Latest Fieldnotes

Discovered details on the cists and the grave goods found there in “The history of the borough, castle, and barony of Alnwick” by George Tate, 1866.

Google books link at archive.org/stream/historyboroughc01tategoog/historyboroughc01tategoog_djvu.txt

Text below based on a clean up of the Google scan.

“On the White House grounds, now forming the north-west corner of Holn Park, three other sepulchres have been discovered.

One was opened in 1818 and contained a skeleton, by the side of which stood an elegant shaped drinking cup, covered with zigzag scorings ; it is said to have contained ashes — Plate II, fig, 1. This is the shape most usually met with in Ancient British interments in North Northumberland; elegant in form and in ornamentation, they exhibit no small degree of artistic taste. Another cist-vaen in this locality
was found in 1833 ; but of this we have no definite information; beyond the fact that the direction of the grave was from north to south. Of the third sepulchre, however, which was opened in 1863, we have more particular knowledge. The cist-vaen was as usual formed of sandstone slabs, the length being 2 feet 9 inches, the width 1 foot 10 inches, and the direction from N.E. to S.W. ; within was laid a skeleton with the head towards the south-west end, the body bent, the knees being drawn up towards the head ; and nearly in the centre stood an urn or vase, which is 5 inches in height, with four knobs at the side, and ornamented with characteristic zigzag scorings — Plate II, fig, 3. The skeleton was that of a young person, about 12 years of age ; for the temporary canine teeth had disappeared, and the permanent canine teeth were making their appearance; while also the sutures of the skull were very distinct. Unfortunately the cranium was broken and incomplete ; but so much remained as to admit of its general characters being determined ; it was a short, broad, and compact head; the longitudinal diameter being 6.3 inches and the parietal diameter 5 inches, giving a proportion of nearly 10 to 8, which marks the cranium of the Brachy-cephalic type. The form is well rounded, but there is a peculiar flattening from the occipital protuberance to the foramen magnum, probably due to artificial compression ; for Dr. Barnard Davis, the distinguished author of the “Crania Britannica,’’ has shewn that some ancient tribes modified by artificial means the natural form of the skull. Even now some of the American Indians distort the heads of their children by the use of a cradle board. Singular is it, that in the sepulchre of so young a person, there was a rude flint arrow head about one inch in length, and of the same character as one found in a similar interment at Wandylaw — Plate II, fig, 9. Other vases of the same kind from the district, preserved in the Alnwick Castle Museum, shew a gradual advance in Ancient British fictile art ; one from Warkworth has, in place of mere knobs, small but well shaped perforated handles.”

Added the three plate pictures referred to in the text to the site.

After a long and muddy walk from Northway via Woolstone, Oxenton and Teddington I finally arrived at the busy roundabout and garage which sadly comprise the “landscape” for the Tibblestone. This is not a great place to come on foot due to the very busy roads about and I imagine most TMA-ers will pass by on their way to somewhere else.

The stone itself is odd, quite short and very eroded – although the erosion appears to have occurred prior to the stone being erected I can only assume (unless it has been carved, which seems unlikely). It’s also odd for being so low-lying at about 30m above sea-level. Gloucestershire has precious few standing stones and many of them are considered to be remnants of chambered long-barrows. Neighbouring Worcestershire (less than a kilometre to the north) has none. So why is a possible prehistoric standing stone here at all? Not a clue! But it is here and, unlovely though the setting is, it’s worth popping by on your way to somewhere civilised.

Made an aborted attempt to visit Oxenton Hill on a bright but very muddy winter day (17.1.2010). Approached from the South along the Gloucestershire Way, via the nearby Crane Hill. Unfortunately there is no public right of way onto the top of Oxenton Hill and the mud slalom didn’t encourage me to investigate further.

Its not first time ive been here, but way back then
I was a bit underwhelmed, I dont know why, I really liked it this time.
The sun was as high as it gets this time of year
and the light seemed to be almost alive, sparkling in the water in the ditches, Ive not seen many square lowland hillforts, and maggie being a good dog and not wandering off.
Often overlooked by the nearby perfect burial chambers, but lumps and bumps can be cool sometimes too.

At the end of a long morning I was glad of the ample parking and the road signs, with two wet moany kids in the car it was nice to leave them to their DS’s and take the ever ready maggie for her fourth walk of the day.
Its been nigh on eight years since my first visit here, but the big capstone still blows me away, and the daft wooden brace still narks me off slightly, only now its not bracing anything,its not even touching the capstone just leaning against the thinnest of the supporting uprights, so infact its doing the opposite of what it should be doing, I thought of dragging it out but then thought of half a dozen reasons not to.
On ones own on a nice day you could spend quite some time here.

What, on first appearance, seems to be a grim and desolate spot, behind the petrol station and surrounded by industrial units, becomes a revelation upon closer inspection. There was still enough of this site left to make it utterly charming, if in need of a little TLC. We wandered around for much longer than we had anticipated and (as usual) talked a lot of drivel, wondering and the whys and wherefores of it all. Definitely worth the diversion and a site that sticks in my memory.

