Coflein calls this an irregular enclosure, c.150m by 100m, with precipitous rocky crags to the east and stretches of scarps, banks and ditches. It’s on an isolated hill which is a noticeable landmark for miles around.
Rhiannon
From the road you can see to the left of the gate a circular depression in the ground, and there are others in the allotment. These are considered to be pre-historic pit dwellings; also a good many rock cavities all over the Crag could easily have been converted into rude habitations. In a part consisting of waterworn limestone, deeply fissured and scored all over, there is an underground passage known as the Dog Holes Cave. In the fissures are many ferns and small trees and bushes; there isa large ash tree just at the entrance to the cave.
The Dog Holes Cave.
It is only three years since the cave was scientifically explored by Mr. J. W. Jackson, the assistant keeper of Manchester Museu. The entrance is by way of a vertical shaft due to the falling in of the roof; it is boarded up and padlocked for safety, it is is thirteen feet to the bottom of the shaft and the total length of the cave is seventy feet.At the first exploration animal remains of the dog, sheep, goat, Celtic shorthorn, and, in less abundance, the horse, red deer, roe deer, and fallow deer were found. Also human remains of at least eleven individuals were discovered. The teeth only of the urus, the reindeer, adn the Irish elk were found. There were some metal objects including a small Celtic bronze, and red fragments of early first century pottery pointed to an earlier occupation of the cave than the period of the withdrawal of the Roman army from this country.
From Warton and George Washington’s Ancestors by T Pape (1913).
An underground chamber was discovered on the farm of Culsh, about two miles distant from the Church of Tarland, which was cleared out in my presence in the month of August last, and which I shall now endeavour to describe. The cave occurs on a slope, the entry to it being so contrived as not to attract notice. Its extreme length is about 47 feet, it is curved in shape, and closely resembles in form the chamber near Newstead, Roxburghshire.
Its width at the entry is about two feet, increasing gradually as it recedes to an average width of about six feet. The extreme end is of a circular shape. The height from the floor, which is on solid rock, increases from five feet near the entry to an average height of about six feet towards the other end. The walls are formed of boulders of various sizes, and they converge as they rise upwards, the cave being about a foot narrower at the roof than at the base of the walls. On the top of the walls are placed large and heavy slabs of stone as a roof, the whole being covered over with earth, so as to harmonise with the surrounding surface. So well has this been done that it was only from the protruding of one of the covering slabs and its consequent removal, that the cave was discovered.
When it was opened up, it was found to be filled nearly to the top with what appeared to be a rich unctuous earth, resembling that of a churchyard more than the ordinary soil of the country. Analysis of the earth did not lead to any marked result. The earth was removed by the farmer to be used as manure, and there were about thirty cartloads of it. At a spot on the floor, about 18 feet from the entry, were found fragments of an urn, several pieces of bones, apparently those of an ox, a quantity of smooth pebbles, two querns, and a mass of ferruginous matter, which appeared to have undergone the action of fire. Portions of them are now exhibited, as well as a large bead which was found among the earth when it was in the course of being spread on the field. A large quantity of charcoal was mixed with the earth from the entrance to the spot where the relics were found.
From the Aberdeen Journal Notes and Queries v3, 1908.
Parish of ABERGWILI.
Carreg Fyrddin, ‘Merlin’s Stone‘ (6 in. Ord. Surv. sheet, Carm. 40 N.W.; lat 51’52’1”, long. 4’14’14”).This stone stands in a field called Parc y maen llwyd on the farm of Ty llwyd. The farmstead is placed at the foot of the picturesque height called Merlin’s Hill, and the stone has a place in the traditions of the neighbourhood concerning Merlin. It stands 5 feet above ground, is 4 feet 6 inches broad, and 1 foot thick; it faces south. Certain marks on this stone have been thought to be Ogam characters, but they are probably only accidental or random scorings. A highly fanciful sketch of them is given in Westwood’s Lapidarium Walliae, pl. 47, fig. 1; and the stone is referred to in Arch Camb., 1876, IV, vii, 236; ib., 1877, IV, viii, 137.
About 150 yards north-east of Carreg Fyrddin and on the same farm of Ty llwyd, are two meini hirion, separated 50 feet from each other. They are about 4 feet high, and 4 feet 6 inches broad. They bear no distinctive names, nor is any tradition connected with them. – Visited, 24th September, 1912.
From An inventory of the ancient monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire: V – County of Carmarthenshire.
I don’t know if any of these stones still exist. They’re not mentioned on the Coflein map. It would be a shame if they don’t.
Above the Head of the River Ock, is Ashbury-park, near which is a Camp of about 100 Paces in Diameter, but the Works are almost entirely defaced, by digging for Stones to build Lord Craven‘s House in the Park, which was a very magnificent one, but was unhappily burnt down.
From The Natural History of England by Benjamin Martin (1759).
