An attempt to number the structures of the Enclosure, starting with the 1-4 numbering used by Mike Christie on Wikipedia, in his image.
I don’t know what those numbers refer to but it’s best to be consistent.
I am counting a “structure” as a defined feature according to the diagram, with an apparent ditch and bank pair counting as one structure.
An attempt to number the structures of the Enclosure, starting with the 1-4 numbering used by Mike Christie on Wikipedia.
I don’t know what those numbers refer to but it’s best to be consistent.
I am counting a “structure” as a defined feature according to the diagram, with an apparent ditch and bank pair counting as one structure.
This overlay of Mike Christie’s diagram makes more sense than the other one, as the established path passes between the structures of the Enclosure.
An attempt to overlay the best diagram I can find of Coombe Hill Causewayed Enclosure over the Ordnance Survey Explorer map.
The northern stone circle. Nowhere near as obvious as the southern one.
South Circle at Merrivale. 11 stones with no obvious gaps.
Standing stone in distance.
South Circle at Merrivale. 11 stones with no obvious gaps.
Standing stone in distance.
This is the archaeological map overlaid over the OS map.
The area is very overgrown but there may be visible remains on the paths that go though the Enclosure.
The problem with this version is that, in trying to scale the match to the two round barrows and the edge of the quarry, the established path ends up not passing between the structures of the Enclosure, which I have assumed it does. Field notes needed to confirm.
Took a walk around the woods on Offham Hill today.
One of the paths goes straight through the remains of the Neolithic Causwayed Enclosure, much of which was destroyed by a Victorian chalkpit.
To the south are two Bronze Age round-barrows, which are often found near such Neolithic sites in this neck of the woods.
The area is heavily overgrown, but there may be traces of the Enclosure banks on the narrow paths that pass through the space.
Having overlaid the archaeological image of the Enclosure over the OS map, this definitely bears more investigation.
The exquisite eastern site. Missed this in 2012 so recommend approaching from Oldbury lane.
Overhang above the southern rock shelter...
The southern of the other two rock shelters... think Two Neanderthal Tent. If tents were made of sandstone, that is.
Eastern rock shelter.... the first encountered if approaching from Oldbury Lane
The eastern rock shelter. I assumed the woodwork is a somewhat later arrangement.....
The eastern rock shelter....
Returning to Oldbury... to find I’d only seen one out of three rock shelters last time around. How little we really know....
No one ever said it would be easy!
Here’s what we did. We put the circle in Google Maps and ended up at a dead end with two houses. The house on the right with the lovely old gates belongs to the landowners. The farmers wife directed us back towards Roscarberry and we turned right at the brown sign for St Fachtnas Shrine. As directed we came to a new house on the right hand side with red roofs and a bright yellow door. We knocked on the yellow door and the woman of the house told us where to park and advised us to stay clear of the electric fences, cows and bull.
We lifted the fences and put them back. We followed the cow path and went 2 fields in.
We were so disappointed at first!
The Circle was so overgrown. Stones were just peeking up through dense undergrowth. It was surrounded by an electric fence so we dropped to the ground and got in under it. There was a barely perceptible way around the inside of the circle. Wear long trousers.
An amazing circle!! The two very tall portal stones were impressive and in line with the gorgeous flat recumbent stone.
The farmer was there but he was working. Visits permitted but circle is on a working farm.
On our way back the cows went before us down the path. There were lots of them. I wouldn’t chance it if the livestock were in the field.
On our way back to the car we happened upon St Fachtna’s Well, a beautiful and peaceful gem.
Everstorfer Forst Nord 10, like Everstorfer Forst Nord 9, was known solely as a Bronze Age burial mound until it was excavated by E. Schuldt. These are the remains of a small chamber, which has since receded somewhat back into the hill.It has two supporting stones on each of its long sides. One of the supporting stones has toppled into the chamber. The northern keystone is also still in place. The opposite side is only half-closed by a stone; this was apparently where the entrance was located. A stone lying next to it is probably the remains of an enclosure. Several other stones are scattered across the hill. One of the capstones was taken to Hamberge, some two kilometres further west, in 1922 and erected there as a memorial to the victims of the First World War. It is adorned with numerous small cup marks.
Everstorfer Forst Nord 10 lies about 500 metres west of the signposted northern group of megalithic tombs. Take the road that runs past this group and continue towards Grevesmühlen. Just before the woodland begins to the north of the road, a path branches off to the south into the woods (it’s easy to find a parking space here). Follow the path and, after a short while, you will come across two very conspicuous mounds on which the two stone tombs are situated. Everstorfer Forst Nord 10 is the western of the two.
Visited June 2026
Taken from the on-site information board:
During the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BCE), burial mounds were constructed from turf, earth or stones as tombs for a single individual. Initially, burials in wooden coffins were carried out in such mounds. Later, after religious beliefs had evidently changed and cremation had become widespread from the Middle Bronze Age onwards, the charred skeletal remains were initially scattered in the space originally intended for the wooden coffin within the mound, and later urn burials were carried out.
It is not uncommon to find secondary burials in such mounds, some of which took place much later. Originally, the majority of megalithic tombs (also known as giant’s tombs) were also located in or beneath mounds. Burial mounds were often clustered together. Like the megalithic tombs, they were defining features of the Mecklenburg landscape until the introduction of land consolidation. They served as landmarks for travellers and as boundary markers for the local population.
Visited June 2026
