Latest Fieldnotes

This is an easy site to visit. Travelling south from Shap on the A6 take the first left onto the M6 link road and then take your first right onto the minor road to Orton.
As you turn onto this road you will see a row of boulders bordering an area of rough moorland. The site is just beyond the boulders.
Tom Clare reports this site as a group of stones that ‘appear to form a circle’. I was unable to fully trace Mr Clare’s full circle but there is a definite arc of stones at the southern end.
The ‘circle’ is situated on the side of a gentle rise with the views restricted to the south by the rising ground. I was fortunate enough to visit on a cloudless, frosty Midwinter day and the views to the east west and north were beautiful, looking over the great limestone plain to the Pennines and the moon rising over Cross Fell and then looking northwards over Shap with the Skiddaw massif just visible in the far distance, the vista to the west takes in the fells around Haweswater and High Street.
Whether this is a genuine prehistoric ring or not, it’s well worth a short visit, if only to take in the views.

A couple of months ago I found twelve or so unrecorded marked rocks in the Lurgan area , returning to check for more I came across a large outcrop that had recently been cleared of trees , resulting in a WW1 type landscape , mud and brash everywhere .It looked promising though and the finds piled up after clearing . To date there are at least eleven panels with over 230 cups and a great variety of motifs .

I can’t say exactly how many cups there are on this stone as I lost count (got bored counting) after 30 or so. They seem like the real deal, though in the 4 years since I saw it in the real, I’ve not been able to find any information about it.

The stone looks like it could have once stood up, though now it’s propped on top of four small stones making a strange kind of not-dolmen.

It sits just at the Syddyssen end of the bridge between the Maelkebotten and Syddyssen areas of the strange and semi-autonomous hippy/radgey commune of Christiania, in an old military barracks on the seaward edge of Copenhagen.

This is a real tough climb up at 418m high. The cairn itself is actually now in an island of trees with only one very thin sliver of a free break to get into it. So you could be walking all over the place if you dont approach from the correct side. I came up from the side where the track is shown on the map and then broke off as the track went into the forestry.
This cairn had been on my list for a long time having made at least four previous attempts to climb it.
The cairn itself is low and I would say it has been rebuilt. However I would say it may originally have been a Cist or something like that.
Views are magnificant up here and you see way over limerick down on to CnocGreine and beyond.

This is a lovely monument, a boulder burial. There are four burials, the biggest boulder being about 1 metre high. The boulders themselves are all snarled and have a lot of character. I believe there was a stone circle on the hill next to this Reardnogy Beg that has since been destroyed.
The burial seems to be lined up towards the spur of the Mahur Slieve where the sun rises on Summer Solstice morning.
Best to just pick a gate at the fields on the road for access. There were a few bullocks in the field the time I went to look at it.

This standing stone is about a half km north of the passage tomb at Knockroe.
It is beside the bank of a stream. It is about 2m high, maybe 200mm in width.

2008
I only had time to drop down to Knockroe once this year, for sunset on the 20th and I was almost rewarded for the journey. On an otherwise pretty cloudy day an area of cloudless sky was holding out where the sun was beginning to set.
I couldnt believe my luck as the rays of the sun began to fill the back of the chamber at Knockroe.
Unfortunately just as it was making its way into what would be perfect alignment (above the trees to the right of the farm buildings on the horizon according to the people assembled) a cloud came in to block it off.
What I did see certainly was worth the effort as it was a fabulous sight seeing the sun against the back stone lighing up some of the rock-art.
Hopefully for next year the chamber stone that is beginning to fall inwards will have been fixed as this seems to effect where the sun shines on the backstone causing a shadowing effect. I most certainly come back to see this again next year.

2007
I dropped down to Knockroe for the winter solstice for 2 days running. However there was no sign of the sun for sunrise or sunset. On the 20th it was very quiet with very few around. I think there was maybe 2 in the morning and 3 or 4 in the evening. On the 21st it was much busier, maybe 10 in the morning and about 30 in the evening.
First 3 times it was nice but i think for the last sunset even if the sun had shone right you probably wouldnt have got much of an effect with so many people around.
The place still is in bad condition, some of the people down there reckon the sunset alignment isnt working as well because someone took away a support that kept the width of some of the stones set. So this is very disappointing.

One guy that had been down said that out of 7 years being there he had only seen the sunrise alignment twice. So that is the odds you have really. I think this year it worked pretty good at sunset on the 19th. I was on the way over to it but decided to go shopping in Clonmel instead!

As I said as well they now think that nearby Bawnfree Hill is aligned to the winter solstice sunset too. Im not too sure myself though.

