Latest Fieldnotes

Being of the Scottish kind I just went over to the monument. You can go pretty well anywhere you like at home. This is an interesting Dolmen, reconstructed but still pleasing to the eye.

From the Knowe of Geoso you can see the twin hump of the Knowe of Angerow in the Yesnaby direction. Proceeding you go down into the burn shown on the 1:25,000 as going to the Ness of Ramna Geo where there used to be a quarry. Past the curving steep southern bank enter the next field through the gate. Two of the Velziam mounds are simple rises here. The Knowe is in the NW field i.e. the next towards the Loch of Skaill. But from here all looks level pasture. Only coming from the Knowe of Angerow does the prominence reveal itself (looking to the Unigarth souterrain perhaps). All looks green now. Time pressing I await a proper season to seek out traces and mayhap a photo.
The field containing Velzian 27 ‘A’ and ‘B’ is presently stubble. For a vantage point I stood on ‘B’, the nearer to the Knowe, and took a pic of the Broch of Borwick (visible all along my walk from Angeron to Geoso).

Very easy to find and you can park up the road. I didn’t try to negotiate the wicked barbed wire on the wall. There is a field gate but I took the wire as a warning of not being wanted. You can have a drink in the Black Lion near where you park.

Even though the road is near there is a peace about this place.

On the way to Skaill it struck me that the deep excavation arc could have been taken as a robbed broch wall. Despite modern misgivings as to the mounds composition and location perhaps this was exactly what happened, and the antiquarians were privy to personal accounts that haven’t come down to us (what little we know of Thieves Holm, for instance, are the odd few second-hand references)? Coming back from the Knowe of Angerow popped in here. In one area the most ginormous flat-top mushrooms about six inches across. Looking around a little poking found one of the many stones said to make up this mound. Very distinctly reddened, surely the sign of heating. Considering the number of burns there were on the slopes down from here to Skaill we could well be looking at your typical crescentic burnt mound (te passage and cistoid remains). And its present size could then be down to later additions that changed its nature. Of course it is likely to go even further back, the terminus of a sequence of mounds ?starting with the Knowe of Angerow and continuing with the Knowe of Nebigarth and the Velzian mounds etc.

A new motif found yesterday plus some examples of incisions . Quite a few of the marked rocks in the area have multiple incisions but rarely across the motifs . Despite this my first explanation would be defacement . The incisions are not at all similar to the “Arrow Stones ” or like those found at Balendune.

Supposedly, this is a reconstructed site. Perfectly manicured lawns, courtesy of the local Herdwick sheep, and manure to keep the grass growing.
This is the land that could well be described as the “arsehole of nowhere”, not that I wouldn’t like to live there. The west Cumbrian coast is the hardest part of England to get to. Even from the central Lakes it’s at least an hour plus to get to Kinniside, sorry Blakeley Raise. The new name has come from the small fell behind. It’ known locally as Kinniside.
If you get there at the right time of day, i.e. when the minority of dickheads who work at Sellafield aren’t going to, or coming from work at high speed on a narrow road, often on the wrong side, then it’s bliss, otherwise don’t bother, as the chances of a crash are high. As are the chances of a crash on the southern approaches from the M6, to-whit, the A590 (740 casualties in the last 5 years).
Enough doom. The circle is set high above Cleator Moor, which can be seen down to the west. Sellafield’s (it’s safe, honest) chimneys and cooling towers spoil the view of the Irish Sea. To the N and NW lovely fells rise up, as the do immediately behind. You can walk these heights all day without seeing a soul.
As for the circle, well the story of the reconstruction (see my notes in the miscellaneous) sort of destroys the illusion of the perfect setting. How can we really be sure they’re the right stones in the right holes? It changes the atmosphere and feeling of the site for me.

Ok, so what are they?

The Gwynedd Archaeological Trust lists the 3 arrow stones as being prehistoric but Coflein classifies them as of unknown period.

H.S. (Bill) Chapman has sent me a copy of his interesting article in 3rd Stone Oct-Dec 1998 entitled “’Arrow stones’ and related phenomena: North Wales examples of prehistoric art”. It lists 15 possible sites and draws parallels with markings found elsewhere.

The term arrow stone comes from the idea that the grooves were caused by the sharpening of arrows. This seems implausible but quite what they symbolise, if anything, is unclear. I hope to post some further ideas in the near future.

