John Barnatt and others have never been able to decide, without excavation, whether this ditched square mound is a barrow, a modified barrow or as its name suggests a gallows site.
Square barrows are not unknown in the Peak several examples are to be found on Harland Edge in the Beeley Moor area and also on Stanton Moor.
Visible from the roadside on Manystones Lane.
Around 20x19m in diameter this barrow has been robbed of most of its stone, leaving only the rim and a central hollow with a surviving stone of a cist. (One of half a dozen barrows in the area with an exposed cist).
Gallows Low Lane access is pretty straightforward, the track to the Roystone Grange Trail passes right by the barrow; and it is worth a look when in the Minninglow area.
No recorded excavations.
These two Iron Age stone Cashels are on the bank of Lough Gur on a hill called Carraig Aille. Seemingly during excavation a silver hoard was found here.
Both forts are quite low, the wall only maybe 1- 1.5m high. There is an entrance in both of them to the east.
I heard well over a year ago that the state had bought the land that they are on and they were to be made available to the public but have had no further update.
They are located just after the crossroads going to the lake on the left hand side. We parked in front of a nice house on the right hand side of the road and you should be able to see them from the road.
Situated on a shelf of land just below, and to the south of Harland Edge proper, this slightly ovoid/ovid? cairn enjoys far reaching views to the south down the Wye Valley. Completely covered in heather the mound stands to a little over 1.5m, kerbstones detectable under foot in the NW and SE sectors of the cairn’s rim.
On the whole disappointing and perhaps not worth the effort of crossing the very wet moorland.
No known records of any excavations.
Re-visited 25-02-07
This little marked stone is more or less exactly where akas555 reports it, on the south side of the field boundary. (Garmin e-trex says NZ019648 when rounded up from 10 figures). It looks like a very old boundary, with the remains of a bank, mostly quite low, but giving the impression that it may have once been quite substantial, with traces of hedge in places. The absence of undergrowth shows there are oodles of field clearance stones in the bank, making me wonder if there are any other carvings still hidden from view. The marked stone is quite obviously no longer in situ, but presumably came from somewhere fairly close. Maybe there was once a cairn in one of the fields, or I suppose it may have been part of an inconvenient (from a farmers point of view) lump of outcrop. The former seems more likely.
I spent a very uncomfortable afternoon in high summer a couple of years ago looking for it on the wrong side of the fence, which is festooned with brambles and nettles. I was searching on the north side of the fence, further east towards Brockhole dean, which is where it appears to be when using the ref given on the Beckensall Archive. So near, yet so far...
I feel a revisit armed with akas555’s info and a gps would be in order.
I spotted this on the Northumberland Rock art Website, and because there was no photograph I thought I’d take a look.
This portable is on the south side of the fence, directly (magnetic) south of Thornborough High Barns, well situated over a view of the tyne valley.
Perched [unusually] right on the crest of a very slim ridge running roughly N-S, this rare Kentish bell barrow has suffered from looters at some stage in antiquity. The hole left in the top has probably reduced it from its current 2m height quite considerably, though there are supposed to be remains still waiting to be excavated. The ditch has suffered with falling trees uprooting large chunks of soil, but is still in evidence to the North and South. Due to the [too] narrow strip of land this barrow is sited on, the East and West sides of the barrow are actually on the downhill slopes and no trace of any ditch can be seen.
Access via Ivy Cottage Farm [park opposite], across the small field and straight up the hill to the N Downs way, then left and along the ridge for 200m. The barrow takes up the entire width of the woodland so no hunting.
The views on either side of the ridge are quite impressive, with a long strip of the Medway visible to the South round to the North West. This barrow must have been highly visible especially to the West, as it would have created a large hump in the smooth horizon especially if it was as high as has been suggested.