NOT A KNOWN FEATURE
My first notice of this feature came when walking the Crantit footpath from the town end. Reaching the corner where it turns back down to the main road and looking across I spotted a lintelled entrance over the other side of the ‘drain’ there, at the corner of the field with what looked to be the remains of a low mound over it (HY4415709002). The feature being above water level, and the piece of ground about the base reasonably firm (neither of which is usually the case), I jumped across the burn. It is composed of drystane walls and flags covered the bottom. At some time an attempt has been made to consolidate the entrance with cement. Though by crouching I could get inside I bottled out of waddling through the entire tunnel in case of sticking, especially as I could see one place near to where the roof had opened up. At that time I did not think to see much at ground level. Of course there was also Petrie’s tomb “close to the shore of Scapa” [not the same as another he dug south of Lingro whilst engaged on the broch but perhaps up on the same side of the bay].
I felt that it stood an outside chance of being the ‘true’ Crantit earthhouse as this entire area, probably once an oyce [tidal inlet], used to be part of the Crantit Estate. The early O.S. maps show nothing for this field, not even a well it might have connected too even though there there were a couple closer to Nether Scapa itself. There are ‘drains’ and straightened waterways throughout the estate, but these are very strictly gridded and do not follow the same alignment. Stepping Stones were marked at a Burn of Crantit bend to the SSW, which is the only other existant (pre)historic feature in the vicinity if it hasn’t been dredged out.
This year after looking in the field the O.S. placed their suggested souterrain (all I found was a stone socket, just possibly a short cist, underneath the fence along the field’s northern border) I went for a better look at my ‘find’ in the next field. This lies near to the western edge where the burn is but runs at an angle to the field edge. Its far end is under a slight rise near what seems to be the first of a short series of old dunes. Between this and the entrance is fairly level, which is what you would expect had this been merely a drain. The passage is covered with thick slabs of ‘unnecessary’ width as shown in several places where these covering stones have somehow fallen in. There appeared to be no more to this feature, though before the entrance is reached there does appear to be a kink – two roofing slabs do not look to point directly to the entrance, however it would need twa folk to check on this together. Even if it weren’t for the notable disparity in alignment despite the slight resemblance of the walling to parts of the Agricultural Improvement ‘drains’ said parts only cover the two or so metres necessary to go from field to field, the rest being uncovered.
I had a few doubts, but the week after I happened to look through my newspaper clippings and found a photo of a feature very like my passage. This was someone in 1995 asking if anyone could recognise where the tomb in said photo had been !! Unfortunately there were stone fieldwalls in the photo and the hills didn’t look to match the view I remembered. Alas nobody answered the querent. Still I hesitated over publishing this site in case (against the odds) I were sadly mistaken as to its age. Then last week I saw three couples with dogs crossing the field, which was very weird. They were nowhere near the passage but in case someone is planning on developing the field I am risking possible humiliation in order that it should be on record before it might suffer damage.
In the images the tape measure is extended to 1m mark.

Visited the stones on 23rd December and saw the fire damage then. The vandalism seemed especially incongruous as it was a lovely sunny morning. A mouse scurried to shelter by one of the stones as we walked past and chaffinches and a robin were flitting from stone to stone. This was the third year that we’d made a Yuletide visit to the Rollrights and, despite the vandalism, the atmosphere seemed very different to our previous 2 visits. This time the stones seemed mellow, almost cheerful, whereas other times when I’ve been to visit they’ve had a despondent, vulnerable air. I wasn’t dowsing but there was a definite feeling that I shouldn’t enter the circle at one point – it wasn’t an emotion, more like feeling a physical resistance.

Possibly I’m just projecting my own feelings on to them as the last groups of stones I visited, the high and low Bridestones, didn’t provoke such feelings – tho being on the Yorkshire moors on a freezing day in heavy rain kind of focuses the mind in other directions. I’m also aware I may have been “primed” to expect something at the Rollrights as years ago I read Tom Graves’ Needles of Stone – a book which had a major influence on me at the time. Writing about the Rollrights, Graves felt they had an unpleasantly weird atmosphere when he went there. He wondered if he was picking up the “aura” left by a ceremony held there a few years prior to his visit in which a young puppy had been sacrificed (Needles of Stone, Granada, 1978, p. 152).

These were a nice surprise! I had about an hour to kill before lunch at a friend’s nearby and decided to check out the ruins of the church and cross. There’s a holy well marked on the map beside the church and looking at the field that the well is in I noticed 2 stones that had been left behind from a fairly thorough field clearance. Why? Well, because they’re bullaun stones.
One, the smaller of the two, has 2 fairly regular-sized basins, the other, a large conical beast has just the one, massive and carved into the slope of the stone. A pleasant surprise on the 2nd last day of December ‘07.

One of a group of four barrows on the ridge of hills to the east of the south Dorset Ridgeway. It is to the east of Poxwell ring cairn and north of South down barrow cemetery.

This group of four round barrows lie to the south of the Dorset Ridgeway. It is to the north of the coastal village of Ringstead. The barrows are medium sized bowl types in reasonable condition. The best way to approach them is to park in the free national trust car park and walk the 100 yards or so along the road to the barrows.
These barrows are split by the road that leads to a National Trust car park, two are south of the road and two north of it.

I went with some friends up to the Rollrights today.

I’m sad to report that following the recent fire damage there, some follow-up damage and a further attack have occurred.

