Latest Fieldnotes

well signposted off the Me1 but the one car road to the carpark is horrible, its a smooth ride but tall walls on both sides really squeeze you in. As we set out of the carpark an old couple attracted our attention and told us it was a 2 hour round trip, for you maybe I thought Ive two kids whos first words upon arrival are guarranteed to be” can we go now”! (sigh ....leave ‘em at home I implore you)
It was a long walk to the poblat but a stones throw compared to say... Bryn Cader Faner. First thing we found was the megalithic picnic sight which threw me a bit, no way thought I, Then I saw the Taula through the trees and off we went, standing almost alone compared to yesterday visits to Den Salort and De Dalt there is a large mound of rubble with two menhirs sticking out of it, presumably the last remnant of the sanctuary wall. Nearby is the Talaiot which by now we all but, but not quite ignore on our way to the anthropomorphic tombs, we found the one with angled entrance lintels, and the one with a pillar in it but because of the constant can we go now I missed the one with stone seats and carved walls.
Taulas are just fantastic I could spend a whole day at any of them

I dont understand this siesta thing, surely its just sciving, there was no-one in at Talati de Dalt’s shed at about 2.00pm, so we climbed the wall where the pokey out steps were. Heading up the hill we took the left path which took us to the chambers and caves, I’ve never seen so many, I’d just start to investigate one chamber with a large stone basin (which reminded me of Newgrange) when one of the kids would shout over “I’ve found another one” and then “so have I” they just carried on, caves inside caves with stone walling to make them more subterranean. We saw our first lizards here a colourful wall lizard and a large house gecko (they don’t have eyelids y’know) Not far, at the top of the hill is the talaiot, still very tall, and what a view look to the horizon and there’s Monte Toro and at your feet the taula sanctuary. The wall of the sanctuary is mostly a tumbled ruin, except where theres a chamber with pillars under it. The holed stone would cause me a trip of a hundred miles at home, but here it’s the taula which holds my attention. On the way back to the carpark is another cave probably in use earliest on this wonderful hill, it has its back to the megaliths and looks out to Monte Toro.

It was mid morning when we arrived the sun was shining and it was waaaarm, a coach load of oldies were coming out so we hung on a bit, paid the bloke in the shed and walked on in.
First we pass the still tall talaiot but then the path takes you away and straight to the taula sanctuary, i got the same feeling of awe here as I did at Stonehenge. The taula is I think the tallest on Menorca and an incredible monument on its own never mind the megalithic wonderland all around. There are niches all around the wall and the whole place is built in solid bedrock, the taula is in a rock cut pit which must of been a right pain to cut out. some of the menhirs in the wall are concreted in, but it doesn’t matter at all, this place is magic and I could stay here forever.
But just past the threshing floor and well are two strange caves the entrance to cave one is carved but straight through and to your left is another deeper cave, Cave two has a stone basin inside towards the back, and must go right under cave one if not then they’re only a few feet away.
The path then takes you past the original megalithic wall that surrounds the whole place, then its on to another cave, this one I think wholly man made, pillars hold up big stones which hold up bigger stones, the whole place looks very likely to fall in at any moment.

I cant imagine why this place and the other taula sanctuaries aren’t more famous, this was my first and it really blew me away.

The stone across the circular area of the long cairn in front of where the chamber/s are looks to me to be the top of a stone that framed an entrance thereto and on the northern side there appears to be a rough line of stones coming down the mound from it – certainly the upper portions of the circular mound changes construction east and west of the distinctively aligned stone [unfortunately though the grass ‘line’ should indicate bilateral symmetry, in the third leading up to the proposed entrance there is much less material exposed on the south side (but the grassy ‘line’ is present again behind the chambers back wall for a short space) where the other half of the entrance should lie]. Found a couple more small holes in various places but my tape measures them as no more than 12-18” deep and most likely burrows. Going the same way as last time and only lifting my head as I come to the putative SE hornwork I find myself looking very much at the side of the long cairn, rather than towards the end as I should be doing if that were correct. My possible cairn is roughly south of Long Cairn where the c of cairn is on the 1:25,000. Disappointed to find the stone isn’t kerb-like but only faces across the upper side. It is only 10” long by 12” high, and from the fact it moves slightly my guess is it doesn’t go far down. Up close for a photo I try to remove a light brown root, maybe 3-4” long almost directly behind the northern end only to find it is the top of another stone (either a deep ‘peg’ or the very top of a stone buried deeper – you don’t dig this close to a SAM so I only pull grass and loose earth which doesn’t work). It feels very even, as if worked, so my thinking is ‘box’ rather than ‘socket. Though the ‘standing stone’ is inside the grassy area I know think this is about 4m away from the edge of the possible mound, which is 8-10m diameter and either circular or oval. From the likely centre the edge is fairly certain but though it sits on a slope I don’t observe a platform or other levelling feature. At this centre the soil has been ?recently exposed in a couple of adjacent spots. The most obvious is the top few inches of a stone, jagged like sharp mountain peaks, then alongside is the flat face of a light stone or maybe the top of another vertical (only a few square inches of this exposed). Going ovr to the ‘modern’ structure by The Castle there are only more stones under the wheel. Further west to the old boundary dyke (which terminates away from the coast on the north side – marshy from there). This abuts the west end of a circular rise that is either another mound or is a natural ‘island’ in the watery landscape. Size on the order of that of Long Cairn’s circular section but not so high, probably marking the end of the Head of Work’s central ridge though not apparently part of it (for all practical purposes dyke and rise are a single entity..