This stone is just 3 paces south of the track and so has suffered the indignity of lots of modern inials being carved into its surface. GPS reading SH 6924 7100.

There are incisions up to 20cm long, 3mm wide and 2mm deep. Lichen on the east side may be hiding more.

The Gwynedd Archaeological Trust list the stone as coming from the medieval period but to me it seems to have similar character to the Llanfairfechan Arrow Stones just across the county boundary in Conwy which are classified as prehistoric.

The stone is immediately to the south of the track. GPS reading SH 6926 7223.

It is 1.75m long, 0.55m wide, 0.55m deep and is leaning over at a marked angle. It is not listed by either Coflein or the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust – I will contact the latter to ask why not.

This took a bit of finding in rather boggy moorland but was well worth the effort. It is 35 paces south of the wall from the last tree (a hawthorn), which in turn is 35 paces down from the gate in the wall running along the north side of the field. GPS reading SH 6957 7315.

The stone is flat and almost level with the ground, 2.25m long E-W and 0.9m wide N-S. In parts the surface has an odd, almost cement-like, textrure – perhaps it has been smoothed. The incisions are up to 20cm long and 8mm deep.

Coflein describes it as “an arrow stone located on open moorland with more than 100 incisions on its surface.”

I could find nothing at this location although both Coflein and the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust list an arrow stone at SH 6937 7228.

I also couldn’t find the stone from the Roman period which the GAT list at SH 6936 7231 and which Coflein describes as: “Incised stone at the head of Alan Glan Sais near the Roman road. The surface of a flat rock 3ft 8ins by 2ft 5ins bears a design consisting of three concentric squares, the centre of each of the four sides of this design being cut and measures about 9ins square.”

This stone lies 10 paces west of the path junction or perhaps more obviously, 30 paces NW of the NW leg of the pylon. The incisions are up to 20 cm long and 2 cm deep.

Coflein describes it as “an arrow stone on the west side of the track near ffridd newydd. It is a natural boulder measuring 2m by 1m and on the upper surface of the stone are groups of parallel cuts from 10-18cm long.”

The stone is 20 paces north of the track roughly half-way between the corner of the wall to the west and the start of the rectangular enclosure to the east. GPS reading SH 6801 7207. It lies low to the ground and is 2.75m long N-S and up to 1.0 m wide E-W.

There are a group of markings on the SE side of the stone, including a wigwam shape. The incisions are up to 12 cm long, 2.5 mm wide and 2 mm deep. This area of the stone looks as though it could have been smoothed and there are 4 or 5 little holes that look a bit like punch marks. The initials R.R.P. are directly above the wigwam shape. There could also be other incisions on the other side of the stone but they are less clear.

The incisions in the main area are shallower but clearer than those on other so-called arrow stones in the area. The Gwynedd Archaological Trust class it as a medieval inscribed stone and I suspect that it is not older than that. The RCAHW Caernarvonshire inventory from 1956 describe it as “an earthfast stone about 8ft by 3ft with a small group of grooves on its upper surface” and both sources give the grid ref as SH 6800 7206. My GPS reading is a bit different from that but the description matches and so I think I’ve got the same stone.

I can’t think of much to say about this stone. It’s definitely not difficult to find, and being about 2 feet from the road, it’s very accessible. I got the feeling that it’s placement had to be something to do with this spot being at the narrowest point of the island, but can’t quite explain why.

The one thing I feel I can say is this is a much nicer stone than the one at the south of the island at Cathan’s Church. Shame it’s been a bit broken, but it does make it a nice shape.

Visited August 2006

Ceann Hulavig, also known as Callanish 4 is my favourite of the smaller sites on the Island. Perhaps because of the elevation and the near 360 degree view, but also the stones lend a more enclosed feeling. The depression you can see inside the circle was caused by peat cutting which revealed another two feet of depth to the stones. The stones are coated in great sheets of lichen, indicative of the wonderfully clear air here, and this is very much a place to come and breathe deeply, whilst constantly turning and taking in the view.

Visited July 2001.

Anywhere else in Britain this site would be surrounded in fanfare and hordes of people, but its closeness to the main site mean many people do not come here at all. This is a shame, as it has its own features, each stone has unique patterns within the quartz, and although many standing stones were worked & shaped there is nothing so striking as the triangular stone shown here. The main site of Callanish is visible on the horizon, and to the rear a path leads you to yet another impressive circle, Cnoc Fillibhear Bheag.