1. The King Stone notice, where previously cracked, has now been broken off completely.
2. The King’s Men stone which was previously burnt by the tire attack has been significantly chipped on the top.
3. The warden’s hut has again been attacked. Cavity Wall foam was sprayed into the collection box, and also into the locks. This subsequently solidified, breaking the locks and rendering the collection box unusable. An oil fire used by the wardens was lit and placed next to a wooden cabinet and a gas cylinder within the hut, with the obvious intention of causing an explosion. In dousing the fire, the fire service had to substantuially damage the floor of the hut, which is currently unusable by the wardens for overnight stays (and which stank of smoke). These attacks apparently occured on the 9th December according to the warden on duty.

The police are now apparently willing up increase the charge from one of Arson, to Arson with Intent. However, they have no real leads. The only solution may be to install CCTV cameras at the site, which no one really wants to do.

Phaistos is a palace and Bronze Age settlement in southern Crete. Situated on a ridgetop with expansive views, the site has yielded significant finds of Minoan architecture and pottery as well as the undeciphered ancient symbol language of the Phaistos Disk. There are actually two palaces on site from different eras, with architectural elements of royal apartments, theatre, grand staircases, raised processional walkway, stormwater runoff systems, paved courtyards, magazines and offering basins for animal sacrifice. The fieldnotes herein are the result of my on site work of June, 2005 along with review of extant literature.

HISTORY. Phaistos has origins in the Neolithic era as in the case of Knossos, Kamarais Magasa and other locations; moreover, civilizations at Phaistos advanced steadily in the era between 3000 to 2000 BC and reached its zenith of art, language and architectural achievement in the middle of the second millennium BC. Iron Age re-occupation of the site eventually occurred after destruction of the Palace by earthquake, (Van Dyke, 2003) and eventually the rise of the center at Gortyn over-shadowed Phaistos by the late first millennium BC.

ARCHITECTURE AND ART The Old Palace is surprisingly well preserved, since the New Palace was set back eight meters leaving significant old palace elements in tact. The paved West Court of the Old Palace was covered with rubble a meter deep which became the ground level of the New Palace. A unique feature of the Central Court is its formal north facade, a symmetrical front with half columns and flanking niches for sentries. Phaistos exhibits numerous round subsurface pits known as ‘koulouras’’, probably used for storing grain.

Like Knossos and Zakro, Phaistos also boasts a labyrinth, although not nearly so elaborate as Knossos. (Castleden, 1990) A large private suite with bath at the north edge is similar to one at Mallia, especially with regard to designing to take advantage of views.

The quintessential artwork of Phaistos is the famed disk, with its 242 undeciphered symbols incised in spirals on both sides.(Mollin, 2005) On one side of the clay disk is an eight petaled rosette, and on the obverse is a helmet. Illustrating an advanced state of language development, the disk is also cited as the first version of movable type, since its design meets all requisite criteria.

Sophisticated pottery is found at Phaistos particulary in the Middle and Late Minoan periods. Examples of techniques include polychrome specimens and embossing in imitation of metal work. Bronze Age works from Phaistos include bridge spouted bowls, eggshell cups, tall jars and immense pithoi. Designs include complex geometric as well as zoomorphic shapes. Jewelry has also been recovered at Phaistos such as a gold necklace of beads with a double argonaut design. Iron Age Phaistos is known for production of terracotta figurines which emphasize facial detail.

CULTURE. Phaistos was the second most important Bronze Age settlement of the Minoan culture, and has many developmental and artistic similarities to its rival Knossos. Bronze Age Phaistos exhibited a strict caste system with an elite ruling class and small upper class enjoying most of the societal wealth. The larger number of peasants and slaves carried out the preponderance of labor, but subsisted in a simple manner. As in other Minoan cultures this arrangement appears to have been very stable over millennia, in that the populace revered the king and enjoyed the perceived protection from him. (Pomeroy, 1999)

ENVIRONMENT Phaistos is situated on a prominent coastal ridge, with expansive views of the Lasithi Mountains and the Asterousi Range, in addition to the broad fertile Messara Plain below. At the western end of the ridge sits the archaeological site of Hagia Triadha. The palace itself is aligned toward a prominent mountain saddle in the Psiloriti Range. Viewed from Phaistos, to the right of the saddle is the sacred cave of Kamares, which has yielded some of the finest Middle Minoan pottery. (Cadogan, 1991) The ancient water supply derived from the Ieropotamos River supplemented by deep wells on the ridge.

There is evidence that Phaistos expanded beyond its resource base during Middle Minoan I and II, especially in regard to over-exploitation of its surrounding agricultural resources. (Branigan, 2001) This attainment of the prehistoric population to local carrying capacity occurred at a similar time to that observed at Knossos through evidence of deforestation. (Hogan, 2007) In the middle to later Bronze Age, Phaistos expanded into the Amari area by founding the satellite center Monastiriki.

