Latest Fieldnotes

The main stone, a large block which leans markedly east, is the Roman Stone itself. Beside it is a small block, and six feet east a larger flat rock with over 20 cup-marks on its surface.

According to CANMORE, the alternative name for this site, Dunmoid, means ‘Hill of Judgement’. This is unconfirmed. Around 1876, a stone kist was found in front of one of the slabs, and also an urn filled with ashes. Only one stone is now upright, and it appears to have two cup-marks on the upper surface – take a look at the photograph and see what you think. It was covered in moss, but the indentations felt fairly regular on tentative exploration!

No sign of any other stones which may have formed a circle, I think this is just a pair myself. The western stone has four distinct cup-marks on it which show up quite well in one of the photographs.

Amazing site – very robbed-out but several central chambers still in situ, and it measures a good 130 feet by 30 feet or so. Unfortunately there’s a telegraph pole planted in the middle and the remains of a fence running through it.... but a very fine situation and well worth a visit. Park beside the two cottages at Kindrochet, and ask at the second cottage – the man who lives there is very friendly (as are his dogs!) and will explain how to approach it if the bull is in a nearby field. Approaching from Dundurn farm is more difficult.

The photographs really don’t show the atmosphere of the place. Looking west along the length of the cairn gives a clear view of Dundurn hill fort.

This stone is situated in a field to the south of the A85 Crieff to Lochearnhead road, near the village of Comrie. There is a small track down the side of the field and you can park here as long as you don’t block the road. The stone itself is around 6-1/2 feet tall, with no discernible markings on it. There were a couple of friendly horses in the field when I visited today, which made photographing the stone rather interesting!

King’s Clump Mound – 2.3.2003

The OS Explorer mar 161 shows the word ‘mound’, very close to what looks like a small enclosed hump of ground. The general Richmond Park info board often uses a symbol for ‘ancient heritage’ but this time it doesn’t show anything in the area of the mound. When you go there, there is a very small hump covered in pine and oak trees and enclosed by metal railings with a locked gate. Not sure what it is, or was! As I had approached from the south I came across a few things that seem more interesting than the pretty innocuous tiny enclosed mound.

There is a suspiciously long barrow shaped mound about 20 metres long right on the edge of the hill – this is about 50 metres south of the enclosed mound. It is marked by 3 trees on its west side and a silver birch at the possible south of the possible barrow. Lots of possibles! Maybe I just like seeing possibles, but I also thought there was a suspicious possible round barrow almost at the foot of the possible longbarrow, just to the south of the silver birch tree. It’s a pretty innocuous piece of ground, with a grass path running straight through it, but the small humps and bumps on either side of the path (in an area of no other such bumps) give the impression that it could be a very worn down round barrow.

Living in London makes you desparate for heritage!

Visited 2nd march 2003: Maenpica is near a farm of the same name, but there’s no public access to the stone or the farm. I decided to ignore some unfriendly looking signs at the end of the drive and walk to the farm to ask if I could get closer to the stone.

Half way down the drive I met a 4x4 going the other way, but instead of stopping to talk to me (as I expected) the driver waved to me with a smile and drove on past. I kept walking until I was near the farm house, and two guard dogs came out barking and growling. I decided to stop walking and take stock. The dogs stopped where they were and there was a stalemate.

I could see Maenpica to the south of the track in a field full of cattle, so I took some photos from where I was. Then I spotted three more stones, one apparently fallen, to the north of the track. I took a load more photos of these. The dogs were still watching me from the farm gate (which was open). I decided to chicken out and re-trace my steps.

When I got home I had a look at the CARN database to see if I could find out more about the three extra stones, but was disappointed to find there are no records for them on-line. On closer inspection of my photos I spotted hinges attached to one of the stones, so presumably they are part of an old field boundary. It’s a shame that I didn’t get the chance to ask the farmer about them.

