Latest Fieldnotes

This barrow lies on the crest of a hill a few hundred metres from the coast. It’s a bit scruffy and covered in nettles and brambles. It is 15 metres in diameter and 1 1/2 metres in height.
It was excavated in1867 and a cremation in an upright late Bronze Age urn with a flat stone on top of it was found, but has since sadly been destroyed in a fire.

I don’t know a lot about this site, magic says the only dateable object found was a piece of Iron Age pottery. So I have to assume it’s from that time and is some sort of enclosure / animal pen, whatever it is it’s quite a substantial earthwork. The embankmet is built of chalk and turf and is 2 metres in height. The maximum distance between banks is 14 metres and encloses an area of about 0.6 of a hectare.
Close to several barrows, you can see Hambury Tout, Bindon Hill and Flowers Barrow from here. It’s on the coast path and can be walked to from a free National Trust car park at Ringstead.

These stones were discovered about 4 years ago I didn’t bother posting them then as they wern’t particularly good pics and the markings were not too special .The reason for posting now is that I have just discovered that the landowner /steward of the countryside has removed them and dumped them by the river , quite a feat and not a lot gained There were three rocks and all were , fortunately , recorded in Discovery and Excavation Scotland and Canmore .

I think La Grande Roccia holds a great power.
While you’re walking in the half-shade of a beech-wood suddenly it’ll appear in front of you
as a shining silver dome, as an UFO...
And when you’ll approach it, you’ll find out that it’s cut in two by a deep break as chopped by a big force. Beside it there’s a nice spring. And it’s covered by engravings.
So this was a sacred place for ancient Ligurians.
This site it’s very suggestive and I believe “that” strong energy is still there.

Glein is on the island of Dønna. You have to take the ferry from Sandnessjøen, Glein is 2 miles (20 km) from the ferry-landing at Bjørn.

The mound is called Val’haugen or Vardehaugen, built of stone with a coat of earth. It was partly demolished and the stone and gravel used for road-building at the end of the 18th century. The eastern side contained a burial-chamber covered by two large stone-slabs. In the chamber were the skeletons of a man and a horse, along with equipment such as a battle-axe and a sword. It is possible that the mound contained one or more stone-kists as well. The mound was restored in 1978 and is about 30 meter in diameter and 4,5 meter high.

The white stone that stands on the top (pikk-steinen as it’s sometimes called in norwegian, translates into prick-stone in english I guess), is one of several phallic stones found in Norway. A list as of 2005 is found on the Arkeologi i nord-blog and totals 77. The one at Glein is the biggest at 90 cm. It has been suggested that they were used in fertility-cults connected to the seagod Njord (Solberg, 2001).

This particular stone was found by W.F.H. Christie on the beach close by and brought to Bergen Museum in 1831. A copy stood on the mound until the original was brought back in 200?.

Reference: Bergljot Solberg: Hellige hvite steiner – spor av fruktbarhetskult i Norge In Kjønn – erotikk – religion, 2001 (Bergen Museums skrifter; 9).

If Carlsberg did unfindable dolmens it’d be this one, fortunately I love dolmens and beer.
Starting at the picturesque bridge SM981284 go south and when the road goes uphill look for a farm track on your right immediatey after is a passing/parking place stop here, you wont know it but your about 6ft from the chamber.
Ten feet further north look for a standing stone set in the hedge bank and you know your there.
Now walk uphill untill reaching a large metal gate, over we go and then follow the hedge back downhill looking for a clump of bushes protruding from the hedge, it’s in there.
Rediculous, utterly without feeling did they treat this cute little dolmen, the road is less than a foot away the hedge and its bank goes right over/through it and whats left is at the mercy of brambles, bracken and young trees.
That said I was pleased to find it looking almost intact, inside the chamber is soil upto one foot away from the underside of the capstone. It has what looks like curb stones on its northern side,
one of which is a big quartz boulder. Get the time team in for gods sake. I pulled away a lot of the brambly stuff to better understand the place but it needs more than one bloke with only an hour to spare. Standing on the capstone one can see the car parked right next to it, its funny here, Ive never seen such a stealth dolmen,on one side of the hedge and it’s “wow look at that” ,6ft the other side of the hedge and it’s “what dolmen, watch out for the tractor”.

