Out along the all the tops of the Purbeck hills lie Hill Forts and round barrows and they are the staging area for a vast spectral host. As early as 1678 the ghostly army has been sighted, marching out from Flowers Barrow and out over Grange Hill. There were hundreds and thousands of armed men, the witnesses (for there were the first few men who sighted the army and then the whole village, whom they rallied to see the sight) said they were making a loud clashing of arms – both footmen and horses as well. They marched for a full five miles. The local people sent messengers to nearby Wareham, to warn them. The bridge was barricaded. A local squire was so alarmed he rode to London to warn the Privy Council. But no attack happened. There was no evidence that the army even passed through the area. No grass had been trampled, no evidence at all. It was concluded that it was a vision, nothing more.
In our modern time, it is well understood that the army is an ancient one. It is generally Roman but sometimes it is prehistoric warriors as well. You can hear the thud of their boots and the stomp of the horses’ hooves and you can see the ghostly figures on fog drifts still. It is said that no rabbits run those nights and no dogs can be induced to go near the area when they are marching.