Right next to Tomba A you find what’s probably the most famous feature of the site – the 6 betili.

They were recorded by Count Albert de la Marmora but his notes give different positions, so they may well not be in their original place.

The 3 to the south represent the female figure, with obvious carved breasts; they are also taller, at just over 1.5m, than the males (1.23m – 1.38m) to the north. All are cone-shaped basalt.

The largest and most impressive of the 3 tombas, also known as “Betyls’ Grave” due to its proximity to the 6 menhirs (betyls or betili).

As at tomba B, there’s a bench along the esedra – this time its maximum width is over 20m. The total length is over 22m, and the burial corridor itself is 9.5m x 1.3m.

The thick walls are actually 2 walls with the cavity between them filled with rubble and earth.

The entrance to the corridor has a stone with a round cornered rectangle carved out of it – only one side remains, but it appears to be the portal to the grave.

The information boards show a reconstruction – a tomba made from courses of stone as we’d seen at Mura Cuada rather than those with a stele as at Coddu Vecchju.

The second grave, tomba B, is more impressive than the first. Though ruinous, it’s easy to see the esedra, or winged forecourt, with a width of 14.5m. The corridor is paved with square stone slabs.

The whole tomb is almost 17½m long, and has a long low bench surrounding out. Finds from inside date it similarly to tomba C.

As you go up the hill to Tamuli, the first tomba, known as tomba C, is to the right.

It’s the smallest of the 3 here, and is irregular in shape. It’s hard to work it out, but there is a narrow corridor, and the front of the grave has a paved forecourt but is missing the typical esedra. Remains found outside it have dated it to 1500 – 1200 BCE.

This is the taller and more complete of the two navetas here, inside is darker and there are two shelves one at the back and one above the entrance, the stone of which is broken at the bottom. The roof has weighted at each end capstones to prevent collapses. This is my 5th naveta and my last, it’s time for taulas, but they have left me knowing that they’re as important and cool as any Bryn celli ddu or even a maes howe. Start saving now and come to menorca its mindblowing, im already feeling dizzy .

Laughably easy to find, no map needed just look for the purple sign and go down side lane for 200m and they’re both off to the left. A good few days could be spent just driving up and down the main road across the island, the Me1.they’re all signposted .
This Naveta like the last 3 has been raised on exposed bedrock and also has a nicely carved entrance stone.
The roof is well worthy of note as the capstones are counterweighted at each side to stop them falling in, like the Kings chamber roof in the Great pyramid of Giza. (if i’m not mistaken) Inside the chamber isnt dark but light and airy, quite nice actaully, if you dont mind weird grey caterpillers black beetles and some type of funnel web spider.
Rafal Rubi 2 is 80m towards the Me1 a well worn path leads the way.

My map though waterproof and extra durable didnt mention the zoo, which got me a bit sidetracked and I missed the Naveta altogether even though they practicaly occupy the same space. Park by the gate and the now getting familiar rustic gate and bin, and follow the path.
A different one this, with its front made of smaller stones and it’s Newgrangey roofbox, taller than the other Argentina. That zoo is so weird its all around we were watched by emus and monkeys and the dawn chorus of a dozen exotic species of bird. Menorca is really growing on me.

Very easy to find, just look for the sign on the main road and 60 yards along is the Naveta, go through rustic looking gate.
This one is very easy to access either through the well carved entrance stone or anywhere from above as it’s got no roof. the bottom courses of megaliths are real bigguns. built on rocky outcrop as are its 3 near neighbours.
Didn’t see any lizards but did see lots of little black beetles but then it was before breakfast and wasn’t warm enough yet.
Nice juxtapose to last nights damp squib at Es Tudons. no bars, no trouble .