After seeing the picture in Architecture of death by George Nash I was totally unprepared for Garne Turnes immense size, it’s a whopper.
There is only one place to park and there’s only room for two or three cars, there is a gap in the hedge and an unlocked gate, The giant capstone has it’s back to us as we came towards it, and the whole affair unfolds as you approach. There aren’t many burial chambers that remind me of Brownes hill dolmen near Carlow in Ireland, but because of its huge size this one certainly does, and both places are thought to have been undercut and propped up as they dug. Even the court stones are big especially one to the right as you look in. To get a good view of everywhere and the dolmen climb the outcrops just 50m away. It was too muddy to get in the chamber and I didnt remember to look for the cupmark till we’d left.
Oh well I don’t suppose it’s going anywhere, unlike the Alter further north.

Travelling south on the A40 I went straight through the cooly named Wolfscastle twice before noticing the east going lane can only be accessed by leaving the A40 and going under the bridge. Driving down the lane look out for a bridle way on both sides of the road take the southern one, the chamber is in this field against the hedge.
But I couldn’t get to it because of over curious cows, the ground was muddy by the gate amongst the small trees, it was very frustrating to be able to see the object of my desires and not be able to get to it. I climbed up a tree a bit and zoomed a photo over the heads of the cows which by now had me completly surrounded. My daughter shouted encouragements from the gate and innapropriate (for a 9yr old)abuse at the cows. I spotted a gap in the bovine defences and bolted through and fair dived over the gate. ” Just like Indy” said Phil, we laughed all the way to Garn Turne.

You can drive almost right up to the field in which this portal dolmen stands, but if you get to a cottage turn round and park by the gate, not ideal but there was no answer at the house.
A short ramble back down the lane and a shorter rummage through the bushes over barbed wire and you can see where Moss took her picture from, here, the monument is 60m away.
Again, the chamber is half full of field clearence, and the whole thing is half overgrown. The stones are a bit of a jumble, to me it looked like the capstone had broke in half and collapsed into the chamber, but George Nash seemed to disagree, he also says the place has never been excavated.
From here I can see Carn Treglemaes, I toyed with the idea of finding Llecha cromlech but Coflein says theres only two boulders left, sorry Moss.
coflein.gov.uk/pls/portal/coflein.w_details?inumlink=6020831

Treffynnon and White house burial chambers are identical twins, different only in their distruction.
Leaving the small village of Treffynnon to the south east I parked at a t-junction with barely enough room for one, went through the gate up the field through another gate and the chamber is to the right/east . The capstone is a perfect giants pebble for skimming across giant ponds and is dislodged over the entrance to the chamber. The chamber is full of field clearence and the obligatory black slugs. Considering the reconstruction of other Welsh monuments Anglesey’s Ty Newydd for instance, it would take virtually nowt to set it right and enhance the site no end. I’d even lend a free hand too.

My daughter and I left the car parked at the stables directly west of the chamber and beyond the rocky Pen Rhiw hilltop. A ten minute walk through wet sluggy grass brings us to this Wedge tomb, a wedge tomb in Wales, cant be many of them. Grimes Re-erected the 3m long capstone in 1936, and is still there now resting on three long stones, a large empty space where the other one was just has big rubble as if someone smashed it up or dumped field clearence. With Fishgaurd and it’s ferry to Rosslare just a couple of miles away it makes perfect sense to find an Irish wedge tomb here, though it’s on it’s own as far as I know.

On the northern outskirts of Goodwick/Udig, there is a carpark with signs pointing the way. From the carpark we come to the southern and biggest capstone known locally as Carrig Samson first it rests dislodged on just two or three suppoting stones . All three capstones have shifted somewhat, but are still high enough to crawl into, best to do it in dryer weather and evict the slugs and spiders first. The unobscured view would have been almost overwhelming, but the houses bring us down with a small bump, although serving to remind us that the living wouldn’t have been far from the ancestors. Above the chambers is the outcrop which protrudes above the bracken and brambles,it just has to be scrambled around on, and amongst them is a natural chamber which should it have a capstone it would be about the size of the three capstones we see below it. A nice rumour to spread maybe, nothing more.

