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

Cerrig Pryfaid

Stone Circle

Fieldnotes

My last field notes for Cerrig Pryfaid ended like this "Oh well winter comes round every year, but I don't." But maybe I do. Winter solstice upon us, short of funds and time we headed west for the mountains of Eastern Snowdonia again (as you do) hoping to see the sunrise from this often overlooked but always giving stone circle.
Eric and I arrived still in pitch black and deep mist, we had twenty minutes snooze in the car park and got ready for a walk back down the road. Eric pointed out that we could probably drive back and leave the car blocking the road as no one but us were daft enough to be here at this time and in this crappy weather, I had to concede he was probably right, so we did.
It was still quite dark after climbing over the wall in the appropriate place and the clouds were too low to permit a decent sunrise. Damn and blast !!!
For the first twenty minutes I had to use the flash on my camera, but soon the views began to clear of mist and normal light was resumed.
I remember Tiompan say that the sun rise at the winter solstice rises between the forted hill of Pen y Gaer and its near neighbour Pen y Gadair
The stone I had dubbed the winter solstice stone does point between these two hills, how can one stone point ? its wide at one end and thin at the other, if you wanted to find a stone that points this is the one. But that is not all, the stone I had dubbed the equinox stone forms a line with the winter stone and the gap between hills, the gap between hills is rather a wide one and without the sun I cant say where in the gap the sun would rise. The stones suggest the sunrise would be more closer to Pen y Gadair than Pen y Gaer ( see picture).The winter stone itself is pointing at roughly 132 degrees, that I reckon is good enough for me, for me, I have discovered something I think is new to Cerrig Pryfaid, plenty of people have remarked upon the outliers but no one has put forward a decent explanation, Till now ?
So, another winter goes by, another end of the world averted, (last of the chicken littles I hope, now can we get on with building a future we can look forward to for ourselves) I've said it before and I'll say it again I'll get it one day, the only way I can prove this definitively is to get a bunch of know it alls up there in perfect weather on the winter solstice. One day.
postman Posted by postman
23rd December 2012ce
Edited 23rd December 2012ce

Comments (2)

Great stuff, you managed to get out. Shame the weather wasn't kinder, but a great place to be even so. thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
23rd December 2012ce
Thanks, you'll have to come with me next time and bring that fair weather App too. postman Posted by postman
23rd December 2012ce
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