Latest Fieldnotes

I visited the Long Man again last Friday (21/7/06). The vandalism caused, or at least supported, by the C*ntryside Alliance is still very much visible, as the quality of vegetation is different where the letters were burnt on the hillside.

Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures. I’ll try to get back there sometime soon.

I still have a copy of the web-page on which the CA condoned this action. They took it down originally as soon as they realised that it might not have been such a bright idea after all.

Is this a local stone or was it brought in from elsewhere during construction of the reservoir? Living locally I’ve made many trips to the surrounding moors and so far not seen evidence of any other rock art in the Rivington area.

20/7/07

What at first seems like a chaotic, rubble-strewn disaster, soon reveals itself to be an intriguing jigsaw puzzle of the remains of a passage grave mound. At the end of a farm track and fenced in by barbed wire, access is easy over the farm gate here. I met the former owner of the site (before it was taken over by the board of works) who told me that I had just missed Muiris O’Súillebháin, head of the school of Archaeology at UCD, who is still excavating the mound. In fact the farmer at first thought I was part of O’Súillebháin’s entourage – how flattering, but I suppose it goes to show how little visited this place is.
I don’t know too much about this place except what I’ve read on Megalithomania ( megalithomania.com/show/site/149 ), but I can say that’s its passage grave art is a thrill to behold. Spirals, concentric circles and cup marks are found in abundance in the western passage. One of the southern kerbstones is clearly carved with what Eogan calls serpentiform and Brennan calls wavy lines. The kerbstones are all fairly large and most have collapsed, some back into the mound.
The quartz strewn forecourts are a bit of a puzzle as there is one on the southern side that doesn’t denote the entrance to a passage but could have been a ceremonial area in itself. I’ve tried to find a plan of the site but have failed so far.

Knockroe – Cnoc Rua – Red (sandstone?) Hill

This barrow has often fallen in to ‘is it or isn’t it’ category. It’s shape and position are not typical of the Lincolnshire long barrows being a lengthened oval rather than trapezoid and standing on greensand rather than the chalk of the other barrows in the region. C. Phillips writing in 1932 likened it to several barrows in east Yorkshire while P. Phillips (I’m assuming they are related) said in 1989 that excavations had proved inconclusive, further in 1998 Dilwyn Jones failed to mention the site in his study of the long barrows of the area (although he also missed out at least one other recognised barrow).
English Heritage on the other hand have no doubts and list it as a definite long barrow giving its measurements as 65 metres by 20 metres with a maximum height of about one and a half metres and aligned south-east to north-west.
As with many other Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Lincolnshire it is close to the prehistoric trackway known as High Street and also stands close to the head of a valley that marks one of the sources of Kingerby Beck – the kind of position common to local barrows.

A nicely preserved barrow about 20 metres in diameter and just over 2 metres high standing next to the Viking way and to the north-east of the village of Burgh-on-Bain. The piece of land that the barrow stands on is a north-south spur that extends between the valleys of the River Bain to the west and one of it’s tributaries to the east ending where the Bain cuts eastward then south again at the deserted medieval village of Biscathorpe a mile or so to the south. This gives the site an impressive 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside which is rich in chalk and flint – indeed English Heritage say that there have been several finds of worked flint from the soil around the barrow.

Further to what Dave says English Heritage only records a single barrow here – the round barrow to the east of the track. It has indeed been almost destroyed by ploughing with the earth and chalk body of the mound being spread across an area of 30-40 metres. If you crouch down though you can still see a slight hump in the field against the horizon.
The barrows position is interesting as while the land drops away by a nearly a hundred metres within a mile to the west to the River Bain, the barrow is just below the eastern crest of the hill and seems positioned to overlook a series of 5 or 6 valleys on this more gently sloping side of the hill. What could be more important however is that between the barrow and these valleys is a minor road that runs roughly northwest-southeast along a flattened ridge that was formerly used as a prehistoric trackway along this part of the Wolds. This trackway is now known as ‘Bluestone Heath Road’ and runs almost parallel to the ‘High Street’ trackway 3 miles to the east on the other side of the Bain but it appears that it was either felt to be less important and attracted less barrows or if they existed here in the past they have now been lost.
Fact fans: The large dishes close to the barrow that look like they come from a sci-fi filmset formed part of a cold war microwave communications system code named ‘Ace High’. They can be seen on the goole map photo to the northwest of the barrow.

This is a smallish barrow measuring 15 metres by 1 metre high with slight traces of a ditch to the north and south that stands on a parish boundary just outside the village of Buslingthorpe. The first thing that is noticeable is how flat the land is, in the surrounding square mile the elevation doesn’t rise or fall much more than a couple of metres either way. What there is round here however is plenty of water, the barrow is sited almost exactly half way between 2 tributaries of Barlings Eau – I’m assuming that these existed when the barrow was built and are not a result of more recent land drainage.