We arived at the carpark and it was still blazing sunshine and blue skies. The walk up the circle is just lovely, and we mused on the joys of living in such a lush and wonderful place, and did some very amatuer birdspotting! Upon arrival, we were both stopped in our tracks by the colours before us. The stones were just shimmering and the different shades of red were breathtaking.

We spent a long time here, we just could not bring ourselves to leave. We lay on the grass in silence, wandered round gabbling away and gazed at Bennachie in the distance, just blown away by it. I had wanted to come here for such a long time but had also been wary of the fact it is such a showsite, with all that implies;I was worried it would be too clinical but – oh my – this place was just magnificent.

This site was relatively easy to find, being well-signed from the road. Lots of parking and a pleasant enough wall through a wee wooded area before emerging into bright sunshine and the realisation that it was school-trip day! The whole site was swarming with Aberdeenshire school-children who appeared to be undertaking some kind of mathematical experiment!

As this was the one site I had been least excited by the prospect of visiting, it wasn’t too much of a downer and I quite liked the fact that they were engaging with their heritage. It did make getting decent pictures a bit of a ‘mare though!

The situation is fabulous, with amazing views over the verdant countryside but, like others here, the reconstruction of this site made this a hard one to get too giddy about.

After seeing the sign in the village (even thats not that easy to find!), we got a rough idea of the hill these stones were on and headed in that direction. Light was fading fast so we opted against the long walk round that the visitor guide suggested and took a through-field short cut over a barbedwire fence (why do they insist on surrounding all these places in this stuff).

Well worth the scramble; the pink sky behind these beautiful stones made my day!

This thing really is a monster capstone! I always hapily clamber insider then have a little panic attack at the weight of the stone above my head (perfect image of me being squashed like a bug).

Not for the claustrophobic!

As there isn’t much around here to see (ah, the midlands) I was pleased to find this site in daytrip-distance and set off with plenty of daylight hours remaining only to get stuck on the M6. Fabulous.

Got to Mucklestone near Market Drayton at about 3pm, well in time to see what we wanted to see before it got dark, only to discover that there isn’t a thing in Mucklestone! Lots of driving around country lanes bought me to the next town over, Norton in Hales, where I gave up trying to find it myself and asked a local if he knew (by any chance!) where the Devils RIng and Finger was...

HE DID!!

So, from St Chads church in Norton in Hales, you take a left and follow the road until it turns to the right, dont turn, stay on the road (Forge Lane/Road) and stay on this road as it turns into a track, and then a mostly mud and grass walkway until you arrive at a farm.

At this point (as we still cant see anything) we assume we are in the wrong place and ask at the farm. The very nice lady directs us across the track, past the horse and over a gate into a field on the otherside of the stream. From there we follow the drystone wall up to a little copse and the monument is hiding at the back against a barbedwire fence.

Its a shame for it really as its been moved at some point over the last 300years and it just “dumped” out of the way. But its considerably bigger than Men-an-Tol and worth a clamber through and a quick circumambulation. We were there for sunset, which came fast, and we had to leave quickly to avoid getting stranded in the boggy field below.

Well worth the trip if you’re in the area.

There is a resemblence to the cairns of Harbourne Head. I think that they are connected to all the other cairns around here. On the summit there are 2 cairns about 45m apart with a 3rd one about 400m to the East.
Of the summit cairns the South-Eastern one measures about 10m, the other about 17m.

There are quite a lot of cairns in the surroundings. Some of them are just clearance cairns, some are genuine burial cairns. It is not easy do be sure about these sites and hard to find information to clear up doubts.
The 2 cairns on my pictures are on the summit are a few hundred metres W from the Harbourne Head Menhir. I measured them about 23m in diameter and they are 20m apart from each other. The eastern cairn is the more prominent one of the two.

On the day I have been there the reservoir was rather filled up and about one quarter of the settlement was under water. Apparently in dry times the whole settlement shows plus a monastic homestead which might have been linked to the old abbey in Buckfast.
The site has been excavated during the construction of the dam in the fifties.

This is a massive settlement, if not 2 seperate ones that at some point merged. There is a boundary between which makes this plausible. There is a total of over 50 huts, some of them in surprisingly good condition considering the closeness to the edge of the Moor.

The 4 settlements here are some of the highest if not the highest ones on the Moor. There are just under 30 huts between the 4 and a lot of pillow mounds of the warren. If I didn’t know better I would have assumed that the pillow mounds were as ancient as the settlements. They somehow give the place a nicer appearance. There is also a little shelter that looks a bit like a bee-hive hut.

These cairns are not in a good state and very overgrown. There is a total of 7 cairns and a few huts around. The biggest cairn(picture) is about 16m in diameter, the others are much smaller.

With the ‘Crutches On Ice’ show in full swing I ventured to the Midmill Cairn and what a comical I sight I must have looked. Then again I’d resigned myself to the loony bin a long time ago.

