Latest Fieldnotes

Essex is probably best known in ‘antiquarian’ circles for its hillforts.... somewhat ironically, perhaps, seeing as we haven’t exactly got many hills, fortified or otherwise. Prehistoric monuments of other types are few and far between, even the usually ubiquitous ‘Tumuli’ a priceless scarcity, the sum of examples further depleted by association with ‘Romano-Britishness’.

I didn’t do any ‘homework’ for my visit to Lawford Park.... this time, however, with the express intention of forming a judgement based solely upon the light entering these two eyes of mine. Needless to say I arrive under a crisply blue winter sky and conclude, a little disappointed (I guess) that here we have another post-Iron Age monument. Yeah, it just looks too, well.... large, covering too large a surface area to be Bronze Age in origin. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But less than two millennia old, erected by Boudicca’s lot? Ha! That was only yesterday.

The mound, as mentioned, is a big’un... not in terms of elevation – traces of central excavation damage no doubt account for that – but certainly with regards circumference. A juxtaposition of tall pine and oak surmount the barrow, throwing deep shadows, in addition to the former’s cones, upon the irregular summit. A great, evocative place to chill out in the shade of the towering copse and daydream of Celtic warrior women, hair a’ streaming in the wind. But enough of that, this is a family web-site.

Consequently I go for a wander in the field to the south and begin to progressively doubt my initial dating presumption. How could it be otherwise when here lie two/three(?) severely trashed circular, earthen features. Remnants of additional barrows, perhaps? If so, why did the primary monument survive? Or possibly ring ditches? Was there much more going on within what became Lawford Park than at first meets the eye? Upon returning to the barrow, perplexed, the farmer arrives in his landrover and waits before receiving my ‘raised hand’ acknowlegement. Although more in the style of ‘Alan Shearer’ than most, it is enough to satisfy him I’m kosher, so off he trundles in silence. I can do with that. Yeah, the way it should be, since after all, this is private land.

Intrigued, back at home I take a look at Essex HER records.... ‘Round barrow in Lawford Park, excavated in 1812 when 2 urns were recovered..’ Bronze Age funerary urns, that is. And wait, there’s more...’4 ring-ditches to the south.... further ring-ditches to the SW...’. So, it seems that, indeed, Essex has a slumbering prehistoric ritual complex of its very own. Who’d have thought it? Clearly not I.

Access is pretty easy, too. Follow a green track heading northwards at the point where Dedham Road (approaching from the A137, a little west of Lawford) makes a right angled left turn. The Bronze Age barrow is visible beyond a gate to your left at a cross-track... however I carried on to the forest line and approached along that. Nice. Obscure, too, with a landowner who doesn’t appear to mind the odd (as in ‘occassional’, that is) traveller having a look... in return for a touch of common courtesy.

Visited 3rd August 2011

We fortuitously found out about this site after browsing through an interesting guidebook on the Kungagraven over a coffee at the lovely Cafe Sågmöllen next to the Kungagraven in Kivik. Leaving the car in the Kungagraven carpark we set off walking east along the road in the glorious sunshine.

Only 300 metres away from the Kungagraven, and nestling among neatly tended apple orchards, we didn’t see one vehicle on the way there, nor encountered any other visitors, and after a five minute walk a small gate at the side of the road afforded an easy entry to the site.

The skibssætning itself is a large one, and has two stones set inside the boat setting, almost as if they represented rowing benches for ancient viking mariners. It also had two stones standing at the ‘prow’, these two features being different from any of the other skibssætnings we have seen. The stones also look as if they stand on a slightly raised mound, which of course may have diminished in height over the millenia, there is also a noticable sunken entranceway which points directly east into the skibssætning.

Ängakåsen itself is part of a bigger gravefield known as ‘Koarum’ remains of which are visible in the field. Almost bisecting the area to north of the skibssætning was a pond and stream, possibly a result of waterlogged ground, but it provided a picturesque backdrop across which the other megalithic remains could be seen. From the skibssætning looking north the kerb circle and standing stone of the ‘coin barrow’ beckon to us.

