Latest Fieldnotes

I remember driving by this years ago and couldnt find a place to stop. This time I just parked outside a house that is in front of the house. Just jump the fence beside this house and in around the back to the left. U will see one of the stones in this field and then the rest are in the field next to it.
The stones that are there are massive like most of the stone circles in the area. They are lined up in a semi-circle with most of the other side missing except two in the opposite field. They are very close together and I would think that they have possibly been moved like this. They are very overggrown with nettles this time of year and I think a visit in winter with less vegetation was be a good idea. As I said if you use the two stones in the other field as markers this stone circle could have been between 15-20m radius which is very big but its hard to know whether they are in the original position.

The Druid’s Stone, Magheraboy, Ballintoy, County Antrim.

This pretty little passage grave sits in a hollow on top of a small hill with spectacular views over WhitePark Bay and Benbane Head.
The tomb sits in what appears to have been a circular cairn of approx 10m diameter. I counted at least six remaining kerbstones, but it is difficult to be certain, due to a modern drystone wall which cuts through the cairn from NW-SE. I couldnt see any further stones beyong this wall.

The chamber (1.1x1.2m) is orientated NW-SE, with three large stones supporting a chunky capstone, about 2m square. The upright at the SW fits into a groove in the underside of the capstone.

The site is a little tricky to find, and is not visible from the road. I approached from the Ballycastle (Eastern) side of Ballintoy, on the B15. After passing through Ballintoy village, in about 1/2 a mile you will spot an unusually large white house to your left, set back off the road (Mount Druid Rectory). take a left up the concrete lane (also signposted for a guesthouse). As you drive up the lane, the wall of the rectory is on the right, continue up the rocky doubletrack lane for a few hundred metres until you come to a small holiday cottage on the left. (the first house you will see) If you are driving, its probably best to park up before this, the lane is pretty narrow and rough. Just after the cottage there is a field gate on the left. The tomb is about 150m up on the gorse covered knoll behind the cottage, although you won’t see it until you’re nearly on top of it.

Most should be able to access the site easily with a decent pair of boots. Its well worth a visit, on its secluded hill away from the main tourist trails. I’ll be making a date to return in spring when the gorse is in flower.

Although some references say that this site is hard to find/access, we had no problems. It is easily reachable from the parking place for the ‘coral beaches’. Most visitors to Skye will go to these, and the site is worth the 1 mile or so detour.

The entrance is a bit intimidating, but once through, the tunnel opens out, and is crouching height (I’m 6’ tall). Lined with stones, and extending some 10m, narrowing to the end, the structure is an engineering achievement.

This is the first souterrain I’ve visited, and I felt that the explanation of them as refuges from raiders seemed unliklely. You couldn’t have a group of people sheltering here for more than an hour or two before it became uncomfortable to say the least.

In ‘Places Of Power’ Paul Devereux suggests that the Cornish Fogous may have had ritual functions, and one could certainly imagine, as one exits this site through the constricted opening, that it was used for ritual involving a second birth from the earth. More prosaically, having visited on a scorching June day, I wondered whether it was in fact some sort of early icehouse.

15/6/06

This was my third visit to Seefin Hill in as many months and was quite an eye-opener. Should you happen this way, I would urge you to allow yourself at least half a day here. There is much to see on Seefin, and not just the main tomb, though your time would not be wasted if you devoted all of it to this relatively well-preserved monument.

On this day I gave myself more time than usual to explore some of the curious sites on the western ascent. There are many and various rock outcrops here. Sorting through them, cataloging them and understanding them would take more time and more expertise than I have. However, I am convinced that there are many traces of human activity here, whether they be neolithic, bronze age or more modern. It’s actually quite a diverting way to pass what can be a sometimes strenuous climb.

Arriving at the tomb itself is always a relief. That such an example of this type of grave is perched here, high up and far from the madding crowd, brings a joy and peace to the spirit. I’ve met people the three times I’ve been up here but none of them were very interested in the significance of the site. This time, however, I came across some activity that left me more than a bit perturbed. Someone had taken the trouble to bring a ready-made fire pack up with them and had used the sill stone as their fire base. Desecration may be too heavy a word, but that they didn’t bother to clean up after them was annoying.