In the Parish of St. Levin, in this County, there is a Promontory, called Castle-Treryn. This Cape consists of three distinct Groupes of Rocks. On the Top of the middle Groupe of Rocks, (which we climbed with some Difficulty and Hazard) we there observed the most wonderful Logan-stone, perhaps, in the World; one of our ingenious Companions took the Dimensions of it, and computed the solid Content, which amounted to about 95 Tons; the two inclined Sides somewhat resemble the two Roofs of a House, meeting in a sort of obtuse Ridge upon the Top. The lower Part of the Stone is a large plain Base, near the Middle of which, projects a small Part on which it rests, which Part seemed to be of a round Form, and not to exceed more than 18 or 20 Inches in Diameter. The lower Part of this too, was somewhat convex’d, by which Means, as it was equally poised on this Part, it became easily moveable upon the large Stone below, the Position of which was most of all wonderful, as the Surface on which the Logan-stone rested was considerably inclined; so that at first Sight, it seemed as it were easy to heave the Logan-stone off, but on Tryal, we found, that we could produce no other Motion than that of Libration, the Power of one Man being only sufficient to move it up and down about half an Inch. It is so high from the Ground, that no one who sees it, can conceive it could be lifted up to the Place where it now rests. It makes a natural Part of the Crag on which it at present stands, and always seems to have belonged.
From The Natural History of England by Benjamin Martin (1759).
In the Parish of Sithney, stood the famous Logan-stone, called Men-amber, which is 11 Feet long from East to West, 4 Feet deep, and 6 Feet wide. This top Stone was so nicely poised, that, “a little Child, as Mr. Scawen in his M.S. says, could instantly move it;” but in the Time of Cromwell, when all monumental and curious Pieces of Antiquity, that Ignorance and fiery Zeal deemed superstitious, not only grew into Contempt, but which it was reckoned a Mark of Piety to deface or destroy, one Shrubsall, Governor of Pendennis, with much ado, caused it to be undermined and thrown down, to the great Grief of the Country.
From The Natural history of England by Benjamin Martin (1759).
It is usually believed that stone cromlechs are entirely absent from Montgomeryshire. The remains of what seems to have been a fine example of a cromlech, with perhaps a long “creep” entrance, are to be seen a few yards east of a deserted cottage called Pen y Parc. A neighbouring cottage, marked upon the Ordnance sheet as ‘Pen y mynydd,’ is still known to the old inhabitants of the district by the name which it bears in the Tithe Schedule (no. 1105), ‘Bwlch y Gistfaen.’ The stones forming one side of the structure, and the covering stones, have been broken to furnish the material for the adjacent walls, and fragments still lie strewn around. The right or southern side of the avenue and chamber has also been too much disturbed to permit of accurate measurements being taken. The entire structure would appear to have measured about 21 yards in length, and to have been aligned to east and west (magnetic) – Visited, 14th April, 1910.
Who knows what it might have been or what’s still there. It’s not been included on the current Coflein map. But this is the right place as old maps show the right names. From An inventory of the ancient and historical monuments of the county of Montgomery (1911).
A monolith, not noticed upon the Ordnance sheet, placed about half a mile south of Llanwrin, on a field belonging to Fronwen farm, just above Cwm Ager. Tithe Schedule, No. 40, where the field is called Cae y garreg lwyd. The stone is 40 feet in girth, the highest point being 7 feet 6 inches above ground, and sloping due east to 3 feet 6 inches above the surface. – Visited 27th April, 1910.
In An inventory of the ancient and historical monuments of Montgomeryshire (1912). It sounds huge. Can it still be there??
I’ve now spotted it on a 1970s large scale map. It’s at SH78600258 (and is indeed pretty much where that blob is on the 1:25000, tsc).
The article is strongly entitled ‘British Archaeology and Philistinism’. He’s very cross and frustrated.
At the end of the second week in July two contracted skeletons were found in a nurseryman’s grounds near the famous British camp at Leagrave, Luton. Both were greatly contracted; one, on its right side, had both arms straight down, one under the body the other above; the other skeleton lay upon its left side, with the left hand under the face and the right arm straight down. Both were probably female, and upon the breast of one was a fine bronze pin seven inches long with three pendant ornaments, and three discs of bronze, one plated with gold. Other bronzes of great interest were found with the second skeleton.
I do not write to describe the bones and ornament, but to make public the conduct of the Luton authority. A most intelligent workman lives close to the site of the discovery – one Thomas Cumberland – a man who has studied the antiquities of the district for many years, and to whom antiquaries are indebted for great and freely given assistance. This man was on the spot at once, and clearly and correctly stated the age of the bones and ornaments as British or late Celtic.
Notwithstanding this information, the local police insisted on an inquest, although the bones were broken to pieces and in the highest degree friable. I went ot the nursery and confirmed Mr. Cumberland’s determination, made drawings of the bronzes, and such an examination of the bones as circumstances would permit.
The coroner refused to hold an inquest, and so had no authority to make any order, but he wrote and “suggested” that the bones should be buried in the parish churchyard. Armed with this “suggestion,” the relieving officer ordered an undertaker to carry off the bones, which he did, in spite of the protest of the nurseryman, who informed him that they had been given to me and were my property. He was ordered to put the bones in coffins and bury them in the churchyard of Biscot. The undertaker took the bones to his shop at Luton. I at once applied to the relieving officer for permission to examine adn measure some of the bones. I clearly explained to him the nature and importance of the discovery, and the trifling nature of the favour asked. This official replied in a curt and rude manner, and simply said, “I have no authority; you must apply to the coroner.”