So I do my usual mad photographic spree of attempting to take pictures from every possible angle of the stones, whilst everyone else chills out in the peaceful atmosphere. Again I’m struck by how well kept the megalithic sites in Sweden are, the field is neatly tended, easily accessible and with nary a piece of litter, not even a fag butt, to be seen.

This whole area around Kivik seems to form part of a larger ritual landscape, almost like the Kilmartin valley in Scotland, I’m so glad we stumbled on this hidden gem.

Just realized this is where Ih Hearg (my Heathen group) does it’s ceremonies XD

On the north-facing slope of Carrot Hill a sandstone boulder, 1.2 x 0.7 x 0.2 m, bearing at least 15 cup marks. There is no clear evidence of any ring marks.

Visited 21/2/2012

Out walking – started on the Ridgeway from the bridleway opposite the downland path to the village of Ashbury. Walking to Ashdown, I hadn’t made the connection between the two places before. A gentle walk through Hayley Wood and Middle Wood with the small Iron Age hillfort of Alfred’s Castle visible through the leafless trees.

The path through the woods leads directly down to Ashdown House which is currently undergoing renovation and not visible from behind protective sheeting and scaffolding. The small carpark with a National Trust information board is next to the sarsen drift field which, although lacking the other worldly quality of Fyfield Down and Lockeridge, still has a wonderful atmosphere all of its own. It lies at the foot of Weathercock Hill which today had a herd of deer grazing peacefully. Walking through the sarsen drift field it seemed some of the stones were not a random scatter but arranged in a stone row.

Up Weathercock Hill, we appeared to be shadowing the herd of deer for much of our walk. A red kite glided overhead. Further along we encountered a much smaller herd of stags. Back to the Ridgeway with a fabulous view of Uffington Castle which, from this perspective, seems to be on a promontory much like Barbury.

The rest of the walk was about a mile along the Ridgeway taking in Waylands Smithy. Always, always an uplifting experience.

Well, this was a turn up for the books this sunny, winter afternoon... a major hillfort instead of the denuded remnants of earthen banks I was expecting to supplement the trashed, yet still evocative Pitchbury Ramparts this morning. To be fair, the ‘Iron Age’ origin of Erbury has yet to be conclusively determined, in no small part due to the incredibly rich history of occupation at the site. Hey, tell me about it.... notably the home of Aelfric, a prominent Saxon thane and son of Withgar (according to the Wikki... oh, and some ‘Domesday Book’, or other), no doubt the enclosure was also utilised in some respect by the powerful Norman interloper de Clare, whose motte and bailey castle once controlled the River Stour south of the church (surprise, surprise)... and who ‘generously’ gave his name to the town. Later, the site was incorporated within the medieval common, still extant, the majority of interior detail apparently dating from this time. In short, quite a challenge for archaeologists seeking answers, methinks? However.....

A field survey/magnometric scan conducted during 1993 determined that ‘the stratigraphy of the earthworks confirms the likelihood of a prehistoric origin.’ [Clare Camp: An Archaeological Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, September to October 1993, Archive Report, p15]

More recently, construction work at Clare Primary School in 2009 discovered postholes/a ring ditch of a late Bronze/Early Iron Age structure nearby [Suffolk Institute of Archaeology & History, Vol XLII Part 2].

It also has to be said that it looks very much like an Iron Age defensive enclosure, too. Particularly if, having seen many examples upon his travels, this punter is not put out by a less than perfect strategic placement... to my mind defence was but one consideration to be taken into account by the Iron Age planners – albeit a very important one – the metaphysical requirements seemingly just as important. No doubt the priests’ voices were heard loud and clear, the proximity of the Stour and its tributaries perhaps rendering their views decisive?