This got me to thinking about preservation and conservation of the tomb. The access through the portal stones is quite difficult. I’m not of that heavy a build, but I still need to almost lie down and wriggle head first through the wider gap at the ground level. It seems that most if not all prefer to enter through the collapsed roof of the chamber. This is further degrading the perilous condition of this area and it seems that as time goes by more and more of the upper cairn material is falling in here. (I’m always aware when talking about this that I would hate to see some sort of regimen put in place that limits access to this site. The balance between conservation and access is a frustrating one to achieve. Besides, part of the beauty of this site is the free and easy access and the possibility of having a passage tomb in relatively good condition all to yourself.)

On entering through the portal stones you may experience a slight claustrophobia. The passage is quite narrow with some of the orthostats tilting inwards. Check out the base of the third one on your right for the faint diamond/lozenge carving. I’ve never brought a torch, relying on the camera flash to reveal glimpses of the structure of the passage (this adds to the slow revelation of the tomb to me. You may prefer the torch method. I live just a ten minute drive from the base of the mountain.) Limited to my method of survey I’ve not had much joy in studying the roof of the passage, but camera shots have revealed an intricate series of stones. I read somewhere recently that there is a christian cross carved on one of the roofstones but haven’t felt the need to look for it.

My favourite part of the tomb is on the left of the entrance to the chamber. The colours of the corballed stones here, revealed by the camera flash, are beautiful. It’s quite difficult to manouevere here as this is where the roof rubble begins. I’ve lain down on my back and wriggled around on my front in a bid to get better shots here. The pile of rubble gets steeper as you make your way into the centre of the chamber. Two of the recesses are visible but contain quite a bit of rubble. Moss covers a lot of the walls in both. You could, were you agile enough, sidle your way down into the recesses. The worn beauty of the roof stones here is similar to that of the chamber entrance. I’ve thought that I’d love to see this cleared out to check for carvings.

Surveying the lips of the roof hole it’s easy to see the continuing degradation of the tomb. At times the whole structure seems on the verge of collapse. I’ve tried to not use this as an entrance or exit but it’s too tempting. Around the south-eastern edge of the tomb you can see the original kerbstones, about 2 metres away from the cairn pile. These curve back into the cairn itself on the south side. From over the hole in the roof, aligning yourself with the passage by sighting on the entrance, the views across to Seahan are great. From this position, sister Seefingan is away to your right.

Seefin is my favourite place bar none on my new megalithic odyssey. However, from my last experiences here I would be quite a bit worried about the integrity of the site. I wonder when the last time an officer from the Office of Public Works was up here.

A very easy to find tomb, signposted from both ends of Presbetery Lane, just off the B16, about 3/4 of a mile SE of the village of Dunloy, in the townland of Ballymacaldrack. Known locally as ‘Dooey’s Cairn’.
The tomb is in State Care, and as such is pretty tightly fenced in, however this does little to detract from the stones remaining.

An impressive court tomb, with an amazing u-shaped forecourt at the SW end, comprising 11 massive, well shaped stones.

The following text is taken from the information board at the forecourt end of the tomb...

Dooey’s Cairn is on the east side of Long Mountain, a prominent north-south ridge, rich in prehistoric remains. The cairn, in the Ballymacaldrack townland, is a court grave. It was excavated in 1935 and 1975. A flat-topped cairn of stones with traces of a retaining kerb on the long sides has at its south-west end a U-shaped forecourt of 11 uprights. Broken fragments of plain and decorated round-bottomed pottery bowls were found in the forecourt, suggesting that some ritual may have taken place there.

Two portal stones mark the entrance from the forecourt into a small chamber, with a roughly cobbled floor. A polished stone axe found between the portals during excavation has been called the ‘magic guardian’ of the grave. On the floor of the chamber were found fragments of pottery, flint arrowheads and a stone bead. Beyond the chamber, through another pair of stones, was a cremation passage with boulder walls and a flagged floor, interrupted by three pits. The first pit held a wooden post, and pit 3 at the end of the passage was full of cremated human bones, the remains of 5 or 6 adults, both male and female. Radiocarbon has dated the cremated remains to around 3,000 BC and the blocking of the forecourt to about 500 years later. The cremation passage is the only one known so far in Ireland, but similar features are found in Scotland and north-east England.