This is one of the tallest remaining barrows in the county despite, or because of, it’s use as a ROC monitoring post. When the post was constructed in the late 1950’s a large trench some 7 metres long and 3 metres deep was gouged out of the top of the monument and it could be that the height of the barrow was slightly increased in the process of building. Whatever, it stands a respectable 3 metres high with a circumference of 20 metres on the edge of a field next to the B1225 – an ancient trackway with several round and long barrows associated with it. It also marks the highest point in the immediate area with the land sloping away westward to a tributary of the river Witham and eastwards towards the River Bain.
Fact fans: The Belmont aerial mast just to the southeast is the tallest structure in Europe.

Sited about three quarters of a mile down the A839 to Lairg from the A9 junction, on the Mound Rock, Aberscross is easily accessed being sited on a flat platform a short walk up the slope, however it’s definitely one to visit when the bracken is down, in early July it was completely swamped.

I discovered this cup marked stone yesterday.
As far as I’m aware this is probably the first carved stone to be found on this section of the North York Moors.

I was adament that I would not be paying to see these stones, so I parked on the road near the footpath, hopped over a few stiles then over a couple of fields. Having been chased by angry bulls I was ready to give up. Just one more field and WOW... there they are! A stile leads into the field right next to the monument. It’s truly massive with a fantastic view of Snowdonia. Sneaking should be left to early mornings (Welsh farmers can get quite irrate – remember your Ninja training).

I parked the car where the map said the barrow was, but couldn’t immediately find it. Is it behind this small hill? No, it is this small hill. Covered in trees and bushes, almost everyone driving past will miss it. The stone is maybe 5-6 ft tall. The small road cuts through the mound, but there isn’t much traffic, so peace, if sought, can be found. Not easily photographed, but delightful to find. Give the stone a hug its been through a lot.

from Llamberis climb the road up the hill behind the town driving N.W.Park by the sign for footpath.follow path past small lake ,then past crossing paths and you can see the menhir below easily spotted even in summer .A great place to sit and watch the world turning.return to path and carry on for the battered but recognisable Hafodlas cairn circle.

Saw this on the map many times, so I was in the area and checked it out. Its not so megalithic, but it’s certainly mega. The Peaks’ answer to Monument Valley.

The field has passed into active cultivation. The tractor has gone a little up the side of the mound, exposing more material but nothing significantly different. However, this is how erosion starts. The upright stone at the edge facing the main road seems to have gone, it may have been World War stuff but I still hope it is merely hidden by summer vegetation.

When youv’e parked in the big carpark ,instead of going straight into the woods turn right and follow the path to the Golden stone a fallen menhir ,that still marks the boundary of properties

Marton church is the oldest east-west aligned wood framed in use church in western Europe. The large mound it sits on is prehistoric, it’s roughly circular and seems reminiscent of the Hully Hill monument near Edinburgh, and maybe eight feet tall. In a prehistoric Cheshire book, I read a theory that from this platform the Winter Solstice sunrise rises in a notch in the hills, and the Bridestones burial chamber is there also.

The walk to the Nan Stone from Scaling Dam is beautiful at this time of year.
If you start from the Scaling Dam car park and then follow the circular walk signs they will lead you into Quarry Lane. Alternatively you can access Quarry lane from the main A171. From Quarry Lane just follow the path and you will eventually come to the moor.
There’s lots to see here as the walk to the moor takes you along the edge of the Scaling nature reserve. If you love wild flowers then this is definitely a place to be. It’s times like this when I wish I knew the names of many more of our wildflowers. Also at this time of the year it is almost impossible to avoid stepping on small black frogs, they are less than 1cm long and are everywhere.
To get to the Nan Stone you should turn right and follow the earthwork when you get to the open moor. If you can’t see the earthwork to your right then you haven’t arrived yet, keep walking.
Once you have turned right and begun to follow the earthwork you will notice an upright standing stone. The Nan Stone is part of this boundary so keep walking. The earthwork turns off to your right but you must keep walking ahead to the top of a small hill, this is where you will find the next stone. This large stone is now leaning but the weathering on the top shows that it was once erect.
Keep walking along the same line and you will eventually come to a well-made keepers track. Cross the track and climb the small knoll. From the top of this knoll you should be looking out over a large marshy area of sedges, moss and a couple of dwarf trees. You should be able to see the stones slightly to your left on the rising ground on the opposite side.
The next bit is up to you. I bog-trotted across the sphagnum swang wearing just a pair of trainers. It was a blistering hot day and my feet soon dried. Sensible folk can pick their way around the swang and keep their feet relatively dry.
The stones are both standing and are about 1 metre tall. The squared stone is a modern boundary stone that was probably erected during the eighteenth century. The Nan Stone is its rather squat neighbour. The stone has a flat face with a + carved into it, there is also some very weathered carving close to the base of the stone and some cup-like depressions on the top of the stone which are probably solution cups caused by natural erosion processes.
There are two things about the Nan stone that I really like.
The first is the journey to the stone. The walk is not particularly long or challenging but it takes you along an old road lined with ancient hawthorns hanging with honeysuckle. You then walk through an area of wetlands which are rich in wildflowers, butterflies, birds and fly-infested sheep that refuse to give ground to you but will happily transfer half of their blue-arsed lodgers to your keeping.
You then walk onto the lovely moody open moor with it’s vast expanse of heather, bilberry and bracken . And then your final challenge is crossing a lush sphagnum bog.
The second thing that appeals to me is that this moor is rich in prehistoric remains and this stone may well have been used as a boundary marker way back in ..? who knows.
It is possible that when we walk this boundary we are walking along something that was established in prehistory and is still in active use today. My OS map has this boundary marked as Euro ER, Co Const CP & UA Bdy. I’m not too sure what all of that means but what I do know is that this ancient boundary still has meaning today
The Nan stone has been transformed from a stone that possibly legitimised the claims of one small group of prehistoric North Yorkshire people to a patch of moorland territory to a stone that helps define a European political constituancy. Onwards and upwards.
The Nan Stone is lovely, get yersels there.