Visited July 2001

Stuck out on the middle of the moor between Jamaica Inn and Brown Willy, this cairn is not the most easily accessible monument on the moor. It can be found by walking up the valley to the left of Codda farmhouse (Nth of Jamaica Inn) until you come to the boundry wall between the two parishes (Altarnun and St Breward) It sits close to the wall on the north side of the valley.
In shape it resembles a boat with a headstone at the upper blunt end. I would estimate it is about 15 yards long and 6 yards wide at the top end.

Easy to find -- it’s just next to the track (around SK288693), with a fence round it and an explanatory sign. From the south, there’s a decent path up the side of Bunker’s Hill Wood, and the track is well defined. The fence is presumably to exclude sheep -- there’s a stile at the south corner.
It’s a lovely area to stomp around in: the collection of stones about 100m to the south-east is fascinating, and there’s a very nice marker stone (marking three ways -- Chesterfield, Sheffield and Bakewell -- presumably medieval) a few 100m to the east.
Hob Hurst’s House is clearly defined, but not very exciting -- it’s hard to see how it justifies its “Tourist attraction” symbol on the map. More might become clear in winter, but I expect the ground will get pretty soggy. (At the moment, the heather has had a fairly recent haircut.) You get some nice views, though.

Rath na Tarbh is a ring barrow with a mound in the middle. It is just off the road and is pretty huge. I have a book with the details so well edit this later. This is where in the Tain Bo that the two bulls fought.

Just stumbled by this when I got lost looking for Rathcroaghan (U ask me how that is possible, ask my navigator!). Stopped & had a look, its a lovely barrow and from the road side it could be 5m high. I have to read up whether there is any folklore attached to it.

Some new finds from today , the blue stone in one of the pics is fist sized ,very hard whinstone with signs of percussion marks in the centre It could well be the hammerstone that was used in the the carvings.

Rathcroaghan is a huge mound just off the N5 after Tulsk in Co. Roscommon. There is a visitor centre in Tulsk based around the various cairns in the area. It is on the left hand side going north and there is a car-park and a small information board. The field it is in still has a bullocks in it so keep an eye on them.

It’s definitely got Ogham, but is it prehistoric? I dunno. It’s right next to a very old churchy spot, complete with very old ruined church, so it’s got that feel of ‘Christianised site’ a bit like what I imagine Manx Keeils are like. A bit of reading has got me fairly sure this is the Cnoc-a’-Charra, or ‘the hill of the pillar.‘

It’s quite unlike the confirmed prehistoric stone up to the north of the island. This one is much more dressed looking. It’s also not in it’s original position.

I was slightly miffed that I didn’t get time to go looking for the similarly unmappped 14ft fallen stone known as the ‘Achadh-a’-Charra’, to the west of St. Cathan’s, currently on drain-cover duties.

I’d hoped to find the two other stones nearby, apparently known as ‘The Cailleach and the Bodach’, but they aren’t mapped, I had no guide, and it was getting dark. I bottled out.

In retrospect, I wonder if the plethora of names which seem to be applied to stones on Gigha might mask the fact that this stone and that covering the drain nearby, might not in fact be the Cailleach and the Bodach.

Two ways to reach this from the road to the Brough of Birsay. An entrance gap by the building you see connects the fields for both mounds. One of these had easy entry by an ‘Orkney gate’. Or so it seemed, as, uniquely in my experience, the securing loop had been hooked into the fence and I only undo what I know I can put back the way it was. The field within which the Knowe of Buttquoy is situated is entered by a barred metal gate, though this too has been further secured with a metal loop (not all Orcadian stock are super-smart, because I have seen an electric fence pass across a similar gate in case any stock might batter this in !). Anyway, I used the latter N.B. a farmer on another occasion informed me that you climb over the hinged end of a gate if you find you have to do this anywhere. The cows were far from me, but still, once past the knowe I went over to the other building and into the field where mounds 2/’B’ and 3/’C’ are. One of these is beside the wall just up from the building (by the bye, these drystane walls stand apart from any I have seen elsewhere, more like masonry in appearance and a distinct orange cast). Though this provided a slight elevation the view of mound numero uno from here ‘told’ me nothing new. Still hurrying, back into the knowe field and up the opposite end from this to where Point of Buttquoy mound 1/’A’ is close to where the track to Skipi Geo runs. Features clearer from inside the field. Still best to come here when the vegetation lies lower. If it ever does that is, he says covering himself.