Latest Fieldnotes

It’s a long walk from everywhere this one, I came from by the Cae Coch farm and menhir to the south-west. Looking at the map the fort is on the left of the footpath, but the fort and its small hill is so assimilated into it’s surroundings that I walked past it and on to the highest point around, from there I could see it quite clearly. You might be better coming from the other side after parking by the old church and spring.
It isn’t a large fort but it is in a great place overlooking the entire river valley below(presuming they utilised the two other higher hilltops nearby). The ditch is mainly on the western side and is at least 7ft from top to bottom. Inside that bank and ditch is the remains of the stone built wall just the scraps of which are left, amongst the wall rubble are some large boulders were they here already or moved into place to stregnthen the wall.
Which brings us to the strangely out of place long boulder, it must have been placed there i’m sure, it’s right in the middle of the fort and carries an air of usefullness.(if thats possible)

In the fierce wind and stingy rain it was a bit arduous getting here , I walked within yards of it and only found it after giving up and heading back. I’m almost certain this is the cairn but some doubt exists in my mind, It is in exactly the right place with a settlement just to the north west, coflein give it’s dimensions as 8m across and 0.6m high which it was, but they also say its a level platform which it isn’t nor is the discription of the cist a match either. But there was nothing else in the vicinity and I checked all gatherings of stones which is when I found the settlement. If anyone else has been or knows any better let us know.

Troldkirken (Church of trolls // Troll`s church) is a truly magnificent long dolmen (Danish: Langdysse) in North Jutland. It is one of Jutland`s most famous megalithic monuments.
The tomb was built on a hilltop ca. 15 km west Ålborg 1km NE of Sønderholm. From the site you have a splendid view over Limfjorden and parts of Himmerland.
The barrow is approximately 50m long and 7m wide. Despite some erosion barrow’s height is still appr. 1m. Orientation is NE-SW. The barrow is surrounded by 47 kerbstones (according to literature....I did not count them). Some of them are still in situ, others were moved out of place when the earthwork eroded in the course of the time. The one at the northeastern end of the barrow is the largest at a visible height of appr. 2,5m.
The chamber is situated some meters northeast of barrow`s centre. It is a large hexagonal dolmen chamber with short passage (Typ IV) covered by an enormous capstone.

Access is easy, it is only a short walk uphill. The site itself is a landmark and cannot be missed. It is marked on most maps and signposted.

Reference:
Ebbesen, Klaus, Danske dysser – Danish Dolmens, Attika, København 2007, p.199, Pl. 177B

Gundestrupgård – Søndre Jættestue

Passage Grave in North Jutland (Nordjylland)

The ground plan of this tomb is extremly rare in Denmark. I am not sure if there really is a another one of this type.

A 4m long passage leads into a polygonal chamber, covered by a large capstone. Between two chamber uprights is a small gap, that connects the main chamber with a polygonal sidechamber. The sidechamber has approximately half the size of the main-chamber and is also covered by a single capstone.

The tomb is situated in a damaged barrow. Clear height of both chambers is reduced a bit as they are filled with earth to a certain extent. Therefore access of the sidechamber was not possible.

There are a large (bronze age) barrow and a magnificent, but overgrown and damaged double passage grave with two side-chambers (Gundestrup Northern passage grave) nearby [Date of visit: April 1990]

Sogn Beskrivelse No. Skræm (Skraem) SB-27
Skræm sogn, Øster Han herred, Hjørring amt

Reached by a road running northwest from the beacon and then taking a path across a field on the left. Keep to hedge to far end and go over stile...the fort is infront of you.

A large ditch and banks seperates field from a flat area that then drops away into the valley. This is an unusual site and thought to be Iron Age in date. It is in a great setting and would be easy to protect from all sides.

Superb views out to sea.

What a stonker!
Easily found if you have an OS map and only about half a mile from Veryan village if you walk. Who knows what uses this barrow has had over the years..I would guess the concrete slab on the top was a lookout post as the views are superb...even on a windy day in March.
Rabbits are busy colonising the barrow and I had a good look around to see if any of the Golden Ship had been dug out by them...

The nearby Ringarounds are worth a visit if you have time...if just for the strange design of the ‘fort’ and the view.

A marked rock with 18 cup marks and a group of eight hut circles 500 metres away discovered yesterday , all previously unrecorded , in the lee of Schiehallion (hill in background).

This is indeed a beautiful spot. A nice little beaker/bronze age mound overlooking a stunning bay, with all of Snowdonia as a backdrop. As other people have mentioned, there is not much to see of the barrow itself; just a few large stones, but it’s a great place to be – either lounging on the soft turf on a summer’s day, or huddled behind the nearby stone seat when the big winter southwesterly gales are piling up the surf.

