Latest Fieldnotes

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’.

I came down the track to the beach that goes past Evie graveyard (St.Nicholas Chapel site) expecting not to reach this site but turn right for Gurness, the latter fee free for St.Andrew’s Day. However it looked a doddle to get to so I went. Not quite so easy as I thought, despite a reasonably low tide. As I came nearer from the shore I could see at the far end the very tippety-top was a wedge shape that must be the highest surviving point of the broch tower – inner or outer face leastways. It is nice to see the external bank you come to first this way is an obvious one rather than some slight rise visible to the eye of faith. I can see why the remains are unsurveyable so far as discerning structures goes, for between the bank and the main mound the remains I saw consisted of several othostats at varying angles and various scattered slabs apparently face down.

Unfortunately the field fence is taut and I didn’t feel safe in essaying a climb over so I contented myself with hauling myself carefully up onto the mound edge this side of it, from whence the yards to the highest portion of the mound’s coastal edge weren’t so bad. Just on the other side of the fence there are enough slabs sticking proud of the surface to form a rectangular structure, possibly even two. Definitely surveyable I’d say.

This side of the fence there are a few smallish round holes in the dark earthy matter but not enough to bring worries of rabbit infestation. Probably midden rather than burnt material, though I could see no sign of individual components. Unfortunately the coastal side of the fence gives out here, not even the barest of ledges. On the other side of the mound there is as far as I could tell no continuation of the outer bank, though the broch’s inner bank is clearer here and the exposed tower wall is nice (not a patch on the Broch of Burgar of course).

I visited the Almendres stone circle in September this year and highly recommend taking a visit to this amazing place.

Situated just to the west of Evore, it is set on an astounding slope that looks over the Evore valley, the sunrise was the most breathtaking I have ever experienced.

Visited 20/10/2007

Fieldnotes to come when I can find them!

Directions from memory: We parked at the end of St Stephen’s Lane, and followed the well-defined footpath as it wound it’s way through the forest. After a shortish distance we reached the reservoir. Just after the reservoir is the signpost – on your left – pointing left toward the stone. Further down this path is another sign, pointing right up a smaller path. The stone is just at the end.

Gratton Moor lies between Minninglow and Arbor Low above the dry valleys of Long and Gratton Dale.
What first drew me to this place was its position in relation to the Neolithic monuments around here and a ploughed field and mole hills on the eastern side of the moor. I wasn’t here to see the two Bronze Age barrows... I was here for flint. And when I got to the fields that’s what I got...there were waste flakes of chert and flint along with scrapers, blades and the odd arrowhead lying on the surface.
Checking the NMR and SMR I found that the moor had been walked years before by a local bloke from Elton, who had filled boxes with his finds, and that a number of Neolithic occupation sites were noted on the moor at SK199599, SK202603 and SK191605

Coming along the shore from the Knowe of Stenso is not easy – even at low tide it as a matter of skirting rocks, clambering up and down geos, crossing over and through burns. Even following the fence line I found some of the boggy bits. Unlike Stenso the fence beside is slack enough to climb over [though no dout they’ll remedy that the morrow], however on coming to the high point without entering the field and then peering over into the slightly depressed top all I saw was grass (in 1928 the P.O.A.S. says neither this nor Stenso had been excavated, but he likely meant professionally as a local had been down inside the latter). To me the site didn’t feel the right orientation for a broch, though as I mistakenly thought I’d a pic from the main road I have no image to check whether it truly is edge on to the coast. Certainly I would have expected to see some signs of a bank outwith the mound. That said, just over the fence at the highest point I did see a few projecting slabs I felt to be an even slighter version of the structure I had seen earlier at the Knowe of Stenso in the exact same relative position.

The O.S. map shows nine barrows on this site, although four are marked with crosses. On the ground I could only see three, and one of these was a very low feature. The largest and most complete was next to the track, just past a barn. It forms part of the field margin and has plough damage where it is in the field. The next most visible is also part of a hedge row to the south, on a ridge below a small wood.
This must once have been a substantial cemetetary but centuries of agriculture have reduced or removed most of the barrows.