I repeatedly wrote to the undertaker to delay the funeral for a few days. I twice wrote to the coroner in an urgent but most respectful manner, and pointed out the importance of the discovery, which, indeed, is quite unique in this district, but all to no purpose. He said he had not given the “order” for burial, and he refused to interfere, but he wrote to the undertaker and said, “I can give no consent or authority in any way, but must leave you to carry out the arrangement which has been come to with you.” I wrote letters for six days to the different persons concerned, but to no effect; they would have a funeral, and the police now actually demanded the bronzes from the owner. The property is free-hold.
Well, on Wednesday last the two coffins were screwed up at Luton and taken in a hearse to Biscot churchyard, where the vicar, in the presence of a policeman, officiated. Shining breastplates were screwed on to the coffins inscribed, “Bones found at Leagrave, July 1905.” Amongst the bones in the coffins were several non-human examples, a rib bone of a sheep, a piece of a rib of beef, a bone of a rabbit, and another of roebuck.
Worthington G. Smith.
Dunstable.
From ‘Nature’ v72 (27th July 1905, p 294/5).
It’s a bit strange that the stone gets called Maen y Gored (weir) when the house nearby is Maen y Goron (crown). But I think this might at least have the answer as to why the stone was given those awful bands. 45 degrees is pretty gravity defying.
In the parish of Llantrisant, three-quarters of a mile S.W. by S. of the church, and about half a mile north-west of the farm-house of Tregwhelydd, and not far from that of Maen y Goron, is to be found a maen hir, formerly known as MAEN Y GORED; this stone is leaning in a north-westerly direction at an angle of about 45 degrees. Its present measurements are 8 ft. 6 ins. long on its upper surface, 3 ft. 6 ins. in width and from 1 to 2 ft. in thickness. It is composed of mica schist and dolerite which may be local, though there is little dolerite except in ice carried boulders. (E.G.)
No indication of its existence appears on the present Ordnance Surveys but on that of 1841 it is described as “Maen-y-gored”, or the stone of the fish-weir. It is difficult to imagine at the present day where a weir could have existed in its immediate vicinity, possibly a fish-trap, or something of that sort, was to be found in the river Alaw, which is close by.
A second stone lies nearly buried in the ground behind the leaning stone the dimensions of which correspond nearly to those of the first. Excavation might reveal that when in their original upright position they were a pair that stood 11 ft. apart. A block of sandstone, scored by the plough, lies partly under the leaning stone. No orientation can be attempted here. These remains have been placed by Lord Sheffield under the care of the Commissioners for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments.
Coflein’s record is a bit confusing. They have a photo of the stone with its bindings in c1960, but say it was put in them and set in concrete in 1969, so I think there’s a typo. You’d like to hope we weren’t treating stones so cruelly in such recent times.
From ‘The Megalithic Remains of Anglesey’ by E Neil Baynes (1911).
A cairn with a carved stone inside:
In July and August Dr. Brydon explored a [...] remarkable deposit at the farm of Shaws, in the confines of Selkirkshire. In front of the farm-house is an eminence called the Middle hill, overlooking the lochs forming the sources of the Ale; and on this is a mound known by the name of the Sleepy knowe, which was resorted to by some workmen, about four years ago, in search of stones to build a march-dyke. On breaking into the mound they came upon a cist containing a skeleton, on which Mr. Gibson, who occupies the farm, at once, with a rare, and therefore the more praiseworthy, intelligence put a stop to the work. It remained in this state till Dr. Brydon, becoming acquainted with the circumstance, resolved to prosecute the search.
The Knowe, as its name implies, was a circular mound, 108 feet in circumference and 5 to 6 feet high, covered with fine short grass. On removing the soil the structure was found to be formed of 3 to 4 tiers of large stones “sloping inwards and downwards, like a low wall all round,” on the edge of which rested “another layer of unequal thickness, the direction of which was inwards and upwards.” The general character of the edifice appears to have been that of a rude vaulted dome, paved throughout with large water-worn stones, resting on what appeared to be a layer of peat ashes.
The interior was occupied by several cists and smaller cavities, at different depths, separated from each other by large stones apparently cast in without any regularity.
Above the whole was a layer of larger water-worn stones, surmounted by smaller shingle, completing the structure.
A skeleton was found in one cist, an urn with bones in the second, with the third apparently empty.
Besides these there was a vaulted chamber in the centre of the mound, in which was found a sculptured stone slab, inches 39x21x10, supported by three stones resting on the floor. The upper surface exhibited several incised lines and cavities, the former covering a space of inches 6x2 1/2, three of them being parallel and joined at either end by an oblique line. On the under surface were “five incomplete cavities,” and round the four sides a series of cups, 3,4,4, and 2. There was also found a large, flat, upright stone, imbedded in the natural soil, which was conjectured to have stood there before the erection of the barrow. Near it were an antler and fragments of palmated deer horns.
