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

West Kennett

Long Barrow

Folklore

A dog from the fairy otherworld inhabits the barrow. He is white with red ears - as you'd expect from his heritage.
On Midsummer's morning you can see him entering the barrow at sunrise (perhaps as some kind of metaphor of the barrow's alignment and the sun?)

[edit - I've found a kind of source for this - Janet and Colin Bord's 'Atlas of Magical Britain'. They say "the ghost of a priest enters the barrow at sunrise on Midsummer Day, followed by a ghostly white dog."
But where did they hear that? Who knows. I fear it is from the modern celtic revival (ie randomly made up for reasons of romance). But maybe that's no worse than being made up at some point in the past. A place so impressive rather needs some impressive story, don't you think. White fairy dogs with red ears are in genuinely old stories. And some burial chambers in Wales are kennels for greyhounds. So it's not ridiculous to transport the story here. Just not very "authentic" perhaps. Anyway. Maybe who cares.

But if you know different... please leave a post.)

- - - - - - -

During excavation, holed limpet and periwinkle shells were found - perhaps they were strung as parts of necklaces or amulets? or had some symbolism connected with their far off origins? I always pick up shells at the beach...

(shell info from Burl's 'Prehistoric Avebury')
Rhiannon Posted by Rhiannon
13th May 2002ce
Edited 2nd June 2011ce

Comments (1)

Care, yes, there's another one here - they probably form a pattern - the greyhound bitch is I believe a solar symbol in prehistoric Britain, perhaps explaining the numerous megalithic references

http://hauntedwiltshire.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/devils-den-at-clatford-bottom.html

Pokorny

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound#History

Posted by megalith6
29th December 2014ce
You must be logged in to add a comment