On the map this appears as an earthwork. I suspect it’s horribly ruined with not much to see. Tried to take a look but it would’ve meant trespassing at the back of an Expensive Person’s stables and I didn’t fancy it. Expensive People often have firearms.

Our ability to read maps and chart a course through the delightful Wychwood forest on rough trackways meant we found Slatepits Copse Long barrow more easily than I could have hoped. Its about 70ft long and appears to be melting back into the undergrowth of the forest effortlessly, as trees and scrub overtake it. The chamber is clearly visible at the front of the mound, whos profile undulates, its back broken by poor excavations in 1850 I believe, when three skulls were found.

The only hint to the passer by (or trespasser) to it existance on the ground are the three great flat stones which form the chamber at the western end. We sat in amongst the fallen branches by the chamber and enjoyed the utter peace of being pretty much alone (but for squirrels, deer, birds) in this fairy-like woodland.

Badly neglected, yet probably only still in existance by its position tucked away deep in a remote corner of Wychwood forest.

I liked it here.

Standing proudly in a field at the back of the village, atop the highest point in the locality, 200 feet up it has great views over rolling scenery. About 50ft in diameter the great earth tump reminds me bit of Hetty Peglars, but there’s no grand entrance, no stones to see, nothing. Just 6 great trees and a triangulation post sticking out of it.

Its very much the king of the castle, and probably been saved from being ploughed over by virtue of its commanding position.

Its on private land, so to reach it, find the Fox PH and just to the right of this between two houses (called The New House and No 1, The Green, I think) is a gate into the field. You’ll see it there in front of you.

This Neolithic settlement is contemporary with Maes Howe, Stennes and Brodgar and may well have been home to the people who built the monuments.

One of the houses is of a type I’ve not come across before in that it is more or less symmetrical about the entrance, sort of a semi-detached or duplex. However, the symmetry is not exact as one of the dwellings is bigger than the other.

Just off the A1, had to stop as I passed!

These stones are huge spikes – *very* tall and impressive.

One is captive in a small fenced area (what has it done to deserve that?)
Over the other side of the road are the other two, which today were in a newly-sown field so couldn’t get closer.

.o0O0o.

Bad news I’m afraid. This ‘sexy stone’ is no more. I passed here today (I’ll post a fuller weblog on my return home next week), and the Gun Rith menhir is down.

I wondered why I couldn’t see it from the Merry Maidens, and it was only when I went into the field that I realised the stone was down. It’s fallen across the cart tracks into the adjoining field, so no doubt the farmer will be moving it soon. I’ve tried to get a message to Andy Norfolk in the hope that the restoration can be done sensitively.

I’ve taken a few photos of the fallen stone, but can’t upload them on this connection. More to follow next week.... ...Pictures now uploaded, and the stone hadn’t yet been moved when I paid a return visit a couple of days later.

A frustrating one this.

I had read two extremely vague references to this site, on one of my trawls for sites on the web, both saying this was a Stone Circle. I could find absolutely no reference to this site in any of Burl’s books however, which had alarm bells ringing for me. I jotted the site’s grid ref. down anyway, along with a load of others, before setting off with MrsIM for a day out. We were in the Carnforth area, after visiting Heysham Head and so decided we may as well visit. We wandered round the field a few times, using my GPS as a guide (which was playing up). No joy. I was however very excited by the sight of five huge stones, similar to the nearby Three Brothers. We soon came across a mound, which on further inspection we realised gave this site it’s name because on it’s top are the remains of a brick summer-house. The mound itseld however looked suspiciously like a huge cairn, right down to the retaining kerb of large stones. I decided this couldn’t be it – no way could you mistake this for a stone circle. Another frustrating twenty minutes led to no further discoveries – other than the remains of an old lime-kiln at the far end of the field. We decided our time hadn’t been wasted when we walked past the field edge and saw the view out across Morecambe Bay – it’s quite something. We were even able to make out the rough location of The Druid’s Circle of Ulverston.