From here, an abridgement of the report in the Trans. Hawick Arch. Soc. for Oct. 1869. Canmore’s record is here but makes no mention of where the interesting-sounding carved stone is today.
Mr. Tate set off to examine the stone cover of an ancient British sepulchre, which was discovered a few years ago on Goat’s-know, Edington hill, formed of upright slabs of sandstone, but in which nothing was found. The cist was broken up, but the cover was removed farther down the hill and there used for the outlet of a drain. This cover is an unhewn slab of the sandstone of the district, 4ft. 2in. long and 3ft. 1in. broad, and on its rough surface remain artificial markings, the principal form being a round hollow or cup, from which curves away a groove, extending into a wavy line 27in. long. From the upper part of this groove another short groove issues, ending in a small cup. Other cups and lines can be traced, but not distinctly, in other parts of the stone. The figures are undoubtedly the work of art, for the tool-marks are still visible.
From volume 6 of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club (for 1869). The Canmore record here is much less enthusiastic. But surely there’s no arguing with the illustrious Mr Tate? There’s more description in the same volume here.
It should be observed, that the huge masses which occupy the summit of the Router rocks, range from east to west along the middle of the hill, and have had a narrow passage and two chambers or caves cut within them. The largest cave has a remarkable sound, and has thence been named the Echo; its length is sixteen feet, its width twelve, and its height about nine. The origin of these excavations cannot have been very remote, as the marks of the pick on the sides are very visible and fresh. They were probably formed about the same period as an elbow-chair near the west end on the north side, which has been rudely shaped on the face of a large mass of stone, and has a seat for one person on each side of it. This we have been informed was executed by the direction of Mr. Thomas Eyre, who inhabited the ancient manor-house, called Router hall, near the foot of the hill on the south, between seventy and eighty years ago, and used frequently to entertain company on this elevated spot.
From p280 of ‘The history of the county of Derby‘ by Stephen Glover (1829).
The name of these rocks bespeaks the purpose to which they have been applied, as the compound appellation of Row-tor, or Roo-tor, Rocks appears to have been derived from the various rocking-stones near the summit, as it is common in the provincial dialect to say that a thing “roos” which moves backwards and forwards.
In the view given, which shows the principal platform on the summit, a large rock is seen against which a man is pushing. This is the largest rocking-stone. Its height is about 10 feet, and its circumference in the widest part about 30; its basse has somewhat a convex form, and the rock on which it stands has evidently been hollowed out to receive it. At one time it could easily be moved by the pressure of the hand; but on Whit-Sunday, in the year 1799, a party of fourteen young men mischievously threw it off its base. It was, however, restored to its former position, but the nice balance was destroyed, and it now requires the whole force of a strong man to move it in the least.
At a little distance northward is a second rocking-stone, somewhat resembling an egg laid on one side, which may be moved by the pressure of a single finger, though 12 feet in length and 14 in breadth.
More directly north is another rocking-stone, resembling the latter both in figure and facility of motion, and at the west end are seven stones piled on each other, various in size and form, and two or three very large ones, that can all be shaken by the pressure of one hand on application to various parts.
One remarkable feature of this interesting spot is a natural tunnel through the rocks, the opening to which is half-way up the pathway. It is exceedingly gloomy, receiving light only from the narrow and low entrance, which requires the visitor to stoop very much on entering. As soon as the eye becomes accustomed to the gloom, the numerous crevices and cracks in the rocks are found to be filled with a most beautiful and delicate moss, of such a dazzling, vivid green, that as the light catches its velvet-like surface, the cavern seems adorned with veins of the most brilliant emeralds.
From ‘The Scenery and Traditions of England’ in The London Journal, July 1st, 1871 (p13).
We regret to have to record that this curiously poised stone has been thoughtlessly overthrown; and though H.M. Commissioners of Woods and Forests propose to replace it in position, it will never be a rocking stone again.
[...] A correspondent in a local paper thus describes the method by which its restoration is intended to be effected:
“Two cranes will be placed on the hill above where the stone originally stood, and two cranes on the lower level. The chief mass weighs about forty tons, and lies from 20 to 30 ft. down the hill. The top slab (strata) has slipped off, and fallen just beyond the stone, right side up, while the stone is upside down. The projecting corner has been broken off, and is of a triangular shape, about 10ft. wide, and lies but a short distance from its original position. The pivot upon which it rocked is still on the foundation, having slipped only about 2 ft. 10 ins. down the table-rock.“Chains for the four cranes will be first attached to the chief mass, which will then be ‘skidded’ up baulks of timber to a position near where the broken corner lies. The corner will be affixed by means of a special kind of concrete, in which glue and wax are used, the ordinary concrete being liable to burst in frosty weather. The stone and corner will then be bound with iron, which will, however, be removed when the concrete has set. While the latter process is going on, a key-stone will be let into the original base, which will then be placed in its original position.