Shallow tor topped by a large cairn, unfortunately, like Chapel Carn Brea, somewhat wrecked by a WWII observation post, but still evident.

An odd one this...in that I’d been for many years aware of the feature from afar without ever really being able to place it satisfactorily in close up. Men Amber is a granite tor on the most westerly rise of the Carnmenellis granite, and viewed from northerly aspects comprises a readily identifiable outcrop on a long low ridge that also comprises Crowan Beacon, Polcrebo Downs, Longstone Downs (see below) and Prospidnick Hill before the land drops towards the Cober valley and the Lizard. It is the only granite tor visible along this otherwise relatively smooth ridge from a north-westerly direction, and is plainly visible from the North Cliffs and thus sites such as Crane Castle 11km distant.

The tor is very much of the classic ‘stacked’ formation rather than a crag, and thus is quite possibly the site of a logan stone I have seen reference to in Cornish antiquarian literature as ‘being near to Nancegollan’.

It is also at the crossroads of two tracks of arguably great antiquity: firstly a ridgeway slightly bowdlerized by subsequent enclosure running broadly south from Black Rock (adjacent to the cairn and fire summit at Crowan Beacon) along the ridge a modern field’s width behind the tor across Longstone Downs; within a couple of hundred yards of Prospidnick Longstone, then just east of the summit of Prospidnick Hill, before becoming a minor road and dropping gradually into the valley of the River Cober to the erstwhile (medieval at least) tidal limit of that river at Helston St. Johns; secondly a mostly intact track which seemingly originated at Tregonning Hill, across NW through Carleen before becoming a hollow way on the direct incline up immediately past Men Amber. East from here a sequence of now unclassified minor roads lead in an almost direct easterly bearing across the Carnmenellis uplands to Porkellis, Longdowns and eventually Mabe Burnthouse above the River Fal.
I need to do some more fieldwork and sight bearings on this one, but am sure it is usefully sightlined with Tregonning Hill, and indeed even as far as the foothills of Penwith looking NW. The shout goes out – calling Mr. Hamhead?!?

Twelve O’Clock Rock (as it is named on the OS sheets) also somewhat dominates the skyline eastward across St. Ives Bay, and despite its relatively diminutive size, can easily be picked out from the barrow at Godrevy, over 9km away.

The local historian Arthur Hopwood told me about this stone.

It’s his opinion that this is one of the many stones erected around the beckside by Edward Oates, who bought this land in 1834.

Mr. Oates put up the large stones around the pond just north of this, and also installed the ‘clapper’ bridges found there. It seems he had a thing about having ‘ye olde looking stones’ on his estate.

Edward Oates was a member of the Mill Hill Chapel, in Leeds City Centre, and apparently brought some of the stone from there, including the two rough stone ‘pillars’ that are to be found near the pond, a little further up the beck from here.

There’s a track on the map that runs south-east from the road across the saddle between Verschoyles hill and Knockannavea up into the forestry on Knockannavea. South of the track is this supposed barrow cemetery. I searched the vicinity and found some vague remains. It seems that these barrows have long since been ploughed away, a pity really as the site itself is quite beautiful.

There’s plenty historical to see on the way to Carder Low from Hartington village; medieval earthworks at Moat Hall, a Norman Motte at Bank Top Farm and Romano field systems on the slopes of Carder Low itself.
The barrow/cairn, about 19m across and 1m high, is however a bit of a disappointment although the views across the upper Dove valley into Staffordshire are excellent.

This is an odd stone, its marked as a bullaun stone but really I cant see how it could be.
There are possibly three very faint depression on its surface as I have marked with the red circles. However today I poured some water in them but it didnt settle and just ran straight off.
However the fact that this rock was left in the corner of the field and never removed must mean something?

Update:
I read recently that the bullaun stone has been removed. This stone is thought to be prehistoric however. I have no idea what kind of monument it was part of.

This is a very strange almost rectangular bullaun stone. It is located on a river bed about 1/2 km from the village of Ballypatrick.
Other than the name Ballypatrick there is no evidence on the map of an old church in the area.
This and the strange shape of the bowl make this a very unusual site.