On the way back to the car we made another inspection of the summerhouse, and I decided that this must be the site in question, and that the references I’d come across were just plain wrong. The five stones which had me excited earlier, when viewed from the top of the mound formed a semi-circle with the mound itself roughly in the centre. I took some photos as the rain started to pour heavier and heavier, then our rumbling stomachs got the better of us and we decided to get to Lancaster for some grub in The Water Witch.

Looking at the maps again, I’m sure I’ve missed the actual site – a cairn seems to be marked off at the opposite end of the field on MultiMap and on my Explorer map the location of the ‘cairn’ is very confusing. I’ll try and clear this up as soon as possible!

This stone was brought into the Durham Rock Art Conference on 8-3-2003 in the back of someone’s car. The delegate had found it in a stream near Longframlington, and was now in a carrier bag, so there’s no point in trying to find this one :-) Stan Beckensall got very excited about it.

One side is green and more weathered. The other side is very well-preserved, with clear pick marks. There is a large chunk missing.
Comments were made on the way the green side used a natural line in the stone to look like a face ?!

Unfortunately these are the best of my photies.

.o0O0o.

It’s Friday it must be Barrow – hmmm let’s look at the map – woohoo! Get thee ter t’stones.

Up a very steep, dark, wooded road, an old quarry, then look – the sky! And Hey! Stones! Wow! Cool.

.o0O0o.

Askew Heights defended enclosure commands an impressive hilltop location overlooking the Lune Valley. A modern wall, serving as the boundary between Heights Farm and Askew Hills Farm, bisects the site, the entrances are just on the Akew Hills side of the wall.

I was welcomed to Heights Farm by a pleasant, but rather bemused, farmer – I was clearly the only visitor ever to come to the site other than English Heritage, who visit about once a decade! So what can be said? The site dates from between 600BC and 400BC and comprises a mound surrounded by a ditch. The latter is up to a metre deep and 5-10 metres across. There is a small pond just on the Heights Farm side of the modern wall (site of a hut, perhaps?). The northern and southern entrances to the mound are clearly visible, and take the form of the ditch levelling with the surrounding terrain. The shape of the enclosure is oval, with maximum dimensions of about 80 x 65 metres. A hollow way (or track) leads down the hill, in a westerly direction from the southern entrance. Once you know where the defended enclosure is, it’s clearly visible from some distance, and from below it is evident how good a strategic position it occupied.

The kind farmer also pointed out to me the likely site of a prehistoric burial mound nearby at SD53386234. All in all, this is a pleasant site – good for its solitude and sense of history – if modest and unspectacular.

Visited 2nd March 2003: We walked to Maen Hir, approaching from the west, and asked at Maenhir Farm for permission to see the stone. The farmer was very friendly and said we could take a look at Coynant Maenhir which is also on his land.

He also told us that some 60 years ago the previous farmer had moved the stone and used it as a gatepost elsewhere. He said that ‘they’ made this errant farmer put the stone back in its original location. There may be some truth in this story, as there are holes in the stone, and the packing stones at its base look very un-Bronze Age.

The name Maen Hir means simply Long Stone in Welsh. This term is sometimes used as a generic name for Welsh standing stones.

A word of warning if you visit Maen Hir at a similar time of year to us, the field that it stands in can get very muddy (see photos).

Visited 2nd March 2003: We had already done quite a bit of walking by the time we got to Rhos Maen Hir, and there’s no public access to the stone, so my tired family persuaded me not to wonder into the field and take a closer look. Instead I settled for trying to see it from the road. We first got our first glimpse of the stone from the east, then from the north west by the school building (the best view). This is where I took the photo from.

I’ll be back!

This site is a steep climb up hills, but the views command respect. They are of a wild landscape with Hay Bluff and the Black Mountains clearly visible. There are also rugged landscapes past the hobbit-hole grasslands near the stones. A journey out there is well worth it, the views are enough to keep you going for a few days, and the exhilarating wind makes it challenging, and great to see these stones in such an untamed environment.