Court graves were built as communal burial monuments by early farming communities of the Neolithic period (4 to 5,000 years ago). In Ireland they are mainly confined to the northern third of the country. There are at least 18 court graves in County Antrim, two of which, THE BROAD STONE at Craigs on the west side of Long Mountain and OSSIAN’S GRAVE near Cushendall, are in State Care.

Dooey’s Cairn is named after the family who generously placed the monument in State Care in 1976.

Further Reading: A E P Collins, ‘Dooey’s Cairn, Ballymacaldrick, Co. Antrim’ Ulster Journal of Archaeology 39 (1976), 1-7; E E Evans, ‘Doey’s Cairn, Dunloy, Co. Antrim, Ulster Journal of Archaeology 1 (1938), 59-68.

For some strange reason I have never visited Chysauster before....is it cos you have to pay! No..can’t be that, I flashed my Tour Guide badge and got in for nothing.although I did by a book.

I chose a great day to visit, the sun was shining, the whole site bedecked in flowers, gorse and foxgloves prominent. The only slight problem was the easterly wind...but this did at least mean that the casual visitors didn’t stay long.

There was more to see than I thought, and much easier to decipher what’s what than at Carn Uny (although the guide covers Carn Uny as well). There are 9 houses to explore, in different stages of preservation and after a while they all start to follow the same pattern, eastern entrance, courtyard, bay on the left, long room on the right and round room opposit entrance. Each house has at least one “stone with hollow”, not allways in the original position and most have the remains of water channels, lines of stones running down across the courtyard.

I know English Heritage come in for critism sometimes on this site but I have to say I was happy with the way Chysauster was presented. Yes there are info boards dotted around the area but they are not too intrusive..and not everybody wants to buy a book. The gray hut at the eastern end could be moved a bit further away from the main village. I was not sure if it was a tea shop at busy times or where the lawn mower is kept. That was another thing, the site was tidy, the grass was short in the houses but the flora was allowed to grow elsewhere. Some clearence of gorse has taken place, but all in all there was a nice ballance.

Good clean toilets at the car park..nice to know if you are walking in the area.

I first heard about this site from my friend who lives close by. He sent me some pictures which made me think it was a new find – 2 circles on Lewis and on the east side of the island. Pretty exciting stuff!

When I visited last week, I wasn’t so sure. As you approach, you can see 2 stones standing on top of the hill. Nothing unusal there as many Lewis circles are on prominent ridges.....but when I reached the site, some doubts kicked in. The complete circle is almost too perfect and is obviously man-made but I cannot be sure of its age. Mind you, I am no archaeologist, but it just looks like it is too precise and perfect.

The second circle actually looked more like a kerb cairn to my untrained eye but may well be a small, slightly ruinous circle. I have put up these pictures and fieldnotes to let others see and possibly give some insight.

Oh, and Margaret Curtis isn’t convinced (but maybe that’s because she is peeved she didn’t find them first! lol!) However, a report is soon to be published by the archaeologist who has been working on the site so maybe I will wait until I read it to come to a final decision.

Directions; travelling south down the island you will pass through Ballallan (Baile Ailein). There is a sign for a pub on the left hand side as you pass through the village and a left hand turn signed posted South Lochs. Take this turn and follow the road past the pub on your left (and the standing stone put up recently by a local on your right). On the right hand side is an unmarked road which leads to a cattle grid. The hill is straight ahead of you (park here) and you can see the 2 stones on the hilltop. It is a 5 minute scrabble up the hill (boggy peatland, be prepared).

This is a very special little passage tomb. (minus the passage) Located on a lightly sloping field below the ridge of Long Mountain, with wide views over the landscape of Co. Antrim & Co. Derry.

Seven beautifully shaped, and closely spaced orthostats hold a substantial, but quite crudely repaired capstone of about 2x1.5m aloft.
The capstone is reported to have been shattered by lightning (!) (more likely frost) in 1976, and was repaired in 1985. The whole height of the tomb would be approx 1.7m
The site was excavated in the mid-nineteenth century, and there are records of the cairn being removed then, and the burial urn removed. About 5km west in Co. Derry, across the river Bann is a similar-sized tomb at Moneydig, which still has much of its cairn intact.