We arrived in time for the sunset and payed the girl in the shed, the kids were free and 2 euros for adults (I think). The path to the Naveta isnt long, first we pass a burial cave on our left, it had bars on so I didnt go over, then pass some cart ruts like those on Malta. Then from behind some bushes rises this huge burial chamber, I made a bee line for the entrance but, boy were those bars dissapointing. You fly god knows how far to see these magnificent places, you pay the lady on the way in and it’s goddam closed, not since the Carnac rows have i been this annoyed.
That said what a place, and what a burial chamber its very well put together not like the Gallarus oratory is, but very similar . I was really looking forward to going in, (burial chambers being the most interactive of ancient places) with it being my first double decker and all, so all I could do was walk round, and wander on to the rocky hill a hundred yards away then it was sitting and staring at those bars.
I was going to ask the lady in the shad if it is ever open, but she had gone, it was nearly 9.00pm. Being able to see it from the road I always looked to see if I could see anyone on hands and knees, but to no avail.
Even if it was locked i’m still glad to have seen it
despite not entering.

In Copes TME he warns us about the potholed road down to the necropolis but it has since been tarmac’d and is now a nice smooth drive.
I tried to get the kids interested by saying who’s up for a picnic at the city of the dead, but it didn’t go down as well as I’d hoped so I dragged them along anyway. After the strop had ended they got into the spirit of exploration, and I was just amazed by the place and the more we explored the more amazed I became. Perhaps it was because it was my first actual necropolis, perhaps it was that holiday feeling but this place was just another world. We saw our first wild Tortoise here, the obligatory wall lizards which interested me and the kids as much as the caves did. On the southern side of the gorge are some weird caves with rock cut pools on their porch, one of which was dry the other full of water and some ‘orrible green slime, are they for some ritual purpose or just a status symbol, rock cut water gullies around the place indicate that water was a big deal, due to the lack of no doubt.
Before you reach the ravine with the majority of the caves, back up the road, are what I called the king and queens chamber two big caves with windowed patitions, with a great view down to the beach, maybe it’s because i’m
British but the bay and the seashore looked like another planet, not like anything I’d seen before. Inbetween all the big posh caves are smaller caves big enough for 2 or 3 people to curl up in, what could these have been for?
This is one must see place!

I used the Menorca Tour and Trail 1:40,000 map and found it perfectly adequate to find all the sites I wanted to see.
This Talaiot is the tallest on all Menorca so I could see the tower from many different places as I approached. Parking is ample down the road but nearer the tower the road thins severely, but if you tuck into the side of the road there’s just enough room for 1 or 2 cars.
Dont be tempted to climb the wall even where there is pokey out stones stepping over the wall, go towards the house and theres a gate. The Talaiot is in a modern walled area with several deep rock pits for water storage, and remains of buildings at the towers feet and an access ramp winding round the tower, but it doesn’t go all the way round and in through the doorway at the top, go round the other side it’s much easier to get up. There is an ugly concrete thing on top with an arial of some kind poking out the top, something to do with the airport I think.

Taken from..Archaeological Itinerary around Menorca

“...Those boulders in the large Talayot of Torello...measure 2 metres in length by 1 in width and are 0.40 thick, representing an approximate weight of two thousand kilograms.”

Pedro Riudavets y Tudury
History of the Island of Menorca (1891)

Field notes

Draycott Hill – Barrow Cemetery – May 14th 2008

Ordnance Survey Explorer Map 157 – Scale 1:25000
Marlborough and Savernake Forest Avebury and Devizes
ISBN 978-0-319-23611-6

