The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Dyffryn Ardudwy

Dolmen / Quoit / Cromlech

Fieldnotes

One of the first 'real' monuments I met firsthand. Around 1985, Summer on the Lleyn. Found it by virtue of a tourist map, which also indicated that the local shop held leaflets about the monument - I just received frowns and dirty looks when i enquired!

I wasn't expecting such a vast site - again, this was a first for me and the sense of scale and feeling of 'place' was immense. Disregarding the 'sympathetic' restoration by Wimpey during a lunch-break, the monument bleeds antiquity.

I had loaded a high definition film with the intention of getting some shots before approaching the site, and the sun was well over her midpoint by the time i reached the place. The massive oak rustled in the rising breeze, throwing a shifting shadowplay over the backs of the crouched stones.
It was interesting to think that the tree, already several times thicker than my waist, had seen many summers than I could imagine, and yet compared to Ardudwy, its lifetime was a brief crowded hour of furious growth.

Taking the shots between the two dolmens, and looking 'in' to the cramped space, feeling the stones grind and complain beneath my clumsy feet, i had the distinct impression of the genius loci and almost felt myself observed in turn.
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Wotan Posted by Wotan
18th February 2002ce

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