REFERENCES
* Ruth Van Dyke and Susan E. Alcock (2003) ‘’Archaeologies of Memory’’, Blackwell Publishing.
240 pages ISBN 063123585X
* Rodney Castleden (1990) ‘’The Knossos Labyrinth: A New View of the ‘Palace of Minos’ at Knosos’’, Routledge ISBN 0415033152
* Richard A. Mollin (2005) ‘’Codes: The Guide To Secrecy From Ancient To Modern Times’’,
CRC Press, 679 pages ISBN 1584884703
* Sarah B. Pomeroy (1999) ‘’Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History’’, Oxford University Press, 544 pages ISBN 0195097424
* Gerald Cadogan (1991) ‘’ Palaces of Minoan Crete’’, Routledge, 164 pages ISBN 041506585
* Keith Branigan (2001) ‘’Urbanism in the Aegean Bronze Age’’, Continuum International
Publishing Group ISBN 1841273414
* C. Michael Hogan (2007) ‘’Knossos’’, The Modern Antiquarian

We parked by the junction on the B4409 in Tregarth/Bethesda and walked along the road untill a gap in the wall on our left led up some steps at the top a tiny path leads diectly to the earthworks. The one long bank is mostly on the northern end curving south at the east. About 100 yards long and 3-4 ft tall an indistinct entrance may still exist at the end of the bank in the west. A small semi stone lined break in the wall perplexes. The overall feeling of the place is overgrown and forgotten .

Heading into Snowdonia the weather steadily got worse, flooded roads, wind and rain coming in sideways, but a day off work is a day off work and we were here now so on with the waterproofs. The big rock with the hillfort sits right next to the road and parking place, the easy way up is through the entrance on the north west corner.
The weather was rediculous so we didnt hang about, one circuit around the fort and a quick inspection of the medieval tower and we were out of there. On the way in we had just missed the entrance and didn’t pick it up till we were leaving, just outside of the fort there is a very worn zig zag road/path leading to and from the entrance. On a clear day a perfect place to be with Snowdon and its near neighbours so very close.

Kempstone Hill is an ancient site overlooking the North Sea which includes standing stones, tumuli and other megalithic elements. This relatively unexplored location is considered by many scholars as the likely spot of the first recorded battle in Scottish history, Mons Graupius. The expansive moorland ridge provides a commanding vantage point in all directions and an aesthetic setting for this prehistoric puzzle. The herein fieldnotes are based upon my site visits to Kempstone Hill in August, 2007 combined with literature analysis as annotated.

PREHISTORY. The glacial advance from the last ice age ice reached the 300 foot mark on the west slope of neighbouring Megray Hill, with the ice sheet likely overtopping Kempstone Hill, but probably not extending very far on the seaward slope. (Edinburgh, 1963) When the glacier retreated, this locus may have been an attractive zone for prehistoric men with a penchant for megalithic construction, since it is the southernmost coastal position where gneiss and other Scottish Highland boulder types are found immediately north of the Highland Boundary Fault.

Speaking of the pre-Roman era, Groome notes that Kempstone Hill holds numerous tumuli, some of them large, as well as the standing stones; he further asserts that these megaliths are: “supposed to be sepulchral monuments raised on a battlefield”.(Groome, 1885) This is a remarkable observation, since he published prior to the confluence of numerous modern scholars endorsing Kempstone Hill as the site of the Battle of Mons Graupius. Thus he is clearly speaking of the site’s use as a truly prehistoric tribal battlefield. It is not without coincidence that the very name “Kemp” is the Celtic word for battle, as first noted in the context of Kempstone Hill by an early endorser of this site as the locus of Mons Graupius.(Society, 1845)

Regarding the two large standing stones at Kempstone, RCAHMS records note that one measures 1.8m in height and thickens from 0.6m by 0.7m at the base to 1.3m by 0.9m near the top; it appears to stand in the centre of a cairn 4.5m in diameter. The other, situated 85m to the Southwest measures up to 1.3m by 0.9m and 2.4m in height. Human skeletal remains were found at the spot of each major stone. (RCAHMS, 1984) By the base of the east side of the smaller of these two stones, a small pit covered by a slab 0.3m square.. Stuart describes Kempstone Hill as containing five or six Druidical circles, one of which contained three very large concentric. All around, especially towards the north , are scattered a vast number of cairns and tumuli of different shapes and dimensions, some of them being of great height and circumference. (Stuart, 1841}

MONS GRAUPIUS. The local vicinity, including Kempstone and Megray Hills and Raedykes, has been suggested as the most likely site of the Battle of Mons Graupius, (Hogan, 2007) the first recorded battle in Scottish history. The topography of Kempstone is remarkably consistent with Tacitus’ account of the conflict of the Romans and Caledonians, especially the ability of Roman soldiers to signal to ships in the North Sea. There is no similar location along the Roman marching line that offers this capability. In addition to sources already noted, Roy, Surenne and Watt have each advanced the tenet that the locus of Kempstone Hill was the site of this epic battle. Finds of chariot wheels, chariot axle rings and roman weaponry have been recovered in the vicinity and at Cantlayhills immediately at the north of Kempstone. (Marren, 1990)

ENVIRONMENT. The entire top of the rounded Kempstone Hill is covered in heather moorland with copses of gorse interspersed. The gorse patches are strangely distributed, as though they are formed from soil conditions that may have been modified in earlier times. For example, the areas that appear to be tumuli are typically overgrown with the higher gorse plants. I encountered a particularly mysterious tumulus/gorse patch toward the eastern end of the hill, which had a highly unusual patch within it containing a low grass, totally untypical of the entire hill; furthermore there was a very flat gneiss slab approximately 1.7 meters long lying prone within the thicket..