Never saw any dogs or thier doings, come early.
And I mean early !

For directions and facilities, see Bois de la Plesse north.

This is the better preserved of the two allées here, but still has no capstones remaining. The side stones mark out a chamber about 7m long and 1m high. Its eastern end entrance has a row of 8 stones forming a facade reminiscent of the tomba di gigante on Sardinia.

The site was excavated in 1966/7.

The area around, and the field beyond, are littered with stones, maybe originally from this monument or its near neighbour.

From the D903 less than 1km west of Lithaire, there’s a road south, with a signpost advertising paintballing and other leisure pursuits; continue for 1km straight ahead, and you’ll find a parking area to the left with map boards and a toilet block to the right.

Taking the track between these two, there’s a kids playground and picnic area, and the path leads to the (filled in quarry) lake, with pedallos on it and some kind of shop/cafe (closed).

From here, it’s a short but steep climb up woodland steps – so not suitable for the less mobile – and a right turn will lead you to the clearing with two allées couverte, this and Bois de la Plesse south.

About 500m in total, car park to site.

The information board mentions 3 allées, only two of which are visible here. The first, northern one, is quite ruinous, with 3 upright stones at its eastern end but other fallen ones showing the length of the chamber to have been about 9m.

At the northern end of the village of the same name is a signpost to this site; it’s 3.4km to the field track, signposted all the way. It’s then about 150m up the track and the monument can then be seen 50m away to the left, in the field.

Our first French allée couverte!

It’s about 20m long, running north-south; there’s an information board with a map of nearby sites on the western side but the east side is overgrown with brambles and the sweetcorn in the field was planted right up to its edge when we were there.

Excavations and restoration were carried out 1968-1971 and finds included pottery and flint tools.

There are 6 huge capstones in place, creating a corridor with a cross section of about 1.5m square.

This camp is right next to the farm where I used to go hop picking every year.. Not a great deal to see here, but an intense atmosphere, especially in the mist.. the pilgrims way runs right past here, probably an important route way back into pre christian times. If you carry on along the path towards canterbury you’ll find a community orchard full of stunning old apple trees, one of the last of its kind in kent.

The Hill Fort is approached via a fairly steep permissive footpath from the South West (Follow road signs from Cadbury Village and park in lay-by) it is worth the walk! The views are breathtaking and offer a 360 degree panorama of other significant sites and much of the lower Exe Valley from Tiverton to Exeter.

The Five Bad Virgins is 5 stones at Norheim , very close to the bridge over the sound (Karmsundet) between the mainland at Haugesund and Karmøy. There are 3 stones marking the corners in a triangle and 2 stones in the middle.

In 1901 a bronze-kettle containing ashes and bearclaws wrapped in cloth was found about 2 meters west of the 2 middle stones. The kettle is probably roman from South-West Germany dated to about 300CE.

If you come from Haugesund take to the right just after RadisonSAS and follow the signs.

The Virgin Marys sewing needle (in norwegian Jomfru Marias synål) is an 7,2 meter high stone close to the southern wall of the church at Avaldsnes. When it touches the wall the world will go under!

There has also been a 9 meter high stone by the church, but it was destroyed in a fire in 1698 (?).

Avaldsnes has been a central place in early norwegian history, due to its proximity to Karmsundet.

When I first saw the stone 3 years ago I felt it would be wrong to take a photo, as it wouldn’t do justice to the impression it makes when you walk round the corner and it rages over you.

The row is listed in Volume IV of Jeremy Butler’s ‘Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities’, page 33 et seq.

The turning off the Bittaford – Ivybridge road is hard by the (what used to be) the Cantrell Clay dries; you can’t miss them, because there’s a ruddy great kiln chimney pointing skywards.

Off the main road, and under the railway bridge, the lane becomes very narrow and high-banked, with a vicious reverse curve about halfway up. Drive up as far as you can – there’s space for about 6 or 8 cars (at a pinch).

Carry on up the slope and take the left of the two gates onto the moor. There’s what looks like the remains of something prehistoric and structured on your left.