“In order to supply the place of pieces carried away by visitors, and sent to all parts of the kingdom, some rocks lying near, of exactly the same nature, will be ground up and mixed with concrete; and this will be put into the vacancies, in accordance with photographs taken from different points, when the stone stood in its original form.”
From ‘Archaeologia Cambrensis’, July 1885 (p225-7).
The public attention has, for the last six months, been much attracted to the celebrated Logan Stone, in Cornwall; not so much on account of its presenting a great natural curiosity, but from the circumstance that in April last, an officer of the British Navy on the Preventive Service, Lieutenant Goldsmith, with his men, threw it down from its time-honoured seat, and the same gentlemen having, within the last few days, replaced it in its former situation – a task of no ordinary difficulty.
[...] The following extract of a letter contains an account of the restoration of this celebrated relic of antiquity:--
“Penzance, Nov. 6.
“The Logan rock is replaced, and rocks as before: it was put up on Tuesday last, after three days’ labour, by the help of three pair of large sheers, six capstans, worked by eight men each, and a variety of pulleys. Large chain cables were fastened round the rock, and attached to the blocks by which it was lifted. Altogether there were about sixty men employed. The weight of the rock has been variously computed by different persons, at from 70 to 90 tons. On the first day, when the rock was first swung in the air, in the presence of about two thousand persons, much anxiety was felt by those who were present, as to the success of the undertaking; the ropes were much stretched; the pulleys, the sheers, and the capstans, all screeched and groaned; and the noise of the machinery was audible at some distance. Many were very apprehensive lest so vast a weight might snap all the ropes, and tumble over the precipice, bearing the sheers and scaffolding away with it; however, the whole has gone off with great success.The materials (which were all furnished gratis, from the dockyard at Plymouth) were excellent, and ingeniously managed; and though a rope or two broke, adn a link of one of the chains tore away a small piece of an angle of the rock, which was thrown with much velocity into the sea, yet the rock was safely supported by its complicated tackling and stands, once more, in precisely its former position!
Lieutenant Goldsmith, who threw it down, was the engineer in replacing it; and, in the opinion of many of the gentlemen of this town and neighbourhood, he has, by his skill and personal labour and attention, not only wiped away the disgrace to which he was exposed by throwing it down, but also acquired so much merit, that they are about to invite him to a public dinner at Pearce’s Hotel. This seems to be going a little too far; since whatever credit he may have derived from replacing the rock, seems to be fully counterbalanced by the discredit of its wanton demolition. It is understood that the expenses of this work are defrayed by subscription. Fifty pounds have been given by the London Geological Society.”
From ‘The Mirror of literature, amusement, and instruction’ for November 13th, 1824.
From ‘Notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of England and the borders’ by William Henderson (1879).
The following verse, though said to be popular in [nurseries in] Berwickshire, is unknown elsewhere:--
Rainbow, rainbow, haud awa’ hame,
A’ yer bairns are dead but ane,
And it lies sick at yon grey stane,
And will be dead ere you win hame.
Gang owre the Dramaw and yont the lea,
And down by the side o’ yonder sea;
Your bairn lies greeting like to dee,
And the big teardrop is in his e’e.The Drumaw is a high hill skirting the sea in the east of Berwickshire.
The New Statistical Account suggests Habchester is the place for this rather black rhyme.
There’s a nice aerial photo of the fort at Treasured Places, where you can see it crossed by a wall, one side ploughed down and the other still with its banks and ditches.
The whole district of Plas is interesting, and must have been a place of importance in Celtic times. There are moreover still to be seen two large meinhirs of schist rock, measuring 11 ft. in height above the ground, and 10 ft. apart, which, as old tradition affirms, were surrounded by a circle of large stones, standing 4 or 5 ft. above the surface; many of these were removed by the tenants to build the outhouses, fences, and to form gate-posts. Almost all these stones are of trap rock, unhewn, each stone weighing four or five tons. There is one still standing in the field to the east of the two meinhirs above mentioned.
From an article about ‘Ancient Circular Habitations, Called Cyttiau’r Gwyddelod, at Ty Mawr in Holyhead Island; with Notices of Other Early Remains There.’ by the Hon. William Owen Stanley MP, in the Archaeological Journal for 1869 (v29)
DINAS DINORWIG ROCKING-STONE.
To the Editor of the Arch. Camb.SIR,-- In the summer of 1863 I happened to be in the neighbourhood of Dinas Dinorwig, and, falling into conversation with one of the inhabitants, I was informed of a rocking-stone which stood a few score yards to the south-west of the camp. This stone I afterwards visited and found it to be a large boulder balanced upon a level rock, differing in no respect from the numerous blocks with which Carnarvonshire is studded, except in its massiveness and rocking quality. After several unsuccessful trials, with the assistance of a friend I succeeded in slightly moving the stone; but I was told that the children about could easily set it in motion. The truth of this information I could not test. Being lately in the same neighbourhood, I went out of my way to see the stone; but it had disappeared. Upon inquiry I ascertained that it had been blasted, and used in building cottages which stand within a stone’s throw of the site of the logan. It is a pity that this stone has been destroyed; for, whether mechanically poised, or left in its position by a melting glacier, it was not void of interest.