Below the moor level on the hill are fertile grain fields, and in the valley below flows Limpet Burn, with considerable wildlife habitat. Kempstone and Megray Hills are the southernmost coastal elements of the Mounth, which are rich in gneiss and granitic rock, suitable for use in the noble megaliths of Kempstone Hill.

REFERENCES.
* Edinburgh Geological Society (1963) “Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society”, Neill and Co.
* Francis Hindes Groome (1885) “Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography”, T.C. Jack publisher, Scotland
* Society for the Benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy (1845) “The New Statistical Account of Scotland”, W. Blackwood and Sons. Scotland
* The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) (1984).” The archaeological sites and monuments of North Kincardine, Kincardine and Deeside District, Grampian Region”, The archaeological sites and monuments of Scotland series no 21, Edinburgh, 18, No. 91
*
John Stuart of Inchbreck, Lit. Gr. P. Aberdeen (c. 1841) “Various accounts of the progress of Roman arms in Scotland and of the scene of the great battle between Agricola and Galgacus”
* C. Michael Hogan (2007) “Elsick Mounth”, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham
* William Roy (1793) ‘’The military antiquities of the Romans in Britain’‘
* Gabriel Jacques Surenne (1827) ‘’Letter to Sir Walter Scott’‘
* Archibald Watt (1985) ‘’Highways and Byways around Kincardineshire’’, Stonehaven Heritage Society
* Peter Marren (1990) “Grampian Battlefields: The Historic Battles of North East Scotland from AD84”, Aberdeen University Press, 224 pages ISBN 0080365981

Sadly there is not much to see here. There is a barrow but it has been brought so low by ploughing, it had been recently ploughed when I visited it, that it was impossible to photograph. I will see if a growth of crops makes it easier to see in a month or so. It’s a great shame that so much damage has been done as this is a wonderful site with 360 degree views of the local hills and valleys. There is another barrow shown on maps to the south east, this is now completely missing, assuming I was in the right place.

Knossos is the largest Bronze Age settlement on the island of Crete, and it also can lay claim to one of the most advanced civilizations of Europe of that era. It is an expansive palace as well as a religious and residential center, but is also steeped in legend and mystery involving King Minos,. the Minotaur and the Labyrinth as recited by Homer. Originally developed as a large neolithic village around 6000 BC, Knossos evolved into a sophisticated center of language and arts with significant Egyptian contact between 2500 to 1800 BC. The Palace, built at the zenith of Knossos culture, exceeded 1300 maze-like rooms, and was the source of the ancient labyrinth legend. The data herein are based upon my work at Knossos in June, 2005 combined with literature analysis.

NEOLITHIC. Knossos is the only city-sized Neolithic settlement on Crete, with three well defined layers of material bedded to a final depth of seven meters below the Bronze Age city; the Neolithic settlement on Kephala Hill actually extends well beyond the boundaries of the later Bronze Age city. The oldest Neolithic level reveals coarse hand-made brown clay bowls and other unornamented open containers. Pottery artifacts are burnished and many contain handles. (Castleden, 1990) The middle Neolithic manifests more refined pottery, with intricate incised geometric designs and some bird and animal motifs. Hatched triangles, dotted fields and chevrons are incised on ladles, partitioned trays and vases; some use of tubular handles is evident.

Late Neolithic Knossos offers remains of recognizable buildings. For example, numerous sun-dried brick-walled houses founded on large limestone blocks lie below the later Central Court. These structures are presumed to be “ben and but” style, like the extant late Neolithic specimen at Magasa in eastern Crete. Such homes range up to 40 sq meters for a largish home of four rooms with hearth, which heating fixture may be placed by a wall or in the middle of the room. High thresholds were in use as in modern times. Clay floors run under the walls suggesting a community plan level. The extensive maze-like arrangement of rooms is eerily suggestive of a labyrinth. (The word “Labyrinth” derives from the Minoan “labrys” meaning “double-axe”, which axe symbol is also found widely at Knossos.) This communal array of houses with common walls is not unlike the Anasazi settlements of the American southwest (e.g. Chaco Canyon). Late Neolithic pottery educes new designs such as the chalice and carinated bridge spouted jar.

EARLY MINOAN. The Early Minoan period of Crete spans the era from 3400 to 2200 BC and is characterized by monumental building and by rough lime plaster over the earlier sun-dried brick and a fine surface wash of deep red which formed a cement hard stucco. (Pendlebury, 2003) Beginning in Early Minoan I, pottery evinces intricate incision designs. Influence of Anatolia and Cyclades (e.g. bottle-neck suspension pots similar to Antiparos) are seen; during the Neolithic period the only foreign influences found are Egyptian.