The site has very easy access, a few yards from the road, over a stile. It is in the care of the state, and they have deemed to erect an information post a little to close to the stones for my liking, but at least it hasn’t been closely fenced in like so many other tombs in the area.

A well-preserved example of a Court-tomb, situated on a basalt plateau at a height of 190 metres on the west side of the Long Mountain. The more easily accessable ‘Craig’s Dolmen’ Passage tomb lies 600m SW.

When I say ‘well-preserved’, the remains of a north-south aligned court tomb is set in the remnants of its oval cairn (approx 15x12m) with traces of the stone kerb defining the perimeter. At the south end is the semicircular forecourt, mostly missing, facing SSE, from which the burial gallery opens between two large, slablike portal stones, separated by a septal. The gallery seems to be divided into three chambers with stone jambs and sills, with the farthest chamber being almost circular in plan.

This is where things get confusing. According to the Historic Monuments and Buildings branch of the DOE (NI), the large capstone was a mid-19th century addition, giving the false impression of a ‘dolmen’.

Apart from the strange additions, and the rather restrictive fence surrounding the site, it really is worth seeking out for a visit. This is one of three tombs in the area (out of at least 18 in County Antrim) which are in State care, and the grass surrounding the stones had just been cut when i visited.

Getting here is a little tricky, I approached from the A26, heading NW between Ballymena and Ballymoney. About halfway along, pass the junction to the right with the A44 (Armoy, Ballycastle) and take the next left, a few hundred metres further on, signposted Dunloy. This is where the road numbering ends. head straight into Dunloy over the level-crossing and at the crossroads in the village go straight ahead (bearing slightly right) Carry on down this undulating road for about 3.5km until you come to a crossroads at Mullan Head, and turn left. This road is called ‘Mullan ___?’ (sorry for my poor memory) Continue down this road for approx 1km, and take the third lane on the left. The lane heads straight to a private house, but bear right at the entrance, and the lane deteriorates into a rocky track up the side of a disused quarry pit (marked on OS map) after bending to the right, the track emerges onto open hillside. Keep your eyes peeled around the third field gate on the right, the site lies about 200m west of the track. (Oh, and watch out for the bull...)

**EDIT 05 Sept. – was passing the site today, and found the lane to the site securely padlocked with a stern notice posted forbidding entrance.

The TMA Eds have received an email from Miles Johnson, the Countryside Archaeological Adviser for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

He wishes to remind people that the circle at Fancarl Top is on private land not covered by the CRoW open access Act. The landowner contacted him because people trespassing to get to the circle were damaging the surrounding drystone walls. The landowner was also unhappy that the stones had been ‘inappropriately decorated’ by people accessing the field without asking for his permission.

Although Mr Johnson wished us to remove the circle from the website, we would respectfully suggest that it would be better left on here with this note attached, in order that anyone using TMA to identify visitable sites will then know and understand the landowner’s wishes (unfortunately this will not influence the trespassing of people who do not use this website).

TMA Ed.

The TMA Eds have received an email from the owner of the land on which this rock art lies. It is not on the land of Argrennan Mains, as may have been suggested below. He seems to be a friendly and accommodating chap and says he is happy to show the rocks to anyone who is interested, and he will be happy to escort you to them; indeed he says that the marks recorded for Park of Tongland are in fact some distance from the ones these photos show.

He would like to stress that he does not want people entering the fields on their own and pulling the vegetation from the rocks, exposing the marks to the weather.

If you want to visit this site, please have the courtesy to call at the farm first. Indeed this method applies to all sites on private land.

Thank you.
TMA Ed.

What a site! Visited on our way up to Lewis for the Lunar Standstill and, having stayed overnight at a nearby campsite, decided to check this place out.

I had no idea it would be such a great site. The field was full of sheep with very young lambs so I didn’t want to stay too long for fear of freaking them out. The setting is superb I got a couple of excellent shots which I’ll post when I get my stuff downloaded.

I was impressed with the stones which make up the cairn but even more so by the solitary standing stone. I can’t think of a similar site but thn this is my first Clava Cairn so maybe they all look like this?

A beauty!

Visited today and someone had erected their own stone circle on the info board, which was a nice touch!

