of the place before building the road,
digging more of the place, digging more of the ground,
so the snake can be seen, so the snake can be seen.
It’s a big snake, and fragile. We must all see the snake,
the historic remains. People have booked to see the snake.
It’s so old – from the Bronze Age – and it must be dug out
and others must see it. But people can’t go onto the place
of the snake, as it’s too fragile, the place of the snake.
So the ones who know make a window, to see into
the hole of the snake. Through the window two hundred
will see, but they won’t see the snake, they will hear
voices of the people who know, who will talk of the snake
that is fragile, and old, and interesting, and of great significance.
This will be a rare opportunity. One day.

Only one day. Only one window. Only one snake.

Because they are filling in the place of the snake,
the deep dig where the snake lies, they are filling
in the deep dig. No more window. No more snake.
Because it cannot survive like we do, in the open
with no one to protect it, no house to live in, and
no one to care for it, no one to pay for the care of it
within the community. It is too old and too fragile,
even though it is big, and a snake, and of great significance.
It must be under the ground. Covered over.
And it cannot be got round because of the landowners
and the money. And the snake has no voice to say
if it prefers to be under the ground and covered over
or not. So the people who know decide for it.
It must be under the ground.

They are covering the snake, they are covering the snake,
covering it over. But don’t worry. The people that know
will know that it’s there, the people that know will know.
Protected by a membrane, and layers of sand, and the road.
And the snake will always be beneath the drivers,
driving over the snake. And they won’t know, and they won’t
get bitten by a snake they don’t know is there. It will be covered over.
The road will cover it over.

Amanda Attfield
7th July 2007

Amanda has also written a piece called 'The Long Goodbye' about the desecration of our landscape caused by the Rotherwas Road. You can read it on the Herefordshire CPRE website.

‘Rotherwas Ribbon’ was the name given to the ancient remains of what is believed to be a 4,000 year old road discovered during the building of the Rotherwas access road (from the Ross Road, to Rotherwas, Hereford) July 2007. It was said that the road was curved, something like a long, large, snake.