The enclosure would appear to be (at least at the best preserved northern and southern flanks) powerfully bi-vallate, the eastern and northern banks now encroached upon by the houses of the town which outgrew their protection. Only to the west are the defences badly eroded, to the point of partial destruction. The common is alive with locals today, some walking dogs, some.... just walking. A black cat deems it necessary to sit upon the outer bank and keep a close eye upon me, ‘yoofs’ on bikes deciding the man taking pictures of ‘nothing but the sky’ is not worth challenging. Yeah, impressive as Erbury’s earthworks are, they pale into insignificance beneath the towering magnificence of the winter sky.... then there are the snowdrops sheltering from the sunlight beneath the eastern bank.... awaiting Spring.

Visited 18.2.12

This one had been on my ‘hit list’ for a while so I am please to have had the opportunity to pay the site a visit.

Despite having an O/S map we still got lost in the maze of lanes and had to stop and ask a chap who was supervising his young son clearing out a drainage ditch – his son didn’t seem too happy stood knee high in water, in the rain, poking away with a stick!
Nice to see the Dickensian spirit is alive and well!

The good news for us is that he knew exactly where the burial chamber was and gave clear instructions. Two minutes later we were there.

Karen parked at the top of the lane leading to Coldharbour Farm and stayed in the car with Sophie and Dafydd while I donned my wellies and squelched down the lane.

As you walk towards the farm there is a metal field gate on your left. The stones are easily seen from here. I chose to hop over the gate and walk the short distance to the remains of the burial chamber.

The two larger stones are about 1.5 metres high and there are several smaller stones scattered about. Despite the rain blowing in under my cap I really enjoyed this site and am pleased that it lived up to my expectations. The stones are a lovely pink colour and covered with yellow and white lichen – very colourful. The tree is still there but doesn’t distract from the site. The only thing which did was the large dog turd curled up in the centre of the chamber. No, I didn’t remove it!

This is a good one to visit.

This is another of the great Essex hillforts to which the Essex general public are actively denied access by the land owner; most, in all probability, therefore having no idea such priceless, tangible links to our past still exist... cloaked as they are within their mantles of trees. Some may argue the ‘ordinary’ punter wouldn’t care if they were aware, but I like to think the people of Essex have more class than that. What a crying shame, therefore, that we tolerate laws which allow such a state of affairs to persist in the so-called ‘enlightened’ 21st century.... statutes which grant land owners absolution from moral responsibility to the community in this respect. Guardians of sites on behalf of their neighbours and anyone with a love for this land? Ha! What an inconvenience that would be.

To be honest it is amazing that anything remains of Pitchbury Ramparts at all, the southern two thirds (or so) of the great, bi-vallate enclosure having been apparently ploughed to oblivion in the 1920’s (according to Essex HER). After all, that’s what we fought the Great War for... to preserve our identity, our heritage. Er... wasn’t it? [update – to be fair, Rhiannon’s comment to this fieldnote strongly suggests the active destruction of the site began somewhat earlier].

What does remain is an arc of double ramparts preserved in Pitchbury Wood to the north, the inner, again according to Essex HER, some 10ft high. Thankfully we know a little about the site thanks to a ‘partial excavation’ undertaken by Colchester Excavation Committee in 1973, the team recovering dating evidence in the form of Aylesford-Swarling La Tene III period pottery. It seems the dig followed the line of the laying of a gas pipeline.... again, you simply couldn’t make it up....

As mentioned above, the remaining earthworks lie within the ‘private’ Pitchbury Wood, numerous abrupt notices making it clear visitors to this ancient site are not at all welcome. In retrospect I would suggest prospective visitors try calling upon the occupants of Woodhouse Farm since, not being comfortable with ‘trespassing’, I asked a local emerging from the direction of Scarlet’s Farm... only to have the gentleman look at me with complete incomprehension and point me in the opposite direction. Yeah, such notices do little for vibe. The crystal clear winter sky that accompanies me today helps to compensate, however, sunlight throwing shadows of skeletal trees to accentuate the form of the earthworks which provide a good, sure footing for the former’s root systems. Difficult to articulate, but there truly is something about wooded hillforts which captures me hook, line and sinker. Perhaps there is something relating to the ‘ancient forest’ retained deep within the folk memory, the legends of Herne and what-not all too easy to appreciate in such an environment.... shadows inhabiting a parallel world which has no physical ‘substance’, yet clearly exists. Or does it?