Notably in the Early Minoan II (EMII) period (2800 to 2400 BC) the Hypogaeum underground vault was created with an eight meter diameter and beehive dome extending 18 meters in height; this edifice was cut into the soft rock which would become the South Porch of the eventual Palace. Homes of this era were mostly razed to make way for the eventual Palace. Other Cretan cultures are now similar in pottery, designs, tools beginning in about 2500 BC. For example, a Knossos cup with high swung handle is similar to specimens from Vasilki and Trapeza. Dishes and bowls at Knossos show broad rim bands of colour and geometrics and in one instance over the rim to the inside of the vessel. Cycladic influence figurines begin appearance in Knossos in EMII. Copper daggers of Early Minoan III were recovered at the Tekke Tomb of Knossos and on the Candia road.

MIDDLE MINOAN. This era begins at 2200 BC with founding of the monumental Palace including: (a) insulae (with unusual rounded corners which may harken to an ancient a reed pallisade exterior); (b) magazines; (c) Throne Room; (d) Monolithic Pillar Basement; (e) raised causeways; (f) drainage and water supply systems of tapered clay pipes, with jointed sections 75 cm long. In Middle Minoan I (MMI), the great trackway appears from Komo via a guard fort at Anagyroi. Aqueducts brought water to Kephala Hill from springs at Archanes, which are the source of the Kairatos River. The Juktas Sanctuary, with a massive northern temenos wall where pithoi were recovered, is built on a hill a few kilometers from the Palace. Reconstruction of Knossos at Middle Minoan I is special, since other ruins on Crete such as Pseira are altered by later development.and are almost indecipherable.

Aiding the dating of Knossos MMI layers are a plethora of commingled Egyptian and Babylonian artifacts . Small jugs and handle-less cups appear in vast array in MMI Knossos with elaborate geometric designs and combinations of red, white, buff and black color; the earliest style of vase painting appears at Knossos, but nowhere else on Crete this early. Human figurines first appear at Knossos, males with only a codpiece and topless females with bell-shaped skirts. Pictographic linear writing first appears at Knossos and Phaistos in MMI, with one Knossos ivory cylinder seal manifesting intricate designs and proto-writing; a male figure on the cylinder seal resembles the Petsophas specimens. In the Vat Room a number of blue and green faience beads were found of spherical and disk shapes.

Middle Minoan II (MMII) begins about 1850 BC and lasts about 150 years until a great earthquake. Architecture, art and civil engineering attains great dimensions, paralleling Akrotiri in many ways. High column bases are made of breccia, porphyry, serpentine and conglomerate, while the columns themselves were milled tree trunks, inverted to prevent resprouting and also to minimize drip damage to the wood. To carry surface runoff elaborate stone lined drains were constructed large enough to crawl through. An intricate latrine system was devised including a candidate for the world’s first flush toilet with incision in stone for a toilet seat and buckets nearby for flushing.

The adjunct Mavrospelio Cemetary was developed with chambered tombs, from which conical cups and burial pithoi have been retrieved. Two meter tall pithoi with rope designs appear at Knossos in MMII. The first expansive plaster murals turn up, notably the partially extant “Saffron Gatherer” illustrating the gathering of crocuses. Increasingly elaborate pottery designs appear such as rosettes, stylistic palms and scroll patterns.

By at least the latter part of MMI, a myriad of glyphs (read left to right) appear, some borrowed from Egypt. Glyphs depict the olive sprig, saffron, wheat, silphium, dog, ram, goat, snake, fish, short and long horned cattle, some appearing on three sided clay seals and some at Mavrospelio. (Whittaker, 2005) These glyphs blossomed into a full writing form at Knossos known as Linear A, likely the first complete writing system in Europe. Seals are made from carnelian, agate, rock crystal, chalcedony and jasper, with Knossos favorite shapes being signet, lentoid and circular. The first trials at portraiture manifest in MMI at Knossos, with subjects displaying both straight and aquiline noses. The first example of a Egyptian object in the Aegean that has a personal connection appears in Knossos MMII {a diorite statue of a man named “User” from the XII or XIII Egyptian Dynasty).

In Middle Minoan III (MMIII) the Grand Staircase is evident and the use of peristyle at Knossos and Phaistos. Inverted plastered timber columns are now numerous and have been imitated by Minorca and Malta. Lightwells are common in residences and other buildings. Architectural elements are decorated by stone carvings with human and animal motifs, such as a fisherman carrying an octopus; hunter lassoing a wild ewe; and scenes in the bull ring.

Magnificent paintings appear at Knossos in MMIII such as the “Blue Dolfins’’, embellished by fish of all colors with bubbles flying off the fins, and edged with coral and sponges. The “Ladies in Blue” in the East Hall depicts women in elaborate garments toying with necklaces. A charging bull painting is reminiscent of an image in the tomb at Vapheio; morever, there is abundant evidence of a bull ring and other support for elaborate bull fighting events.

Some MMIII pottery continues to be barbotine, but polychrome and other finishes are present. Most curious is a round vase with suspension handle and curious side aperture; Evans suggests that this could be birdhouse for swallows. A lamp on pedestal design begins in this period, with an ivy motif purple gypsum spiral column specimen in the East-House. Bronze is now common, and at North-West House of Knossos were found double-axes, spearheads, socketed daggers, flared chisels, adzes and vessels. MMIII Sculpture is highly sophisticated as well as furniture, with a grand steatite libation table found at the Temple Repositories.