Dr. A. Wynn Williams, in his pamphlet on Arthur’s Well, thus alludes to the rocking-stone: “At the foot of the Dinas, on the western side, in a field called ‘Cae Go’uchaf’ (or the highest blacksmith’s field), on Glasgoed Farm, near the Groeslon, or crossing, close to the road, are some old ruins, probably Druidical. Amongst them is a very large rocking-stone. The circumference of the stone measures in length 24 feet; in width, 16 feet. It might weigh from ten to fifteen tons. A child of seven or eight years of age can move it with ease. I am not aware that this remarkable stone has ever been noticed in any antiquarian work; which is rather curious, as these things are not common in this neighbourhood or country.”
Yours respectfully, E.O.
From ‘Archaeologia Cambrensis v13 (October 1867).
On a swampy common called Saltonstall-moor, in Warley, is a fine large altar, called by the country people the Rocking Stone, the height of which on the West side, is about three yards and an half. It is a huge piece of rock, with rock basins cut upon it, one end of which rests on several stones, between two of which is a pebble of a different grit, seemingly put there for a support, and so placed that it could not possibly be taken out without breaking, or removing the rocks; these in all probability have been laid together by art. The stone in question, from the form and position of it, could never be a rocking stone, though it has always been distinguished by that name: the true rocking stone lies at a short distance from it, thrown from its centre. The other part of this stone is laid upon a kind of pedestal, broad at the bottom, but narrow in the middle; and round this pedestal is a passage, which from every appearance, seems to have been formed by art, but for what purpose is uncertain.
He conjectures that people passing through such passages would have acquired some kind of holiness, or knowledge, or that it was a sort of rite of passage. That sort of thing.
At the distance of about half a mile from this huge rock are the remains of a Carne, formed of loose stones, which for centuries has been called by the country people, Sleepy Low. Several broken fragments of rock are strewed over the moor, these are rendered more remarkable from the fact that the common is one vast morass.
From ‘A concise history of the parish and vicarage of Halifax’ by John Crabtree (1836).
Trough On Harehope Moor, Northumberland.
Mr S. Holmes (treas. and a vice-pres.) read the following notes:-
“On a recent visit to Eglingham I was shown a tank cut out of a mass of sandstone rock projecting in a curved form from the peaty surface. The rock is situated on the moor a short distance above the farm buildings of Harehope, and the trough or tank cut into it occupies a considerable proportion of the exposed rock. It is 7 ft. long and 5 ft. wide at the higher end, 4 ft. 6 in. wide at the lower, with depths ranging from 2 ft. to 2 ft. 3 in., and the floor rises from the outlet about 9 in. to the high end, thus giving a gradient of about 1 in 10. The sides and bottom are cut with the skill of a quarryman. And at the lower end the rock has been cut away on the outside so as to leave only a thin plate like the end of an ordinary trough which has a drainage hole cut through it, and there is no provision for inflow or of overflow.
Altogether the excavation has a modern appearance, but there are on each side of it what appears to be work of pre-historic date, viz.:- two small circular cup markings having roughly chased channels from them. The western one ending in a cross marking like a shark’s tail, but owing to the overgrowth of turf I was unable to follow the eastern one to its termination.
There is also a neatly cut bevelled hole on the west side of the trough, about two inches square. It is difficult to imagine what might have been the original purpose of the tank. Local tradition assigns it to the preparation of wine from the juniper berries, but seeing that the cubic contents, after allowing for the rise of floor, would have been about 500 gallons, it is difficult to think that ‘schnaps’ upon so large a scale would have been manufactured there.
Other theories about the tank incorporate the medieval hospital for lepers that was nearby. The pastscape record for the hospital says “the cistern is situated between the 500’ and 600’ contour on the E side of Harehope Hill and 1/4 mile NW of the farmhouse.” It sounds interesting but I wonder what Knowledgeable Opinion has to say on the rock art. Maybe the carvings aren’t exciting enough for the Beckensall archive as I couldn’t find them on there, or maybe they’ve been discounted?
From the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, vol 9, 1899.
There’s a photo here:
https://www.panoramio.com/photo/24466887#comment
and this one
https://www.panoramio.com/photo/24467027
would suggest the carvings on the outcrop had a super view before someone stuck a hole through them :)
Like the cairns on nearby Frenni Fawr, the parish boundary used to pass through this barrow.
Our attention was [...] particularly engaged in visiting Wapley hill, which is famous for its rabbit-warren, but far more for its beautiful and extensive prospect. -- Upon this hill a British incampment with three trenches is easily traced, and it must undoubtedly have been a very advantageous position for that purpose. Nearly in the centre is a remarkable spring, which is constantly full of water, without suffering any increase or diminution. -- Having arrived upon the most elevated ridge of the mountain, we beheld a circular view still more compleat than any we had hitherto observed, for the prospect on all sides was either rich, or beautiful, or picturesque.