Sad and all that this is, I’m glad I visited it, if only to honour those that took the time to unearth these beauties: in the baking heat of July 06, defiance in the face of indifference. The various quartz encrustations and seams stiil give this wrecked tomb the power to move.

I called at the farmhouse beside where this rock art is marked on sheet 68. The very kind lady told me that I was welcome to look for the stone, but as far as she knows it had been removed to the National Museum. She told me about two women that had spent half a day here looking for the art only to find nowt.

The grid reference given for this site is the northmost and most prominent of the 2 round barrows, which isn’t marked on the OS map. The barrow to the south at TF215845, which is marked on the map, is just about lost on the edge of a small copse and likely to vanish even more as the tree cover increases.
The northern barrow stands in isolation in a field and has three large trees growing from the mound which measures about 14 metres in diameter and just over a metre tall. The southern barrow is larger at around 22 metres in diameter but is lower at under a metre in height. Both of these monuments are less than a hundred metres from the prehistoric trackway now know as High Street and less than half a mile south from Burgh on Bain long barrow. At this point on the trackway the land slopes down on either side – to a tributary of the River Witham on the west and to the River Bain on the east.

This is a nicely preserved barrow that unlike many in the county is easily accessible as it stands next to the B1225, a road that is now recognised as an ancient trackway. Although it can become overgrown in summer a visit in winter or early spring reveals a 25 metre diameter mound rising to 2 metres in height and the sides seem to have suffered only minimal damage over the years. There are some fine views to the east towards the valley of the fledgling Waithe Beck about a mile away and while the western view is obscured by bushes the barrow is in fact only about 400 metres away from the valley of the River Rase.

One of the smaller long barrows in Lincolnshire, this oval mound is only 27 metres long and 14 metres at its widest point. It stands around 2 metres tall (underneath the grass and bushes) and is ringed by 5 largish trees that have probably protected it from agricultural damage for a good few years.
Aligned wsw-ene it is situated on a ridge that slopes down to the valley of the River Bain about a mile away to the west, and is less than 100 metres from the ancient trackway of High Street. This trackway, that runs along the spine of the Wolds, is rich in round barrows and 3 stand within a few hundred metres to the south.
Note: This long barrow is marked on the OS Map as ‘tumulus‘

This is the most northerly of the Lincolnshire long barrows and stands in a copse on the eastern edge of a dry valley that now cuts across the road that runs from Swallow to Thorganby. It is also the shortest of the regions Neolithic barrows being about 24 metres long by 12 metres wide at its southern end and 6 metres wide at the north. At it’s highest point it is just under a metre and a half tall and has a large pit dug into the southern end.
The alignment of ssw – nne seems unusual but it allows the barrow to follow the contour of the ridge, this seems to have been the most important criteria for the builders.
The site is quite overgrown and can be difficult to find – park at the southern end of the copse and follow the line of undergrowth uphill for a short distance before heading under the trees.

We passed by here on our way from Hully Hill to Glenhead Stone Row (we took the scenic route!)

We parked in the handy lay-by but couldn’t find a way into the field. The double row barbed wire fence was more than off-putting and there was no gateway evident, so we had to make do with gazing upon it from the roadside (not ideal)

The large stone looked magnificent and reminded us of some of the Machrie stones, weathered and lined with age......and I do like a stone with a hole in it!

Tried to get some pix but nothing worth posting here came out. It would seem sensible to have a stile to allow people into the field. I guess some farmers just aren’t as open to having folks traipsing around their land as others. Shame.