Literacy rates have been deduced to be very high, based upon ubiquitous writings found at all socioeconomic strata. Animal and human figures never face the beginning of text. Numerals are systemitized: 1 is a vertical stroke; 10 is dot; 100 is circle. Use of ink is widespread, found on pottery and many objects, and likely used on leather, papyrus or palm leaves. tablets are incised by bronze styli. Seals become elaborate such as an agate cylinder showing an ibex defending himself from a hunting dog.

LATE MINOAN. This period begins about 1580 BC with continuing advances in art and writing, but is generally an era of decline and conquest by Mycenaean Greeks. Architecturally there are certain room alterations and the introduction of the first clerestory windows. Environmental factors include manifestation of overpopulation and deforestation. (Pendlebury, 2003) Lack of trees is manifested by the unusual introduction of tall slabs of gypsum instead of wood for door jambs; vertical post timbers which tied in the masonry are missing in much of this era’s construction; horizontal beams are notably smaller in diameter. Further evidence of reduction of carrying capacity is seen in the reduced size of Knossos compared to millennia earlier. Art continued to thrive in the earlier parts of Late Minoan, as exemplified by a finely carved sardonyx seal-stone showing the Mistress of Animals with a double-axe and griffins. The important Linear A Chariot Tablets derive from the Late Minoan, with Arthur Evans placing them just before the catastrophe.

Late Minoan II ends about 1425 BC with a catastrophic collapse of the Minoan culture. Mycenaean invasion commenced soon thereafter. While the Minoans never exhibited warfare, it is curious that the invasion came so close to the societal collapse. The syndrome seems mysteriously similar to the sudden demise of the Mayan civilization, where some postulate that carrying capacity was no longer able to serve an expanded population.

REFERENCES
* Rodney Castleden (1990) ‘’The Knossos Labyrinth: A New View of the ‘Palace of Minos’ at Knosos’’, Routledge ISBN 0415033152
* J.D.S. Pendlebury (2003) ‘’Handbook to the Palace of Minos at Knossos with Its Dependencies’’, republication of earlier work with contributor Arthur Evans, Kessinger Publishing, 112 pages ISBN 0766139166
* Helène Whittaker (2005) ‘’Social and Symbolic Aspects of Minoan writing’’, European Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 8, No. 1, 29-41

Owing to my incompetant employers I couldn’t get the actual Winter solstice off so the 20th will have to do, mighty glad too it was the most perfect of all my winter solstices. I again parked on the small bridge and started my walk up the hill, under a starry sky with Venus quite high above the eastern horizon, then I saw a shooting star and I knew I was in for a treat. Further up the path I had to shoo a flock of sheep out of the way, then a herd of cows and bulls then a single white horse they all seemed to have come just to watch me arrive. With it not being the actual solstice I had the place to myself, it felt as though the sun would never come but then it took me by surprise and the magic began. Its always good to watch a sunrise but up here with these stones it was nothing less than astounding , the alignment was there, the sun was there, and little old me having a great time. Seeing as it was such a nice day I decided to go up the nearest hill to get a good view of the whole place, it was fantastic, I didn’t go to the top just far enough to blow me away. If your up here, why not go the whole hog and get up that hill you wont be disappointed.

This group of barrows bridges the gap between Gould’s hill and the Came / Bincombe groups. It consists of about 7 – 10 round barrows, some of which are very badly damaged by ploughing. This set completes the south Dorset Ridgeway line of monuments which runs from Martin’s Down to White Horse hill. I have included the two most easily photographable barrows, there are another three that I know of still visible in the landscape.

Akrotiri is a notable ancient city founded on the island of Santorini in the Late Neolithic period. Exceeding 20 hectares in extent, the settlement manifests sophisticated urban design, including multiple storey structures, complex street systems and intricate urban drainage; furthermore, there is considerable advanced art such as stunning wall murals, household furnishings and pottery. The herein observations are based on my site investigation of 2005 combined with review of literature.

HISTORY. While first habitation of Akrotori began at least as early as the fourth millennium BC on the island of Thera, the city advanced culturally throughout the Early Bronze Age (3000 to 2000 BC) and reached a peak of development in the Late Bronze Age (2000 to 1630 BC). Sometime between 1628 and 1520 BC a significant seismic event occurred followed by a violent eruption of the principal caldera on Thera.. (Gates, 2003) Since the initial earthquake took place many months before the eruption, the people of Akrotiri had sufficient time to conduct an orderly evacuation. Whether they fled to Crete, the Greek mainland or Egypt is the subject of debate, but they left little in the way of small precious objects such as jewelry, bronzes or coins; however, the the volcanic ash deposition engulfed the city so as to preserve structures and furnishings amazingly well. Spiros Marinatos began excavation on Santorini (the name of Thera from medieval times onward) in the hope of proving a volcanic/seismic event there was responsible for the Late Bronze Age destruction to Cretan sites.

