The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

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Mayon Cliff (Cairn(s)) — Images (click to view fullsize)

<b>Mayon Cliff</b>Posted by IronMan

Carn Gluze (Chambered Cairn) — Images

<b>Carn Gluze</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Carn Gluze</b>Posted by IronMan

Brane (Entrance Grave) — Images

<b>Brane</b>Posted by IronMan

Carn Euny Fogou & Village — Images

<b>Carn Euny Fogou & Village</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Carn Euny Fogou & Village</b>Posted by IronMan

Boleigh (Fogou) — Images

<b>Boleigh</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Boleigh</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Boleigh</b>Posted by IronMan

Nine Maidens of Boskednan (Stone Circle) — Images

<b>Nine Maidens of Boskednan</b>Posted by IronMan

Porthmeor (Standing Stone / Menhir) — Images

<b>Porthmeor</b>Posted by IronMan

Langdale Axe Factory (Ancient Mine / Quarry) — Images

<b>Langdale Axe Factory</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Langdale Axe Factory</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Langdale Axe Factory</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Langdale Axe Factory</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Langdale Axe Factory</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Langdale Axe Factory</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Langdale Axe Factory</b>Posted by IronMan

Carnasserie (Stone Row / Alignment) — Fieldnotes

Very late addition here (it's about six months since my visit), and I don't know why I haven't posted notes yet... here goes then:

The path leading to these stones can be found by following the sign posts up to Carnasserie castle. While here it's a good idea to take a look around the castle - the reason being, it's possible to see the stones from the SW tower, and it'll make the journey much easier than plodding round the fields aimlessly!

When I visited it was raining, not very hard, but enough so I had my hood up. As I explained above, I worked out the direction to these stones by looking from the castle tower. The castle was very atmospheric, and in the rain it's open roof led an eerie atmosphere to the place. Excited by the sight of these two stones, I span round quickly, ready to jog back down the wet spiral staircase steps. A lintel, unseen due to the peak on my hood, blocked the way. Crack! I smashed my head on it and tumbled down a few steps. I landed with a thud and a very sore head. A bit dazed, I shakily proceeded down the steps. Now this castle is in the middle of nowhere really, and I began wondering if I'd been knocked out, or anything more serious had happened, who'd have found me? Once I reached the bottom I sat down, stars spinning before my eyes, rubbing the nasty lump which had by now appeared on my head.

I soon decided to carry on regardless and made my way to the stones - they were wonderful and I soon stopped feeling sorry for myself as I became acquainted with this pair of fine standing stones. Anyone visiting the Kilmartin valley would do well to track these down - it's roughly a 3/4 hour round trip on foot from the car park, just off the main Kilmartin valley road. Carnasserie cairn lies just above the stones, and as a wise Welsh farmer once advised, it's best to follow your nose to find it. Once you do, and if it's clear, you'll be blessed with a stunning view down the valley to the Nether Largie cairns. This cairn is almost in the same line as these, and if you look behind you you'll see the huge cairn Càrn Bàn on the horizon.

I'd definitely recommend this site, just watch for stray lintels would be my only advice.

Cheetham Close (Stone Circle) — Images

<b>Cheetham Close</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Cheetham Close</b>Posted by IronMan

Charters Moss (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) — Images

<b>Charters Moss</b>Posted by IronMan

Anderton (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) — Miscellaneous

From the Anderton parish council newsletter, Spring 2002ce
The Cup & Ring Stone
You may remember mention in a previous Newsletter of the Cup & Ring stone found in September 1999 at the edge of Lower Rivington Reservoir. The stone was found at a time of unusually low water level at the eastern edge of the reservoir (which was constructed in about 1850) at 10 metres below the high-water mark, so that as a rule it was visible only very infrequently. It was of a rather irregular shape, but its dimensions were roughly 80 cms in length. 55 cms wide and 50 cms deep and it was put on display at The Anderton Centre. pending examination by Lancashire County Council to confirm the 'genuineness' of the carving. To date we are still awaiting examination by a suitable expert .... more news on this topic in a future Newsletter.