Midmill Industrial Estate is on the south eastern outskirts of Kintore. If taking a car drive follow the signposts and drive to end of the marked road. Park in the overspill car park. The cairn is clearly visible being quite near a warehouse. From the car park it is a short walk of about 400 meters. The image on Canmore shows how this area has changed, Kintore has expanded massively and the industrial estate didn’t exist.

Originally the cairn stood at 65 meters, aligned ESE-WNW, in length but after extensive quarrying it now stands at 27 meters long, 20 meters wide and 31/2 meters high being made from earth and boulders. It is now mainly grass covered. A cist, which once could be seen, has been covered in field clearance. Possibly one kerb remains and another stone, 11/2 meters in length, might have stood.

Damage of a more recent nature has also unfortunately taken place. Some idiot on a quad bike has raced up and down the western flank damaging plant life as well as the cairn. Tuach Hill, home to a stone circle, is less than 1/2 mile away to the east.

After that it was back to the car with a couple of workmen having a good laugh at my expense. Thankfully no photos of me!

Visited 14/1/2010.

As the peat has diminished the appearance of this cairn, the 2 boundary stones and the OS triangular pillar give this site an aesthetic treat for the eyes. One of the Boundary stones is called Petre’s Bound Stone, the other Petre On The Mount. I have to admit I don’t know for sure which one is which. They mark the boundaries of Buckfastleigh and Holne.
The diameter of the cairn is 30m.

After the kindly gent dropped me off at the racehorse common, I proceeded north at as brisk a pace as I could manage. In better weather I might have followed the Offas dyke path as its only in the field next to the road, but its so hard walking in the deep snow I had to save my strength for the field with the stone.
After passing through the “not even a hamlet” Carreg-y-big, the stone came in to view in the field but one from the road, even from several hundred metres away the stones lean to the west could be seen.
Over the gate, wading through the foot deep snow make for the tree on the fence line, from the tree the stones but 50yards in the corner of the field. Offas dyke and the path runs through the field so theres no tresspassing needed.
Carreg-y-big is bigger,chunkier and heavier than its nearest neighbour Cynynion a mile and a half south but they’re similarly squareish in shape and both roughly lean in the same direction, and theres no snow at the stones feet again, i’m beginning to wonder if the stone itself melts the snow.
Both stones are so close to the Welsh border they must have had a hand in the decision to place the border here, Offas dyke on the map seems to swerve west a bit just to be near the two stones.
A long and tiring walk in a winter wonderland with two big stones. Well worth it.

This stone is only a couple of miles away from Oswestry hillfort, the only reason I didnt come here years ago is I dont really do shropshire so I never owned the appropriate map, and didnt know of their existence, put that right straight away.
Needless to say that the roads are still atrocious
and the first hill outside of Oswestry saw my car doing the moonwalk, It couldnt even get a grip of the road following the snow plow. Seeing as the two stones are relatively close to each other I decided it wouldnt be too much hardship to walk from car to stone then to the other stone and back to the car.
I parked the car on the crest of the hill near the old racecourse common, and started the walk down hill, it was further than it looked on the map or perhaps i’m used to getting everywhere in a car at the hurry up, either way I got there eventually.
There is a gap in the hedge nearest to the stone so its easily seen from the road and the fence is easily stepped over, even the snow, though a foot deep was loose and creamy and fun to walk through, I delighted in walking in a few circles just to confound anyone following (like anyone is coming up here today).
The big heavy stone is about seven feet tall and leans slightly to the northwest, it has a snow free trough all around it as if sheep were hiding here. I gingerly touched the stone expecting it to be freezing cold but it was almost warm to the touch, was it my cold hands or does rock not get cold. The fog is moving quickly across the hilltops but right now it lends an ethereal beauty to the place, giving one just a whiff of the outside world.
Its time to start the long walk to the other stone, Carreg y big, when I reached the village at the bottom the hill, Rhydycrousau, a kindly old gent gave me a lift in his 4x4 back up the hill, I think he thought I was a bit nutty being out here photographing stones but he conceded that the snow certainly made for a diiferent photo.

I kinda knew where I was going but in foot deep snow, no map and deepening fog I was well pleased about getting here. The recumbent stone is almost covered by the snow, I know from here I should just be able to see the druids circle but I cant see a thing. Aubrey Burl reckons the recumbent stone is evidence for the circle being of southwest irish origin, I’ve even been to a couple of them too.

I more or less blundered blindly upon this ruined stone circle, trudging through foot deep snow the fog lifted long enough to realise where I was. Ive studied maps on coflein and shroppy travellers picture helped no end, the circle is indeed knackered no more than half a dozen stones with only three still in the right place......maybe. Its a confusing place at the best of times.

This is my fourth time up here but bizzarely ive never been to these before, they’re very close to monument 280. In an area barely a hundred square yards there’s a 2m high barrow, a ruined stone circle a well preserved ring cairn and a nice little kerb cairn, when I come back with the kids in a month or two for a sunset I will difinately come back here.

I have been up there now 4 times and everytime I was in the midst of fog or low clouds with no visibility.
This cairn has been the accomodation of peat cutters around 1847 who supposedly took down Petre’s Cross which stood there for nearly 300 years. The armless cross has been re-errected upside down.