It was too grey, misty and evil to attempt Scorhill without a GPS and an OS map, so we found this instead and... Oooooh it’s lovely!

A little hidden gemstone – fairy-like, peaceful and gorgeous, though how much of the 19th century rebuild of it is ‘true’ I don’t know. It seems almost too picture-book to have been really like this. The Uprights are slim and tapering, carefully worked into flat plains and angles whilst still retaining the character of the rock (which has what appears to be quartz oven chips tossed into the mix). The Capstone is a highly worked mushroom-like structure and the base of it stands 5’7” from ground level – not quite high enough for me to stand upright in.

The grey horse mentioned by Pure Joy’s post (below) still shares his field with this sweet little cromlech, which perhaps ought to be renamed Fairyglen Stones, Enchanted Pebbles or Magic Mushroom Rocks. Would be a delightful place to fire the imaginations of your kids and introduce them to the thrills of megalithic Britain.

Visited 2nd March 2003: Carn Besi is situated right next to the A478 between Glandy Cross and Pentre Galar. There’s a good parking space on the opposite side of the road to Carn Besi (by the entrance to the covered reservoir). Crossing the road is a bit tricky because it’s quite busy. Then you have to scramble up the bank, avoiding brambles on the way. At the top watch out for the barbed wire. We managed to get our three year old son up there, but it was a bit of a struggle.

From this vantage point you can clearly see the capstone (this kind of thing) and some outlying stones between it and the fence. To get a better look you would have to hop the fence, but that would be both illegal and dangerous (because of the barbed wire).

This site is prominently placed, and based on a cursory look at the OS map may be aligned with Gors Fawr and Foel Feddau. It’s a shame that so little remains of what must have been an important tomb.

Longbarrow A – 2.3.2003

Sounds like a Radiohead album! Richmond Park is a pretty unique place for London (although Richmond-ites would demand that they are in Surrey not London). It is huge and pretty wild, and offers distinct possibilities for saddo’s like me who want to find some ancient history on our doorsteps. I would love to live on Dartmoor, in Aberdeenshire, on Orkney, et al, with history oozing out of every pore, but currently I don’t so I’ll have to do with anything vaguely mound like in Richmond Park.

Of all the others around, this does fit the bill more. The general Richmond Park info board has a symbol for ‘ancient heritage’ and has the symbol where Longbarrow A is. And I reckon that if you look very, very closely at the OS Explorer map 161 you can see a small ‘tumulus’ symbol (but without the word tumulus). This looks pretty much like a longbarrow and is pretty easy to find. It’s really quite nice to see something so old, yet so close to millions of passing cars per year. Fortunately, although it is on two small paths, it is a decent stones throw from the main path where most people run and cycle – if it was on this main path just one Sunday on march would be enough to trample it into dust – is this where half of London goes on a Sunday? How far would a shiny mountain bike fit up a man’s arse?

Henry VIII Mound – 2.3.2003

Hmmm, this is a funny one. I’m not exactly sure what is supposed to be the mound / barrow. Was I in the wrong place?? Probably! If it’s the whole bit of sticky out hill then I suspect it couldn’t be a barrow simply due to its size. If it’s just part of the mound / hill then maybe that was a barrow. I took a photo from outside the gardens of what looked to me to be the most suspiciously barrow like thing around, but looking again at Juamei’s pics I’m more confused coz I don’t think I was were Juamei was!

The general Richmond Park info board says “King Henry VIII’s Mound. Also called the King’s Standing, this is probably a bronze age barrow. It’s vista across London to St.Paul’s Cathedral is now protected by statute”.

This is found in front of Wells Museum, it was brought from Tor hill in the east of Wells where it was being used as a gate post. It is a Hoker stone, people pledge oaths by joining hands through the hole.