The article can be found here.

If the stone was found when the reservoir was at an 'unusually low water level' it begs the question,is there any more rock art down there?

Anderton (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) — Links

Dave Lane's Home Page


Images and description of this site.

Summerhouse Hill (Round Cairn) — Fieldnotes

A frustrating one this.

I had read two extremely vague references to this site, on one of my trawls for sites on the web, both saying this was a Stone Circle. I could find absolutely no reference to this site in any of Burl's books however, which had alarm bells ringing for me. I jotted the site's grid ref. down anyway, along with a load of others, before setting off with MrsIM for a day out. We were in the Carnforth area, after visiting Heysham Head and so decided we may as well visit. We wandered round the field a few times, using my GPS as a guide (which was playing up). No joy. I was however very excited by the sight of five huge stones, similar to the nearby Three Brothers. We soon came across a mound, which on further inspection we realised gave this site it's name because on it's top are the remains of a brick summer-house. The mound itseld however looked suspiciously like a huge cairn, right down to the retaining kerb of large stones. I decided this couldn't be it - no way could you mistake this for a stone circle. Another frustrating twenty minutes led to no further discoveries - other than the remains of an old lime-kiln at the far end of the field. We decided our time hadn't been wasted when we walked past the field edge and saw the view out across Morecambe Bay - it's quite something. We were even able to make out the rough location of The Druid's Circle of Ulverston.

On the way back to the car we made another inspection of the summerhouse, and I decided that this must be the site in question, and that the references I'd come across were just plain wrong. The five stones which had me excited earlier, when viewed from the top of the mound formed a semi-circle with the mound itself roughly in the centre. I took some photos as the rain started to pour heavier and heavier, then our rumbling stomachs got the better of us and we decided to get to Lancaster for some grub in The Water Witch.

Looking at the maps again, I'm sure I've missed the actual site - a cairn seems to be marked off at the opposite end of the field on MultiMap and on my Explorer map the location of the 'cairn' is very confusing. I'll try and clear this up as soon as possible!

Summerhouse Hill (Round Cairn) — Images

<b>Summerhouse Hill</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Summerhouse Hill</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Summerhouse Hill</b>Posted by IronMan

Doll Tor (Stone Circle) — Images

<b>Doll Tor</b>Posted by IronMan

The Andle Stone (Natural Rock Feature) — Images

<b>The Andle Stone</b>Posted by IronMan

Nine Ladies of Stanton Moor (Stone Circle) — Images

<b>Nine Ladies of Stanton Moor</b>Posted by IronMan

Doll Tor (Stone Circle) — Images

<b>Doll Tor</b>Posted by IronMan

Maen-y-Bardd (Dolmen / Quoit / Cromlech) — Images

<b>Maen-y-Bardd</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Maen-y-Bardd</b>Posted by IronMan

Orkney — News

Woodland plans for the Northern Isles


Orkney and Shetland, Scotland’s northern outposts, have become famous for their unrestricted vistas of land, sea and sky.

Now centuries of history and natural forces are to be defied. Plans are being laid to transform the scenery of the bleak Northern Isles with the planting of up to quarter of a million trees over the next three years.

Landowners, farmers, crofters and community groups are being offered government grants of up to £3,000 a hectare to reverse the islands’ treeless image and return them to a state that the Vikings would have recognised.

Ministers believe the ambitious tree-planting project will not only improve the look of the islands but also provide a boost for tourism.

"Orkney and Shetland are famed for their open landscapes but there is a strong local demand for more trees," said Scottish Executive environment minister Allan Wilson. "Creating woodlands there will improve the environment for islanders and boost wildlife tourism which will strengthen the local economies."