Head diagonally up the slope to the course of the old Redlake Tramway; you can’t miss it – it’s the only flat thing around. It runs along the contour.

Perhaps no more than a minutes walk will bring you to a small scoop taken from the hillside. This was the site of the winding gear of an incline plane – the earthworks of which arrow southwards through the remaining abutments of a narrow gauge railway opposite.
At the eastern end of the small scooped area, at the point where the hillside meets the tramway, there sits a large, rounded, half-buried stone.

The row begins here.
It runs North East up the slope of the hill, ending in a very distressed (almost indecipherable) terminal cairn, of which 1 slab remains standing. Butler lists the cairn as:

SX 6570 5717

which I make to be:

Lat: 50.399023N Long: 3.890991W

Butler describes it as a double row, set 3 metres apart, 48 metres in length, and as having eighteen stones in it (of which – in 1991 – only 9 were erect). He lists the average height of these 9 as being 0.4 metres.

We found the 4 at the Southwestern end. The remainder – if they are still apparent – will have to wait for one of those cold, crisp, winter days and the enforced hiatus in the overpowering undergrowth.

There’s not a lot I can add to Stu’s notes as he sums this site up nicely along with directions and parking. I will add that the walk along the A57 is by a narrow overgrown path at the side of the road so be careful, also once you’re off the road then it’s uphill all the way to the stones, about 100 metres rise in just under a kilometre. Once you reach the site the views are pretty special, to the east it’s fairly gentle and rolling while to the west the twin peaks of Crook Hill are really ‘in yer face’ in a way that is unlike any other site in the area.
So what is this ring of stones? English Heritage can’t decide whether it’s a stone circle or kerbed cairn, it certainly looks like a small stone circle and reminded me of Bamford Moor but its location seems to shout cairn. Whichever, although it’s nothing spectacular to look at I reckon it’s one of the overlooked gems of the Peak. Just keep this one to yerself.

I came zooming down the hill early one Sunday morning on a bike ride with no particular destination in mind, trying to get home quick before the rainclouds caught me up, and suddenly spotted these two bumps in the sloping field alongside the road. Slammed on the brakes and took a couple of pictures. When I got home I found they are on MAGIC but not on OS maps. They are asymmetrical, lumpy and lovely (I must get out more). You’ll see from the photos that they are at the bottom of a little scarp – why site them there rather than the more prominent top?

If you go up Hazeley Road from Twyford village, you will spot them on your right just after the pumping station. A little further up the road is where Hazeley Down mineral water comes from. I have given them a rather unromantic name but that’s all I could think of, and the pumping station is not without its own charms. There are two other barrows nearby overlooking this formerly hazeley hollow.

Pronounced Chezzit Head. This group of three bowl barrows, spaced quite widely, follow the line of one of the highest ridges in the area, on the south west side. There is a small car park by some trees near the highest point and if, from there, you walk along a path a little way away from the barrows, you can look down into Matterley Bowl, which is the site of an annual music festival which is constantly changing its name. It’s also a very impressive natural undulation with a flat bottom – in about 1995 there was a vast crop “circle” here of a stick man with a football and a halo, over the gigantic words “Le Tiss for England” – anyway, back to the barrows. They have suffered a great deal but they once occupied an absolutely regal position over the downs. The sorry story is all told at MAGIC if you can bear to read it. Eeeh, it makes me mad, it does.

This is a nice spot on top of the hills, with long views north into the upper Itchen valley and west across the sloping downs (well, you would have seen west at the time of construction, but there are now some tall trees). OS maps place ye Tumulus on the south side of the track, where there is just a very tiny bump that might be nothing to do with it. A much likelier candidate is the large mound with a bit of a ditch and a dimple on top on the north side of the track. But you never know...

25m diameter, 2m high. Sherds of Bronze Age pottery and worked flints emerged from the ditch, according to MAGIC. There’s not much more that’s known about it. It’s in relatively good nick and is not being ploughed!

Visited these and the nearby barrows and stone circle, and unless I’m particularly blind at the moment I couldn’t see the broken stones. I may just have missed them or have they been removed or taken away for repair?