Llyn Brenig is a really good place to see lots of different types of monument, but ideally a long summer day would be needed to see them all, a long walk of 2-3 miles with good walking boots (though in the summer watch out for the hoards of anglers, they think they own the place)
If walking from the main Archeaological trail carpark allow 2 hours there and back, Try to look up as your walking there is a path but it fades now and then, two streams must be jumped and one barbed wire fence climbed but you do walk right past Brenigs 40 and 41.Unless you shrewdly park on the B4501 as I almost did .
This barrow is about 2 metres tall and has commanding views up and down the lake and is strangely shapely if you know what I mean..Curvey
An ideal place to see Brenig41 and various birdlife too as this is on a wildlife preserve. From the shore this barrow looks big but from the opposite side it merges with the hill so the hieght is not easily estimated.
Once again don’t walk the entire legnth of the lake to get there park to the north west on the B4501
It’s really difficult to make any on site fieldnotes for fairly obvious reasons, and not owning a dingy I decided to at least get as close as I could, this meant a long walk from the carpark all the way round the head of the lake and then back down the other side.( With hind sight this was the wrong way to go as there is a carpark to the north-west on the B4501,go from here.)
I got soaked from the knees down and the very edges of the lakes banks are under cut and very easily collapsed ,so tread lightly.
The barrow looks to be around 2m tall
What a briliant stone! – a dead ringer for a squatting toad when seen from the side. It’s 1.2m high, 1.1m wide, 0.5m thick and has small packing stones at the base. It lies about 30 yards to the east of the Cistercian Way in an open field, a 5 minute walk from the minor road at SD363776.
The National Monument Record describes it as possibly the remains of a circle of stones such as a walled enclosure. This is based on a confusing reference from 1872. There is certainly nothing else visible now.
The Ordnance Survey have just replied. They are also confused by the symbol on the map and agree that it is in the wrong place. At the next revision they will put an appropriate symbol at SK 2833 7728. Quite what that symbol will be is anyone’s guess – I have counted 8 different symbols for stone circles on the OL24 sheet alone.
A fair walk to the place especially if you have just “done” the White Caterthun, but well worth it in my opinion; if only for the view of the flat top of it’s sexier White sister. There is a lot more to see in the winter with less heather and of course only the grouse for company.
There’s no two ways about it, it’s a long hard slog to get up here but if you stop two or three times and have a look about your hardship is well rewarded.Two sets of banks and ditches are well preserved on the hilltop ,a good south facing entrance that seems to enter the fort at an angle .(not seen one of them before)On a clear day you can see really far Cadair Idris ,Snowdon and Tryfan To the West and the seemingly endless plains to the east and the other Clwydian mountains north and south .The summit cairn I think is modern but it sits on a more intergrated bump that may be an ancient work of some sort.
Plenty of carparking space by the way
I thought this would be a short foray into new teritory but alas I’d already been past here once in my old 4wd (and you really do need one the road is really rough)god knows how I missed this big barrow. A ten minute walk from the road, down hill over stream up hill over fence and your there , but there is an unwelcoming feel to the place, probably the sign on the gate. Good views everywhere except to the west
Earthwork remains of an Iron Age hillfort containing levelled rock-cut hut platforms, according to ADS, but they’re hard to spot amongst the heather. It’s quite a small fort, sited on top of a rocky outcrop. There’s not a lot to see, but it’s obvious that the site would be easily defended.
You can see Castlerigg Stone Circle from the top, if you know where to look, and have binoculars.
It was a cold day of sub-zero temperatures, when me and my mate, Pie Eater, visited. The ice, under the light covering of powder snow, made for an interesting ascent. The Forestry Commission have spoilt the area somewhat, but the short detour to the top of nearby Raven Crag will reward the intrepid antiquarian with spectacular views of Thirlmere.
The ‘Cook’s Stone’ stands near the road East of Rhosgoch on a mound. Coflein says it’s almost certainly natural, and describes it as a 3.0m x 2.0m stone resting on rocky outcrop. It’s thought to have given the parish it’s name.