Pollen studies by scientists have revealed that both of the island chains were once covered in dense woodlands of birch, alder, willow, hazel, rowan and aspen. But Neolithic and Bronze age settlers from around 3000BC are believed to have been the first to start the process of cutting down the native woodland to provide wood for fuel and grazing for animals.

Jeremy Watson, 'Scotland on Sunday' 2/3/3

Rowtor Rocks (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) — Links

George Eastman House Stereoscopic Cabinet 1859-1860


Wonderful stereoscopic image of the top of Rowtor Rocks circa 1860.

Nine Ladies of Stanton Moor (Stone Circle) — Fieldnotes

Only my second visit here - last time I came it was in a big group (8 of us in total), and was a nightmare visit from start to finish. The site itself seemed gloomy at the time, and after reading all the horror stories, I thought I'd seen enough of the place. This time we had been staying with friends in Sheffield on Saturday night, and so the four of us visited here after seeing the Andle Stone and Doll Tor. My mind is now totally changed - the site seemed so much bigger. The sky was clear above and so we took the opportunity to sit by the site and take it all in. It was quite peaceful with the distant rumble of traffic barely audible. I'm now definitely a Nine Ladies convert!

Rowtor Rocks (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) — Images

<b>Rowtor Rocks</b>Posted by IronMan

Rowtor Rocks (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) — Fieldnotes

This is a truly amazing site - from the moment I entered the site I felt transported. Each turn around the huge boulders offers something new - at times it's like being on one of the original Star Trek sets. The subtle movement between the natural and the artificial is the most incredible thing here - cave entrances turn out to be man-made, passageways to higher and lower levels of the rocks open up before you. The actual prehistoric rock art on display (what little we could find of it) is just a small part of the attraction here - these rocks seems to have been drawing human attention forever. An incredibly magickal place.

Rowtor Rocks (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) — Images

<b>Rowtor Rocks</b>Posted by IronMan

Rhiw Burial Chamber — Fieldnotes

A bit of a surprise to me this one. While on our way back from walking in the Snowdon area we decided to visit Maen-y-Bardd, and to take advantage of the good weather to get a few black and white shots. While there I remembered Frances Lynch mentioning this other chamber nearby, and decided to hunt it down. This didn't take long as the two are intervisible. The site itself is definitely worth seeking out when doing the Tal-y-Fan sites, and was much more impressive than I had been led to believe.

Directions: From Maen-y-Bardd head roughly ENE for 100 metres, crossing one of the many ancient drystone walls - a distinctive fallen tree and huge boulder can be used for orientation.

Rhiw Burial Chamber — Images

<b>Rhiw Burial Chamber</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Rhiw Burial Chamber</b>Posted by IronMan<b>Rhiw Burial Chamber</b>Posted by IronMan

The Hellstone (Dolmen / Quoit / Cromlech) — Images

<b>The Hellstone</b>Posted by IronMan

West Kennett Avenue (Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue) — Images

<b>West Kennett Avenue</b>Posted by IronMan

Belas Knap (Long Barrow) — Images

<b>Belas Knap</b>Posted by IronMan

The Nine Stones of Winterbourne Abbas (Stone Circle) — Images

<b>The Nine Stones of Winterbourne Abbas</b>Posted by IronMan

West Kennett Avenue (Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue) — Images

<b>West Kennett Avenue</b>Posted by IronMan

The Hellstone (Dolmen / Quoit / Cromlech) — Fieldnotes

Muddy is really just an understatement. It was also freezing cold. Mrs IronMan decided to stay snug in the car with the heating on while I tramped out across the fields to find the site. A few minutes of picking my way through the least muddy parts of the track were swiftly cast aside as I shouted out an almighty "F*CK THIS" and waded through the thick ankle-deep sludge.

The Hellstone is in quite a location, and from here it was easy to pick out the barrows in the surrounding landscape. There seems to be some concern over the accuracy of the reconstruction of this site, but my main problem was with the muddy duck pond in front of the tomb!

I hung around for a while, till the sun began to set, then made my way back through the sludge.
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