From The Gentleman’s Magazine v84, 1798, in ” ‘A Tour Through Wales and the central Parts of England’ by Charles Shephard, junior. ” This suggests Mr Shephard knew TSC’s folklore that the spring never dries up. And indeed it may well be true.
This fort is absurdly (suspiciously) circular on the OS map. The notes in the RCAHMS record repeatedly complain about how densely vegetated it is so they couldn’t survey it properly. But now the map makes the interior look cleared, so maybe explorers today can see more clearly.
The ‘Thirlestane’ of the name may come from the stone that was nearby (though of course everything could be confused with the properly castle-ish Thirlestane castle down the road).
Thirlestane. -- Standing on a slope 150 yards east of Thirlestane farm steading is a greenstone boulder 4 feet by 3 feet by 15 inches. This would seem to be identical with “Standandstayn” mentioned in a Confirmation by John Mautland of the lands of Snawdon about 1350.
Perhaps it’s still there somewhere.
From ‘History of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club’ v 26 (1923).
Brotherstone Hill. -- On the summit of Brotherstone Hill, on the boundary between Mertoun parish and the County of Roxburgh, stand two greenstone monoliths from which the hill and farm derive their names. The name occurs in the Chartulary of Dryburgh during the thirteenth century.
The stones are placed 17 yards apart; the south stone measures 8 feet 6 inches by 3 feet 7 by 2 feet 11, and the north stone 5 feet 7 inches by 2 feet 10 by 2 feet 2. One of the stones fell in 1906, but was re-erected. Another large stone, called the Cow Stone, lies within the bounds of the County of Roxburgh some 350 yards to the north-east.
From ‘History of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club’ v 26 (1923).
This isn’t really a round barrow, but it’s kind of like a round barrow. A burial and a glass bead were excavated from it. The EH scheduled monument document says that it’s really a natural glacial mound used as a prehistoric burial site. This seems to match with the description below.
Few travellers who have passed along the north turnpike from this place can have failed to observe, in two fields on the right hand of the road, immediately before approaching North Charlton, two very conspicuous rows of ancient barrows. Very probably, indeed, many who have observed them may have considered them as natural inequalities of the ground only, but to the classical antiquary they could not be mistaken the moment they were in his view. [..] There are a dozen or more hillocks in each row.
While some workmen were digging for stone for the road, they found a stone-lined grave, in which there was a skeleton with ‘a brass spear, rivetted on to a bone handle’ – but maybe that sounds more recent than prehistoric? or maybe not. From ‘The Local Antiquary’ in the Newcastle Magazine, by JC of Alnwick, February 1824.
Druidical Rock Basins.
Dr. Borlase, in his Antiquities of Cornwall, notices the existence of Druidical Rock Basins, which appear to have been scooped out of the granite rocks and boulders which lie on the tops of the hills in the county. Several such cavities in stones are found on Brimham Rocks, near Knaresborough, and they have also been found at Plumpton and Rigton, in Yorkshire, and on Stanton Moor, in Derbyshire.
The writer first drew attention to the fact of similar Druidical remains existing in Lancashire in a paper read before the Historical Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, in December, 1864. They are found in considerable numbers around Boulsworth, Gorple, Todmorden, and on the hills which separate Lancashire from Yorkshire between these places.
Commencing the enumeration of the groups of boulders, &c., containing rock basins, with the slopes of Boulsworth, about seven miles from Burnley, we have first the Standing Stones, mostly single blocks of millstone grit, at short distances from each other on the north-western side of the hill. one is locally termed the Buttock Stone, and near it is a block which has a circular cavity scooped out on its flat upper surface. Not far from these are the Joiner Stones, the Abbot Stone, the Weather Stones, and the Law Lad Stones (? from llad, British, sacrifices).
Next come the Great and Little Saucer Stones, so named from the cavities scooped out upon them. The Little Chair Stones, the Fox Stones, and the Broad Head Stones lie at no great distance, each group containing numerous like cavities. Several of these groups are locally named from resemblance to animals or other objects, as the Grey Stones and the Steeple Stones on Barn Hill, and one spur of Boulsworth is called Wycoller Ark, as resembling a farmer’s chest or ark.
On Warcock Hill several groups of natural rocks and boulders are locally named Dave or Dew Stones. On the surface of one immense Dave Stone boulder is a perfect hemispherical cavity, ten inches in diameter. The surface of a nother contains an oblong basin of larger dimensions, with a long grooved channel leading from its curved contour towards the edge of the stone. On a third there are four circular cavities of varying dimensions, the largest in the centre, and three others surrounding it, but none of these is more than a few inches in diameter. At the Bride Stones, near Todmorden, thirteen cavities were counted on one block, and eleven on another. All the basins here and elsewhere are formed on the flat surfaces of the blocks; their upper surfaces always being parallel to the lamination of the stone.
Along Widdop Moor we find the Grey Stones, the Fold Hole Stones, the Clattering Stones, and the Rigging Stones; the last named from occupying the rig or ridge of the hills in the locality. Amongst the Bride Stones is an immense mass of rock which might almost be classed among the rocking stones. it is about twenty-five feet in height, at least twelve feet across its broadest part, and rests on a base only about two feet in diameter.