A fine group of barrows over looking the hamlet of Huish. Not easily accessible. A single track road runs up from Manor Farm and the church of Huish. I’m told that this area is owned by the Rothschild’s and is fiercely protected. My visit was via the bridleway from West Woods which seemed like an ancient path, very flat with small half buried sarsen stones, appearing to be placed along its route. The path opened out beside what looked like a dried up, tree lined pond. (SU 14243 64535)
At this point several bridleways and footpaths go off in different directions. If you came up the track from Huish in a car, this would be as far as you could drive. The path leading east, up the hill, passes some medieval earthworks.
The easiest path to the barrows at this point, is the northern bridleway which skirts the edge of Gopher wood. I choose to travel along the muddy path which goes through the middle of the wood. It was cool in the hot afternoon sun and the bluebells looked very pretty. The whole wood seemed magical and was populated with Sessile Oaks, ash and service trees. The majority of trees seemed to be 100 or so years old. I have not encountered another wood like this along the Pewsey Vale. Most trees are beech arranged in clumps, but this wood seemed unmanaged and natural. It was obviously a favourite with the horse riders of the area.
Reaching the gate at the end of the wood, a “access land” sign proclaims you have reached the strip of land that runs along the top of the ridge, designated access land under the Countryside and Rights of way act 2000. See www.countrysideaccess.go.uk for all the details of these rights. This designation continues from here, past Golden Ball hill and onto Knapp Hill. A bridleway runs along the top of the ridge, so gates are available to get a bike through.
The barrows lie just over the crest of the hill. I got the impression that the large disc barrow (SU16SW608) was the original resident, and the others were constructed soon afterwards. The disc barrow probably filled the tip of the spur and its ditch would had originally followed the 240m contour exactly. The later bowl barrows all seem to fight for space. They were probably constructed by the same tribe or group over several generations. I would guess that following the disc barrow, the most northern bowl was built (604), and then slightly east (607). The smaller bowl barrows of 609 and 605 were then
constructed and cut into the ditches of the existing barrows. The remaining three barrows which merge to form the elongated 606, where the final additions before the whole of the spur was filled up. Each barrow merges with its predecessor as if to reinforce the continuity of the separate generations. Whether this was due to religious belief or a visual symbol of the tribes ancestral right to the land is unknown, maybe it was a bit of both. The different type of barrows may indicate different cultures or tribes where colonizing the same area over different time periods. Golden ball hill next to Draycott hill, had evidence of Mesolithic activity which would had been thousands of years before any barrows, disc, bowl or even long, where used.
A very beautiful area with more than a hint of mystery about it. The wood itself is well worth a visit just for the oak trees. As I travel by bicycle, I usually go in only one direction. If you travel here by car, consider parking at the Knap hill car park (SU 11588 63758) and making the effort to walk out to this hill. Once past the climb behind Knap hill, the ridge is flat and level making walking easy. Many TMA sites can be seen from up here and different perspectives gained on a truly spectacular landscape.

Chance

I visited this site some years ago, and had great trouble finding it, mainly because the heather was so high that most of the stones were invisible until I was right upon them.

Returning yesterday was much easier- the heather’s been burnt relatively recently (right into the circle!), and the stones are currently clearly visible from the path to the north.

I was a bit suspicious of the grid ref on my first visit- the circle was slightly further east than I expected. GPS confirmed this yesterday- the centre of the circle was at NZ 63778 10848 (+/- 7m); nearer to NZ638108.

Signposted from nearby Macomer, this is a complex site. The grid reference given is for the car park / ticket hut; each of the main elements is being listed as a subsite.

Ticket hut, tardis-style portaloo, list of prices (5 euros / 3½ euros), but no opening times and no one in sight. The posters did warn that anyone entering outside the opening times did so at their own risk and if found there, would be liable to pay the entrance fee. Fair enough! We climbed the gate and followed the track up the (gentle) hill.

Nuraghe Losa is just south of Abbasanta, alongside, and signposted from, the SS131, though on a convoluted junction.

As you pull off the slip road, there’s a building 50m or so to the right; this is the ticket hut, but also shop, bar etc. It’s managed by Cooperativa Paleotur, and costs 3½euros to enter (reductions available). Open 09:00 – 19:00 (17:00 in winter). For once, my attempt at Italian was answered in English, and tickets and info leaflets in hand, we walked back to the turning and up the track to the main gate, about 200m in total.

The complex is enclosed by a wall, ovoid in shape and approximately 300m x 200m. Just past the gate, there’s an exhibition of funery urns to the left, gathered from all over the site; Beardy found loads more of these in the long grass behind the museum huts. The track takes you through the south east entrance; there are 3 more – one opposite, and two with oval towers at the apices of the ramparts. A village within the enclosure, thought to be late Bronze Age, has only been partially excavated.

But the main attraction is the nuraghe itself. It’s a trilobate structure, with huts and a curtain wall surrounding it. The upper floor has collapsed, but it’s still an impressive 13m high.

The main entrance is almost hidden by a round hut (Cap 1 on the plan) with several niches and recesses in its wall. In the actual nuraghe, there’s no central courtyard at we’d seen at Santu Antine, instead there’s chamber C to the right and chamber B to the left. Going straight ahead, there’s a niche to the right with a flight of steps opposite it, then on through to the main tholos chamber with 3 wall niches, one opposite the entrance and the others on the opposite sides, forming a cross shape.