In Northumberland’s Prehistoric Rock Carvings (Pendulum, 1983), Beckensall says ‘The site is very unusual at the side of a stream, and does not command the usual extensive views’, this is closely tied in with his Zen-like statement in Prehistoric Rock Art in Northumberland (Tempus, 2001), when he adds as a caption on the photograph on p.119, “This flat boulder is either in it’s natural position, or has been brought there”. I’d agree that it seems to be in an incongruous setting, but noticed that when approached from the east, you can see above the treeline and there’s a superb view over to Cheviot, framed by the two nearest hills. This argues to it being in situ.
However, when you’re at the boulder itself, there’s a profusion of field clearance stones, all of which are either small cobbles, or medium sized bits about the right size for a Northumbrian kerb cairn. So there’s the possibility that the marked stone came from a now defunct cairn. The area drips with funerary remains.
Adding to the ambiguity is the fact that the stones seems to lie smack bang on a prehistoric trackway, complete with standing stones, cists etc., which supports either viewpoint. I just couldn’t make my mind up completely.
I agree that this is pretty difficult to find. We would have had no chance at all if we hadn’t asked at the ‘Tea and Books’ store in Dervaig. A cheap local guide is available giving accurate directions to the site and others. The path here is extremely boggy, and watch out for ticks, as we all came back with quite a few. However it is worth visiting and makes a good compliment to the other two Dervaig sites.
Round Hill Mound
Marked on the explorer 170 map as ‘mound’. The site is to be found on a track leaving the east of Wantage. The site is much worn down and appears to have been used as BMX track for some time!
(added 14/02/2007). Musings on what it is: If marked as mound and not tumuli, then I suspect (and only that!) that it may be a moot point similar to scutchamer, except on a smaller scale, and NOT a burial site. Please bear in mind that I’ve been wrong before (I said Didcot FC would win the championship one day..... :-)
Possible barrow site in Harwell Village, Oxfordshire.
There are two road signs in the village in close proximity that seem to indicate a possible barrow site. There is obviously no barrow left anymore, and I suppose the site has been built on at some time in the past and is now covered in houses.
In the vicinity are some very large pieces of stone. One is in the corner of a building (4feet in height approx) and one is adjacent to the bus stop (again about 4feet long) and these appear to be rectangular in shape. There are also some large sarsen stones nearby.
I cannot find any reference to it, and I do not know from what period it may have come from. (long, round or saxon? et al).
(Listed under misc. earthwork)
Some marked rocks found a couple of years ago on the hill opposite Clach a Mhoid
A couple of newly discovered marked rocks , missed by the royal commission survey of 2000 .The hills in the background are part of the Ben lawers range .
A small square cairn standing on the opposite end (SE) of Harland Edge to Hob Hurst’s House square barrow and to the south of the similarly shaped Rod Knoll.
Situated on a local high spot the isolated cairn, 3x3m, stands on stoney ground in an area where there are remains of medieval lead boles, and so can be tricky to find.
The first time I came here I was armed only with an OS map and in the fog I got hopelessly lost .
Second time with map compass and GPS I found it just fine .
This time map and memory sufficed .I parked where fourwinds did, and always have, I took my bike this time .
It’s not easy to find, the hills and mountains are a bit samey and the paths aren’t marked ,I pushed my bike most of the way, and when the path got boggy I tried a new way of my own, big mistake, at one time I was wading knee deep struggling with my bike , always stick to the path no matter what and keep your head up so you can see the path or you’ll wander and believe me you don’t want that.In the end I was on a small hill and saw the cairn in the distance, sucsess. (of a sort)
Last time I was here it was a bit foggy but this time it was beautiful wonderful views all around .The stones seemed to glisten in the sunlight I sat down and enjoyed this place whilst I dried off , I can’t beleive how badly this place has been treated, the army used it as target practice, Ignorant b******s.
Its a lonely place up here in bad weather it could be a bit scary , I wondered whether to rename it’s builders from the Ancients to the Crazies .
It was time to go and I heeded my own advice and stuck to the path it took no time at all to get back I even managed to spot Llyn Eiddaw-Bach on the way . I may come back here many times ,though maybe in the summer heat next time (though snow would be cool)