So.... bearing in mind the actute access issues... you will find the remains of this evocative Iron Age enclosure located a little south-west of Great Horkesley, a nice town with a couple of ‘watering holes’ for the thirsty (modern) antiquarian. Take the Old House Road from the A134 and park just right of where it meets Coach Road (incidentally both roads are signed for convenience), before heading south along the near flank of Pitchbury Wood. As mentioned, recent-looking signs make it all too clear the land is private..... but perhaps some things are just too important, you know? Once they are gone, they are gone. This ancient enclosure is hanging on in there. Just about.

We probably picked the wrong day to visit here as it was damned cold and quite overcast but the thought of possibly finding a cemetery of up to twenty barrows tucked away in the wilderness of mid-Sussex proved too much of a temptation. Parking is relatively easy as there’s a conveniently placed carpark just off the A272 between Midhurst and Petersfield and was very popular with the local dogowners the day we were there, just a shame they couldn’t be bothered to pick up after them. I always tend to think of Sussex as being quite highly populated, and I guess the bit I live in on the coast is, but inland you’ll find large tracts of land with barely any sign of habitation much like this. Here there seem to be endless glorious vistas of open heather with the occasional birch tree, small patches of conifer and the blue-hued hills of the South Downs on the distant horizon. It’s probably looked like this for centuries, possibly millennia. The first barrows you come to after leaving the carpark are a very small pair, possibly conjoined and only just discernible as they’re covered in heather, so it’s almost impossible to gauge just how big they are, or were. Travelling further South you come around a small pond and follow a track to a linear arrangement of five larger barrows which are part of Fitzhall Heath. The tallest of these is about 30-40 feet across and around 10 feet high, again heather covered and at some time in the past severely mauled, and from here you can see two other large barrows, one of which has been cleared of heather. On top of this we found the tattered remains of a sign politely asking the public to refrain from walking on the barrows and to use the cleared pathways around them. Whoops, sorry. Passing through the middle of all this apparently is a Roman road as well, though I couldn’t really work out where it was supposed to be, only surmising that it started in Chichester to the South. We only managed to seek out seven barrows on this visit, but given the size of the common it would take a good day to tramp around the whole area where I know there are at least another eight marked on the OS map. We’ll return when it’s warmed up a tad.

Visited 18.2.12

It is often surprising when re-visiting a site how things are different from how you remember them.

The thing which struck me on this visit was how high the inner rampart was. It is a good 2 metres or more but I remembered it as being about the same height of the outer rampart which is only about half the height.

Another thing I had forgotten about was the berm running along the inside of the outer bank. I wonder why this was put there?

As before I parked near the water works and followed the path up to the site.
(Glad I had my wellies on as the path was very muddy)

An easy site to access and well worth a visit when in the area.

Visited 18.2.12

Directions:
Take the B4465 east out of Bristol and just beyond the Shortwood turn off there is a convenient bus stop on the left. The Barrow is in the field next ti the bus stop. To make matters even easier there is a public right of way across the field. Access is therefore very easy.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that there is very little to see. The Barrow is now no more that a ploughed out mound no more than 0.3 metre high and spread over an area of about 30 metres.

To be honest I would have easily walked right past it if I wasn’t specifically looking for it. Don’t bother wasting your petrol.