If you check out the eroded slopes just below the barrow you can pick up little bits of mesolithic flint. They’re mostly just waste flakes, but it’s a tangible connection to the people who were here 7,000 years ago.

The best thing to do is to park up at Porth Cwyfan (the church in the sea), and walk for a couple of miles along the coast path. This is a great little walk. The church itself is quite special, and rightly popular with artists. Further along the coast you can see the wreck of the ‘Bothilde Russ’ at low tide, lost in a gale in 1903. There are usually a few seals watching you from the sea, and if you’re lucky there may be ravens or pairs of choughs showing off their aerobatic skills.

Overall, a great place to be. Make the effort and go there – whatever the season, you won’t be disappointed.

I agree with Stubob and Hamish. These ‘standing stones’ are about the size of a housebrick. Interesting perhaps, but not at all spectacular. Took me ages to find them too.

The alignment of the chamber at Barclodiad-y-Gawres has been puzzling me lately. The Irish passage graves – of which this is surely one – were sometimes aligned on the sun. Newgrange is the classic example, aligned on the midwinter sunrise.

The orientation of the passage at Barclodiad-y-Gawres is just about due north, as measured with a compass, which means that it cannot be aligned on any movement of the sun.

It is, however, aligned on a pair of low hills in the distance – Mynydd y Garn and Mynydd Mechell. The standing stones of Llanfechell lie at the foot of the latter.

The horizon on this part of Anglesey is remarkably flat and level, so these hills do stand out on a clear day. The obvious feature of the horizon is the great lump of Holyhead Mountain, but the passage points instead to the two smaller hills. I’ve attached a photograph of these from the passage.

Was this a deliberate alignment? Were these sacred hills? I don’t know. Go there on a clear day, sit in the clear air of Anglesey, soak up the view and see what you think.

About a hundred metres east from the stone circle Coflein simply states;
A cairn, 21m in diameter and 2.5m high, impinged on by an OS triangulation pillar and a sheepfold
But neglects to mention the stupendous 360 degree wonderview.

It’s a very minor pair of bits of rock art, but worthy of mention for a couple of points.

One is the dumbbell motif, unusual, especially on a portable. Similar to the one on outcrop at Fowberry cairn.

Also, the old boundary earthwork (linear, definitely a post roman feature) appears to run right through the remains of a bronze Age cairn. There’s a lot more stone in the earthwork the closer to the RA you get, sort of implying that the cairn was stripped to provide building material.

Thus, it’s reasonable to assume that the marked rocks came from the cairn, as is quite common. So maybe there were/are more still in hiding?

On top of a hill in the middle of no-where is this stone circle so it’s a given that it’s not dead easy to get to, but it doesn’t have to be too hard. Presuming that you’ve got an OS map and can see the circle on it, firstly the narrow rough and bumpy track is navigable a good distance, when the track makes a 90 degree left turn park by the gate and footpath stile and head east making for the trig point on a barrow, go down hill avoiding marshy area then back up and its away to the left through the gate. A good circle with one heck of a view, eight stones stand mostly on the western edge of a circle twenty metres across. Not far to the east on the highest point is a barrow with a trig point on it. On the way back to the car I found what looked like another circle, more ruined, with smaller stones, Aubrey Burl doesn’t mention it and niether does coflein (though the latter does mention a fallen menhir close to this suspect circle).
A good circle and relatively easy to get to for those with a care free attitude to their cars underside.

There was no good parking place so I carelessly blocked a gate to the field and we dashed over, disturbing a flock of geese on the pond , it only takes five minutes to walk to it so we didnt get in anyones way. It’s a good stone, I liked it a lot, sure it’s waist high to a six year old but it seemed perfectly formed, like it had been born to be a menhir, and the view is superb even on a damp misty morning like today.

I read the two misc notes and became determined to find this stone at all costs, Shropshire traveller was miles away it’s not in any field, I think he really did see a tree trunk, Kammer was so close that I had to smile to myself as I stood next to the stone. He guessed it was in someones garden but it’s actually right on the edge of the road. Almost ironically the place both Kammer and the shroppy traveller parked is right next to the stone, so close but so far.

It still took me longer to find the stone than it should have, I had the map, looked on Coflein, but the size of the stone and it’s unexpected nearness to the road didnt help much. Both me and Eric felt the stone was sunk further in the ground than it used to be, maybe for road safety, or perhaps it’s just a little one, either way a good one to find.