I think this is one for the enthusiasts though. I enjoyed seeing the unexcavated site and trying to work out how it must’ve looked but, even on a boiling hot day, it was pretty wet and boggy, so come prepared!

Visible from the road leading to Doddington, this bit of carved outcrop has been pretty heavily weathered, it’s in a very exposed location. But this means the view over the Millfield plain is excellent, in the olden days, this would have overlooked a henge or three, as there’s shedloads of the on the plain. The view also gives a nice profile of the Cheviot and her pals, whilst maintaining a visual link with the other rock art sites on Doddington Moor.

It’s currently used as a soapbox by sheep who want to bleat at the passing traffic, and for target practise by the local avian community (Maybe they’re actually aiming at the proseletising sheep?)

This is the only chambered cairn known on Jura. It is situated on a cliff top on the west side of a stream that runs into the bay Poll a’Cheo – the Bay of the Mists. It can be approached either from Strone via the standing stone (although the last part is quite rough) or along the cliff path from Ardfin (Jura Gardens).

The stones are in a field called Achadh na Lice – the field of the slabs. The easiset approach is from the road near Strone house or through the alder wood from the chambered cairn above Poll a’Cheo – Bay of the Mists, an extension of the cliff-top walk from Jura Gardens.

Very, very interesting guided tour with Margaret who lives nearby, as mentioned in Julian’s book. It’s like some sort of partial programming into the magic of the temple. Magic to do with changing reality real time... instant magic I mean... from the individual perspective, and crucially tribal wide. This now being contained by the ‘men in black’. (Masonic type dodge Christian ritual child abuse negation of goddess reality) I actually read recently that in the 19th Century the locals used to use the temple as a toilet... men in black as I said. Ever experienced instant space time travel? You could do if programmed by Margaret ! Actually as their are a lot of blagging hippies around (rather than the real thing), its probably best that Margaret doesn’t know all the program! Its kinda like intellect can be ‘read’ by thieves, whereas the unknown is the unknown... the unknowable. Incredible magic.

...just to add (and this may seem harsh to locals)...if the Temple and ancestors were to be properly honoures (and thus the magic/goddess), the following should be enacted:

Clear all habitation/buildings/roads/artificial lighting etc etc etc from sight/near distance of the Temple complex. The area to be grazed by sheep.

Blessed be.

;)

Ballynaglogh Standing stones, 08 June 2006.

Townland – Ballynaglogh (’Baile-na-gcloch’, ‘the town of the stones’)
Parish – Culfeightrin (’Cuil-eachtrann’ [Coolaghtran] ‘the corner (cuil) of the strangers’)

I decided to visit these stones after seeing the images posted by FourWinds. I live within a couple of miles of the site, and drive past it most days, but have never stopped to explore, so on a pleasant June evening I set off with my camera. Its probably the most easily accessable site that I have ever visited, right in the churchyard of Culfeigtrin (St Patrick’s) Church of Ireland, on the Cushendall Road (A2), just before the village of Ballyvoy. Ballyvoy is about 2KM east of Ballycastle, on the North Antrim coast.

A Massive three metre tall basalt stone stands guarding the church door, and another lies, seemingly broken in half, at the eastern end of the building. The broken portion appears to have been removed. Why this stone was defaced and not the other remains a mystery. Perhaps its phallic appearance was too much for the nineteenth-century congregation. There are reports of a third stone nearby, but I didn’t have the time to search for it as the light was fading.

The church was built in 1831, but amazingly I can find no details anywhere regarding the age of the stones, or their local significance. They don’t appear to be listed on the Archaeology data service website, but to my eye at least, appear to be perfectly genuine. FourWind’s theory about them being linked to the other outlying stones around Knocklayd mountain seems to make sense, although they are probably the largest standing stones that I have seen in the area, and a little further away from the mountain than some of the other stones. It certainly made a change from the usual toil up squelchy hillsides to visit the other megaliths in this area. Although never as impressive as stones left in their natural setting, they are certainly worth a quick visit. I will return, and try to locate the elusive third stone (if it exists) when I get a chance.