For those who wish a less arduous visit, Worlebury Camp can be reached by car (to a car park) by approaching it at high level from Worle village

There is a small car park with access to the beach located just short of the Killantringan lighthouse and it is a short walk along the beach (tide permitting) to the Dun.
There isn’t a great deal of the fortification left but a couple of courses of stone on the SE side This is also the easiest way up to the level interior, there may be more masonry visible under the heavy covering of gorse but we didn’t linger to explore more than a few minutes. We had intended to continue up the coast to visit the more substantial “Kemp’s Walk” Promontory Fort. The weather however had other ideas and this was abandoned till another day!

Although not a great site it is well worth the short coastal walk to the Dun particularly along the beach, it is possible to reach the site from above along the escarpment (with care) we returned this way.

Another stone seen from the road as we were driving by. Not a massive stone, at under one and a half metres, it’s wider than it is tall.
Apparently, there are several others on the slopes, on the opposite side of the road.

Situated in a field to the side of the minor road going into Derrynacaheragh (Right hand side if coming from Dunmanway). Not marked on the OS map.
Not the most exciting stone, but worth a stop if you are passing !

Large rectangular standing stone, just under two metres high. It is situated in a field next to a minor road, just off the R584 at Cousane Gap. Easily seen from the main road but doesn’t seem to be marked on the OS map. Terrific views of The Shehy Mountains.

Just two stones remain of a multiple stone circle, thought to contain up to eleven stones.
It is situated in pasture, in the wooded Caha valley. Access is not too difficult, just one barbed wire fence to negotiate !
A lovely peaceful setting.

Situated at the field edge, a fine stone over 3 metres high.

This carved stone was found buried in a field nearby many years ago and was temporarily set into a wall before being moved to the front of a farmers cottage for safe keeping.
The cottage now lies in a forgotten pile of stone in the corner of a field and I was not very hopeful of locating the rock art. However, after hacking through the undergrowth for a while this stone stood out as the largest on top of the pile and moving a decaying tree trunk revealed the carvings underneath, still in an excellent state of preservation.

It is the only example of rock art so far discovered in Co. Westmeath.

05/02/2011 – Remembered we had been here last year when we saw Carmont Hill from Strathfinella Hill yesterday (18/02/2012). Parked at NO 80868179 and walked through Wood of Fallside then followed fence line north to Carmont Hill and cairn. Not the best approach, we didn’t feel very welcome in the wood. Maybe better from the northeast. This is a lovely cairn and well worth visiting. Nice rounded stones and good view.

18/02/2012 – After visiting Smart’s Cairn we headed west on the main forest track to just north of this cairn. Again, like Smart’s Cairn, the last 100 meters was hard work because of wind fell but finally made it. This cairn is very overgrown and hard to make out from it’s surroundings. A few trees had fallen over to reveal the cairn material underneath. Windy and snowing quite heavily at times.

18/02/2012 – Parked car in car park (NO 69657988) next to Drumtochty Castle. Followed tracks south through wood to just east of Black Hill then path west to trigpoint on summit of Strathfinella Hill. Took ride south to col between top and the spur. So far so good. All went wrong after this. Last 300 meters to Smart’s Cairn took over an hour. The wind fell was terrible. Trees and branches everywhere. Cold and windy. Finally made it to cairn, which is hidden in the middle of quite dense wood. All felt a bit secretive. Best to use the rides from the south for this one. Cairn very overgrown but still nice. I don’t know who Smart was but the cairn is linked with the slaying of a huge serpent.

I have lived near by most of my life and have often wandered over the raised hump of the little hill over shadowed by the Quarry not really knowing any thing about it but always thinking it was special. I went again last weekend to discover that it is indeed a “Bell” barrow and of national importance. It has only been patially excavated but despite that many treausres were found that now sit in Glastonbury museum. It is a beautiful place and worth a visit if only for the views and the lovely surroundings of Uphill. The Ship pub is near by that will offer a good lunch and a welcome to dogs and there is a cafe too in the quarry. Parking is in th quarry itself but has many raised stones that make parking difficlut. There is another parking space under the hill opposite the Ship or park on the beach and walk back which gives really impressive views of the Quarry and the Barrow itself.