The third smaller tower can only be reached from the small northerly entrance. It as a (gated and locked) stairway that connects back over the summit of the nuraghe.

The stairs are worn to more of a sandy uphill track, clockwise round the main tower. The smaller towers, E and F on the plan, and their connecting wall, are thought to be a later addition.

There’s a modern hut in the south of the enclosure with an exhibition of finds from here and other local sites.

The site has been dated to as early as 1400 BCE; it was investigated in 1898 and again in 1915, but the main excavation and restoration works were carried out between 1970 and 1976.

So, this is it for Garryglass – deserted, destroyed and now grown over. Like a frontier fort reduced to a limp point of rubble it left the last century with just one stone, presumably the central monolith – having entered it with eleven others. Meanwhile the ‘rough pasture’ mentioned in O’Nuallain’s 1984 survey has become a dense plantation of trees and the clearing left around the stone has filled with a head-high and almost impenetrable thickness of furze and bramble. When finally I fought my way through I was almost tempted to kiss it so it could wake up and make me its prince.

Don’t visit unless:
(1) You really like quartz
(2) You have a GPS and follow these coordinates. Even then there’s a probable reading difference and...
(3) You don’t mind a bit of discomfort and the probability of ripped clothing.

Something about nothing maybe... On the top of the knoll in the field to the west there’s a prostrate ‘orthostat-sized’ slab with one level end. A doorway for the little men or one of the missing stones...?

As you enter the field from the gate, the tomba is hidden – the back of it is in the nearby clump of trees, slightly to the right. It’s very overgrown!

The stele is only half the size of many we’d seen, but has the relief carving around it. The corridor is long, and unusual in that it curves slightly. There’s one capstone left, currently about 3/4 of the way along the corridor, though that may not be its original place.

Having turned off the old main road, it’s about 900m up the winding track to the level crossing, with very handy spot to park. Now, in TME, JC suggests “turn right and walk along railway line 355 paces”.

No! The line is in use; two trains went past while we were there!

Instead, go over the level crossing and follow the continuation of the track for 400 paces (OK, my paces are probably somewhat shorter than his!) to a gate with a crude wooden sign. Go into the field and turn to the right. Climb up towards the railway line, and the tomba will become visible, right up against the line and slightly to the right of your position.

Most of the tomba that we’d seen so far had a stele, or central stone, with a portal carved in it, flanked with orthostats making the curved facade, or esedra, of the tomb. But here, the construction is coursed masonry.

It’s in a good state, considering its proximity to the railway line, though a little overgrown. The tomb is over 10m long, and the width of the esedra is similar. Beardy climbed right inside – the chamber is long and narrow, but tall enough to stand up in.

A coachload of school children were at the well itself, so we wandered over to look at the hut beyond – a meeting hut due to the stone seat round the inside – and waited until they had gone to be able to fully appreciate the site.

Wow!

An elliptical wall 26m x 20m, from the late Bronze Age, encloses the well temple. It’s in 3 parts – a foyer, the steps, and then the well chamber itself.

The 24 steps are perfect. Smooth basalt, narrowing, creating a trapezoidal shape, echoed by the graduated ceiling, leading down to the well chamber.

The chamber itself has a bottle-like cross section, with the centre circular opening being about 50cm deep. The whole chamber is over 7m high and about 2.5m in diameter, again with perfectly smooth basalt blocks making a tholos style ceiling.

The water level was quite high, covering the step round the edge of the chamber.

Finds here have included a bronze ship figure, dated to 7th century BCE; the site is thought to be around 1000 BCE.

What an incredible place!

The nuraghe is a simple monotower style, built of basalt blocks, and is 13m in diameter and 6m tall. The entrance is at the south east; there’s a niche to the right and a flight of steps to the left as you enter. The main tholos chamber beyond has a diameter of 3.5m with 3 niches off it. The stairs climb clockwise round the tower, the first floor level giving views across the whole village.

Pointing a touch further north than Bohonagh, in terms of declination, with a measurement of 1.22 degrees*, Knocks North provides a cruder alignment to the equinoxes, further hindered by the tree growth on the horizon. On the other hand the local historian that has witnessed it mentioned the sparkling of the falling sun on the big splash of quartz on the axial stone. Worth a visit, I think.

Permission can be obtained from the farm to the south, on the left hand side of the road.

* Patrick and Freeman, ‘Revised Surveys of Cork-Kerry Stone Circles’, Archaeoastronomy, no.5 (JHA, xiv (1983)); S51: Knocks/A.