As the four stones are only down the road why not come see these two standing stones. True they’re not huge stones this one is the taller of the two and the easiest to find,

rdavymed was a little too dissmissive if you ask me, theres one chamber left, it’s not dead impressive but niether is it completley destroyed.
The farmer has left a wide area unploughed and the chamber is at one end at the other is a few small boulders possibly remnants of another chamber. located amid a maze of small lanes, when the lane forks around a nice house the chamber is behind the house, I parked on the left fork mostly on a grass verge, the farmer pulled up and shouted over I called back “I’m just checking out the stones if thats alright “....it was.

Amongst the cairnfields and field systems of Birchen Edge is this low burial cairn with several remaining stones of a cist.
SK2846 7226 about 600m east-ish from the ring cairn of Birchen Edge South.

A long walk with wet feet finds this little complex of ruined stone circle numerous cairns and a cist...Tryfan.!. About fifty metres up a gentle slope from the stone and cairn on the edge of dry and wet ground...Tryfan !.!The four side stones are evident with the roof slab resting on a side slab, the two long stones are aligned on the tall sharp mountain whose name escapes me at the moment....Tryyyfaaaan!!!

A very long wet walk from the road with great potential for not finding owt. Fortunately I had plenty of time to wander about a bit. The footpath goes steadily uphill past a house and behind one till it gets to an attractive megalithic bridge. You can see where the standing stone is from here, look up to the mountain and come back down to a large brown bit and its there. Not much help, maybe, just follow the river with it on your left about thirty metres away or so and it’ll take you straight there.
The stone is waist high with a rock pool on one side, the cairn is very close to it, and with some furtling about two or three fallen stones can be picked out. I’m inclined to beleive it was a circle, with awsome Tryfan as it’s focus, perhaps when complete looking very similar to Hafodty stone circle some miles to the north east. A great place to enjoy Snowdonia, though maybe in a drought next time ‘cause Welsh mountains are 50% water.

It’s a real long walk from the road with wet feet a given, trying to stay on the path was impossible, and after a long detour around the weir I eventually spotted the standing stone .....and the cairn, whilst definatly smaller than it’s discription, is identifiable. Magnificent views of Tryfan and surrounding mountains.

On private land belonging to the Chatsworth Estate, so it’s best to get permission.
This rock shelter is well hidden amongst the thick trees of the plantation and difficult to spot from the track.
SK2844 6903 gets you to the spot.

This is a lovely little outcrop, in a small clearing and beside a small pool that looks like it is regularly used by deer.

The panel consists of 2 main motifs one roughly oval and one rectangular. There is a third, small motif which we were unable to locate
The panels were uncovered, cleaned and recorded.

I was particularly struck by the rectangular panel with it’s concentric grooves. Rectangular panels enclosing cups are not a common motif in British rock art. However there are three such motifs, this one, Dod Law and Chatton all within a relatively small geographical area. Not sure what it all means but they are lovely things to see and feel.

This site is a lovely clearing in the forest. The site is raised and roughly circular and has signs of quarrying on its edges. To one side of the raised area is a substantial upright stone, judging from the fluting on the stone it has been stood upright for a long time. Upon lifting some of the turf I found a simple eroded cup and ring, on further investigation we also found another very weathered cup with a possible ring.
There was some debate as to whether these carvings represent the site recorded as Amerside Law 2.

Amerside Law Panel 1
This panel is located in a small clearing within a densely packed conifer plantation. When Andy and Hob rediscovered this panel it was covered in a thick, dense mat of woodland crud which they spent a considerable amount of time clearing.

The panel is located on a rock outcrop; views from the panel are currently non-existent. If the plantation was removed, the main viewshed would be across the Till Valley to the distant Cheviot and surrounding hills.

The carvings themselves are much worn and were described by Stan Beckensall in the 1970’s. It was not possible to locate all of the features included in Stan Beckensall’s drawing of the panel. It appears that during the intervening years, a section of the carvings have disappeared completely, possibly due to damaged by forestry vehicles during the planting of the conifers.

Initially the carvings were quite difficult to make out, tracing their outlines with water helped bring the panel to life revealing a complex set of motifs. For me, one of the striking features of this and other panels is the asymmetrical nature of a number of the motifs. By this I mean that you have a large channel or double channel enclosing a number of cups, however, the cups are not evenly distributed but occur in one sector of the enclosed area or may even lay across the enclosing channel. This has always interested me, it is obviously a deliberate act and my personal opinion is that this strengthens the case for attaching a specific meaning to the motifs as opposed to purely an abstract design.