SETTING . The city, still mostly buried beneath volcanic ash, stretches from the shoreline of the Aegean Sea to the top of the caldera, positioned at the southeast of Santorini; Akrotiri comprises an estimated area of one square kilometre,. the exact size Plato stated the lost city of Atlantis to be!. (Plato, 360 BC). When I visited the site, I also explored further west along the steep rocky cliffs descending from the caldera top to the sea. It became obvious that the city was well positioned to afford sea access to its people, while taking advantage of the splendid defencive landform that would deter an invasion over these western precipices.

ARCHITECTURE. During my site visit to Akrotiri, excavation, reconstruction and protective works were in high gear. An enormous scaffolded canopy had been constructed to protect exposed city elements from the weather. Construction includes elements of sizable rectilinear ashlar blocks as well as mud-brick walls. The rectilinear stone blocks are reminiscent of those I saw the week earlier on Crete at Knossos and Phaestos. Visitors were permitted to walk into the city on well defined constructed paths, in order to protect these ancient ruins. Photography was difficult due to the dark subterranean environment created by the canopy. Furthermore, since the entire exposed site was canopied, it was impossible to capture an overview image of the site. Weeks after my viewing of Akrotiri, a visitor was killed with a collapse of the giant canopy; the site was then closed for a time thereafter.

In any case, the up close view was stunning, with the obvious complexity of the stone and mud-brick city coming alive with its daily increasing exposure. The presence of individual and clustered buildings was evident, with some structures being three storeys in height. An incredible labyrinth of doorways and stairways interconnects rooms. Many doorway lintels had been re-created using Marinatos’ technique of injecting concrete into the residual pumice moulds, where the original timber lintels had rotted. The geometrics of these complex room connections reminded me of the Anasazi ruin at Chaco Canyon. The intricacy of drainage works made me reflect that Akrotiri’s infrastructure exceeds design standards for many modern Mediterranean cities.

ARTWORKS. Most of the intricate frescoes have been removed from the site itself and reside in Athens or the local Akrotiri Museum, with others being in process of conservation. These large colourful murals represent some of the best depictions of Bronze Age Aegean culture, providing details of dress, ceremony and even natural history. One of the first frescoes discovered involved a depiction of women. leading to naming its find location as the House of Ladies; moreover, the female form is rife, with women depicted in positions of prominence and also divine standing. (Preziosi, 1999). In 1969 Marinatos uncovered a mural of vervet monkeys cavorting on the steep ocean cliffs to the west (Castleden, 1998); such a depiction suggests that the Therans had contact with peoples of the Upper Nile, where this species is native. Attractive large pottery pieces have also been recovered as well as some figurines. .

REFERENCES
* Plato (360 BC) ‘’Critias’‘
* Charles Gates (2003) ‘’Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Greek and Roman Worlds’’, Routledge ISBN 0415121825
* Rodney Castleden (1998) ‘’Atlantis Destroyed’’, Routledge, 225 p ISBN 0415165393
* Donald Preziosi and Louise Hitchcock (1999) ‘’Aegean Art and Architecture’’, Oxford University Press, 264 pages ISBN 0192842080

Standing inside this monument transports one to the very age of the builders and permits for an instant a glimpse of their world and time. As I studied the massive, finely hewn, precision fitted drystone, I had a sensation of the completeness of this simple design: a sensation rarely derived from contemporary architecture. Examining the alignment of the entrance passage, I enjoyed thinking of how incredible it would be at the time of the winter solstice sunset, when a narrow ray of light will pierce the chamber to its back wall. One should examine carefully the interesting side and back cells off of the main chamber, especially the lintel work. Finally be sure to analyze how the blocking stone (still present) would have been moved to seal the main passage.

What a fantastic place .
I parked on the main road through Church Stretton and took the footpath that goes almost straight up. It was real steep sometimes but the view across to the Long Myndd more than compensates for any pain. It was very cold and windy but was otherwise sunny, I ended up staying longer than I intended missing out on Barbury ring. I’d driven past a dozen times so made the effort to come here and was really glad that I did.
The rocks on the eastern side reminded me of a mini Quirang on the isle of skye, this hillfort is one of the best, awesome views all around .

Looking for another way to the Broch of Burgar I went past farm and mansion houses. Quickly I realised that the field here contained the cairn, not the broch. Even from uphill the cairn impresses with the brightness of the off-centre chamber, especially the prominent inner pair of slabs. It was still rather damp and I went back and forth several times before entering. Despite the slope I found the field totally waterlogged, and suspect it usually is. The whole was densely pockmarked by hoofprints holding yet more water. There was no escaping the darn stuff, though on my way back up I found the high edges of the burn banks to be fairly dry (the burn makes some lovely little waterfalls and I could see long regular stones exposed in the banks that must surely have supplied the better of the cairn material). I think one should always treat published cairn plans as more in the nature of diagrams.

Perhaps careful observation would have made the chamber clear to me, but there is a heck of a lot more going on than you would know without a visit, the surviving portion is very busy, rather a jumble. I might have been able to scramble a way to the broch field but its a good drop if I made a slip. Definitely need good gripping boots, a dry day, with measurements and ‘plan’.