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

Hully Hill Monument

Artificial Mound

Fieldnotes

Huly Hill (AKA Newbridge) and Lochend Stone (outlier)
Wednesday 21/11/01
The signpost at the entrance to here has all but worn away- if you stand at the correct angle you can still read some of it, but mostly it just says "Dode" in bright red spray paint. The path to the site is littered with pornography, McDonalds shit and an amazing amount of broken glass. This site has everything for the Urban Pagan- aircraft taking off almost overhead, stones aligning with the golden arches of McDonalds, building sites and beautiful industrial estates. And, amidst this all, the monument of Huly Hill. That this monument remains is an amazing testimony to the builders- how it laughs in the face of it all. Long after the McDonalds has crumbled to dust, when, no longer planes fly in the sky above here, Huly Hill will remain. The mound is about 30 m in diameter and three monoliths watch over it. The two westernmost stones have deliberately been aligned so their broadest sides point the antiquarians gaze eastwards- 'look', they say, 'this is where we fit into this ancient landscape'. They point towards Arthurs Seat and Corstorphine Hill, the latter of which (only last week) I found out has cup markings on a rock outcrop which just blew my mind. The smallest monolith appears aligned with Arthurs Seat when viewed from the top of the mound and its streamlined shape points eastwards. Just over the massive motorway intersection is the Lochend Stone, a possible outlier to here, but now can't be seen as it's hidden in the 'Bodycote Materials Testing' building. And that's where my travels take me next...
...and this place isn't much better! Right next to the A8 with a couple of bird tables for company. All round is the 'Bodycote' building with its nice big windows so that all the folk inside can look out and think 'what's that idiot up to?!' This is a massive monolith, far far bigger than the three around Huly Hill, but if it's an outlier I guess size matters! Its broadest face points approximately E/W, moving my gaze again up to Corstorphine Hill.
Posted by Martin
26th November 2001ce
Edited 22nd July 2003ce

Comments (1)

Hi Martin, really like your write-up on this. I am researching for a guide book called Secret Edinburgh an Unusual Guide and would love to chat to you about your favourite ancient sites around the city. Might you be up for it? Cheers, Hannah Posted by SecretEdinburgh
5th October 2015ce
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