I visited the site yesterday for the first time thanks to Julian and his advice about parking in the “Little Chef” carpark. The site is so close to the road and the evidence of the tree being culled was obvious. Despite that it was still one of the most perfect little stone circles that i have ever seen. A hedge or some saplings in the ditch next to the road would help to keep it more private and reduce road noise. I can still imagin how beautiful it would have looked 4000 years ago! Lovely really worth a visit.

Of the four main ridges of The Black Mountains, rising from the fertile Usk valley in the south to terminate at the great northern escarpment in the... er .... north, the eastern-most is probably the most frequented nowadays. Whether this is the inevitable by product of said ridge rising between the wondrous Vale of Ewyas and the contrasting, yet superb Herefordshire plains, or the fact that it represents the Welsh/English border at this point, thus carrying the long distance Offa’s Dyke path, is perhaps a moot point. For what it’s worth, I reckon the latter, the myriad ‘heads down’ walkers striding along the central path surely unable to ascertain anything more than a perfunctory sense of ‘place’. To achieve this the visitor, in my opinion, must ‘leave the beaten track’ in the most literal sense and head to the flanks.

Hatterrall Hill occupies the southern section of this high borderland, the landscape inexorably falling further away from the 2,000ft contour during the approach toward Abergavenny... only to rise up dramatically in the form of Mynydd Pen-y-fal just before the town. But that’s another story. Here Cwm Iau forces the ridge to divide, the Offa’s Dyke path continuing to the south. Venture to the south-west, however, and two obscure archaeological treasures await discovery. Or at least they would have if the Mam C and I had not lost ourselves – figuratively speaking, of course – in the environs of Black Darren last Easter, before being ushered from the mountain by a violent electrical storm. We therefore return today from the opposite direction, starting at the idyllic village of Cwmyoy. Parking is somewhat difficult here unless you know what you’re doing. Needless to say... I don’t... until informed by a passing local – within a worryingly large mechanical digger – that I’d be better off in a good spot just above (north) of the seriously wonky church. I take the, ahem, hint. Happy to oblige. From here a public footpath heads north, veering to the right beneath a towering crag, before resuming its course towards the farmhouse of Ty-Charles. Just beyond this isolated habitation turn left, then right – between parallel drystone walls – to ascend steeply to the crest of Hatterrall Hill rising above.

The retrospective views, these being The Black Mountains after all, are superb. But then you probably guessed that. It will probably also come as no surprise that the promontory fort’s single line of defence isolates the site from the northern hinterland at the narrowest point of the ridge. Not daft, these people. This ensures that the enclosure is by far the largest we’ve yet encountered, the cross dyke quite a while a’coming. It is worth the wait, a great drystone mass of masonry which, although collapsed, remains impressive in its brute strength, despite all Mother Wales has seen fit to throw at it for a couple of millennia. Which is no doubt ‘quite a lot’. To emphasise the point the weather deteriorates to rain, although thankfully the cloud base remains high, allowing us to enjoy the truly magnificent positionning of the fort. Yeah, the north-western terminus of the cross-wall possesses arguably the finest view of the Vale of Ewyas extant, a perfect spot for lunch. That to be had from the south-eastern opposite is not exactly lacking, either, the hillfort-cum-sacred hill Ysgyryd Fawr dominating the skyline with a finality far in excess of its modest elevation. This is the point where words become futile, to experience the moment everything.

The obscure, severely overgrown Garreg Las enclosure lies beyond grouse butts to the north. The latter represent tawrdy monuments to the ridiculous actions of ridiculous people. The former, however..... Coflein cites the enclosure as defensive in nature. The Mam C and I are in agreement... that we are not so sure. There is an aura here which suggests otherwise. Just a feeling in the wind and rain, you know?