This is a very pleasant spot to stroll round – there is an air of a park about it, as the hill was planted with all sorts of trees at one time. But you can make out the earthworks, admire the view over to the Breiddin Hills, and visit Kynaston’s cave with its attendant bats and folklore (Humphrey Kynaston was a bit of a local hero, with his Black Bess- style horse, Beelzebub). If you go out to the northwest tip of the fort, known as Oliver’s Point (after Oliver Cromwell? I don’t know – he’s blamed for a lot of things), there are some strange ballaun-style holes in the rock underfoot. Perhaps you know what they are? Cos I don’t.

Lough Na Cranagh is one of three small loughs nestled on the summit of Fair Head, an impressive foreland with 100m vertical cliffs formed from a sill of dolerite.
The crannóg has remarkably well-preserved circular stone walls, rising approx 3-4 feet from water level in places. Reports seem to differ on the age of the crannóg, ranging from Iron Age, to Early Christian.
There are incredible views from the hills surrounging the lough, over Rathlin Island and towards the Mull of Kintyre.

Townland – Cross
Parish – Culfeightrin

From Ballycastle, take the A2, towards Cushendun. At Ballyvoy, take a left at Hunter’s Bar and follow the signs for Fair Head along the Torr Road. There is a car park at Coolanough Clachan (Restored by the National Trust). The lough is hard to miss,(you’ll have spotted it before you reach the carpark) and an easy five minute stroll from there.

From the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record;

Crannagh Island lies in the centre of Lough na Crannagh. The crannog is very much as depicted on the OS map; it is oval in shap, 30m x 25.5m across. The outer edge of the crannog is faced with a drystone wall. It stands 1.5m above the lakebed & is surmounted b a stoney bank, 7.2m wide & 0.8m high. The crannog has been built up with boulders overlain with a layer of laterite. There are 3 possiblelanding places on the perimeter of the crannog, at N, SE & NW. At N, 2 lines ofboulders extending from the crannog below the water form a small harbour. “Extensive excavations” by McHenry in 1886 produced only flint and animal bones.

26.5.06

You wait nearly 30 years to get back into a site...and you are met by thick mist!

As a young army cadet I spent several weekends at the MOD camp at Penhale...with no interest in history. Now that I am a big boy I finaly get to go back in on a fieldtrip to look at landscape (sand dunes).

Walking down through the radio station at the north end the low banks of the Iron Age cliff castle were pointed out to us...through the mist...I was not allowed to go too close so the only photo is the best I could get.

Who knows what the strange hoops are that sit inside the banks...the MOD guy had no idea!

The SWCP runs the other side as far as I know but they were keen to stress that trespassers are not tolerated!

Mr H

We visited the site on 24th June 2005. The stone lies ca. 100m. north of the “Ormaig Walk” as described in the Isle of Ulva visitors’ guide. We didn’t climb the fence to get closer.

The Canmore database gives the following description from a visit in 1972:
“A recumbent stone, formerly erect measuring 2.6m in length and 2.7m in girth at the base, which is triangular in shape. The sides of the stone are almost straight and what has been the top is pointed.”
The Ordnance Survey field surveyor found in August 1995 that it had been put upright.

This a lovely tomb with a great location. It has views of the harps of cliu and into Limerick and Tipp to the north. The tomb itself is pretty big, being sunk into the heather. Id say the stones are about 1.75m high. The is a path pretty much straight up from the other tomb on the hill at Moanour. It seems to be on an East-Northeast by West-Southwest axis.

Ive been reading the book on Knowth by George Eogan and on his map of the distribution of passage tombs in Ireland he names this site as a passage tomb.
It would make it the only definite passage grave in Tipperary.

I met an old man on the way up to this, we talked about tipperary hurling and he gave me directions. Seems this is hill-walking country and quite a few people go up to this wedge tomb that is associated with the story of Diarmuid and Grainne. The tomb seems to have been visited recently as I could follow a path through the long grass. The tomb itself is overgrown, id say it would be worth photographing in winter when some of the overgrown had receded. It must be about 3-4m long with the main stones being at least 1.5 high.
The conical peak of Temple Hill is what I saw from the tomb but it doesnt seem to be pointed towards it but to the smaller hill in the distance. Ill have to find out its name.

This site is tricky enough to find and is in the middle of marsh land. I used the GPS to find it. Id say you would probably sink before you would find it in winter. It is in heavily undulating land close to a stream. Its about 500mm long. The views from the stone arent very impressive and Id say it is most likely a boundary marker stone.