The Todmorden group contains the Hawk Stones, on Stansfield Moor, not far from Stiperden Cross, on the line of the Long Causeway (a Roman road); the Bride Stones, near Windy Harbour; the Chisley Stones, near Keelham; and Hoar Law, not far from Ashenhurst Royd and Todmorden. The rock basins on these boulders are very numerous, and of all sizes from a few inches in diameter and depth to upwards of two feet. The elliptical axes of some of these basins did not appear to the writer to have been caused by the action of wind or water, or to follow any regular law.
Lastly, taking for a centre, Gorple, about five miles south-east of Burnley is another extensive group of naked rocks and boulders. Close to the solitary farm-house there are the Gorple Stones; and at a short distance the Hanging Stones form conspicuous objects in the sombre landscape. On Thistleden Dean are the Upper, Middle, and Lower Whinberry Stones, so named from the “whinberry” shrubs, with which this moor abounds. The Higher and Lower Boggart Stones come next, and these are followed by the Wicken Clough, and other minor groups of stones. Above Gorple Bottom is another set of grey stones; and these are followed by the Upper, Middle, and Lower Hanging Stones, on Shuttleworth Moor. The rock basins here are very numerous, and mostly well defined. There are forty-three cavities in these Gorple, Gorple Gate, and Hanging Stones, ranging from four to forty inches in length, from four to twenty-five in breadth, and from two to thirteen inches in depth.
From John Harland’s ‘Lancashire Folklore’ (1867).
archive.org/stream/lancashirefolklo00harl#page/106/mode/2up
.. I would not like to say that the stones [at Orchardleigh ] are in their original position. Such stones have been sometimes moved and erected as monoliths. We have one example of this in the immediate neighbourhood. It may not be generally known, but in the garden of Fromefield House, little more than a mile distant from this spot, there stands a stone of large size, and had it not been for the brief note in the diary of a young girl written at the beginning of the last century, the history of this stone would have been lost.
The facts of the case are briefly as follows: During the laying out of the garden a large mound was removed, and at the base of it was found the tone in question covering five walled compartments containing skeletons and pottery. The bones were allowed to remain intact, but the ground was levelled and the large cover-stone erected upright over the site.
From the Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society for 1911 (v57).
There is an annual fair held on Whitsun-Tuesday* at Weetwood Bank. It is one of the largest fairs in the north, for cattle, horses, and sheep. The latter are principally long-wooled hogs**, and ewes and lambs. Servants are also hired at this fair.
This from E Mackenzie’s ‘Historical, topographical and descriptive view of the county of Northumberland’ (1825).
A ‘General Gazetteer‘of 1766 mentions ‘black cattle, sheep, horses, and mercantile goods’.
*I.e. some time late May-June, as according to the arcane calculation of when Easter is.
**A ‘hog sheep’ is a year old.
Maybe half a mile away, in the same narrow band of land between the Afon Braint and the Afon Rhyd y Valley, there was another massive stone:
On a farm within this parish [Llangeinwen] there was, within these few years, a large stone pillar, which was probably one of those called Meini Gwyr, by Rowlands. It was about twelve feet high; but when the present farm-house was built, having no fear of antiquarian anger before their eyes, it was blasted, to make lintels for the doors and windows. The name of the farm, Maen Hir (the Long Pillar), however, preserves its memory.
From ‘The History of North Wales’ v2, by William Cathrall (1828).
Rowlands = his ‘Mona Antiqua Restaurata’.
Craig y Deryn (Craig Aderyn) is a most picturesque and lofty rock, about three or four miles up the vale of the Dysynni. It is so called (the bird’s rock) from the numerous birds which nightly retire among its crevices: the noise they make at nightfall is most hideously dissonant, and as the scenery around is extremely wild and romantic, the ideas engendered by such a clamour in the gloom of evening, and in so dismal and desolate a spot, are not the most soothing or agreeable. Towards twilight some large aquatic fowls, from the neighbouring marsh, may be seen majestically “wending their way” to this their place of nocturnal rest.
By which I think he meant it had him scared half to death. From ‘The History of North Wales’ v2, by William Cathrall (1828).
Also at Pentrehobyn there was a standing stone.
The Dol Yr Orsedd Stone.
To the Editors of the Archaeologia Cambrensis.
Gentlemen, -- About 35 or 40 years ago, when the Mold and Wrexham turnpike road was being made, it was found necessary, in order to give it the width required by statute, to remove a venerable Maen Hir, which stood in a meadow called Dol yr Orsedd, near Pentre hobin, about one mile and a quarter from Mold.At its base a dagger and some human bones were found, which were then taken possession of by the late Mr. Matther, owner of the meadow. I was recently informed by this gentleman’s widow, that the dagger measured about 5 or 6 inches in length, and that it was appropriated by some person unknown several years ago. Mrs. Matther kindly gave me the bones, requesting that I would bury them. They were enclosed in paper, which had an endorsement in Mr. Matther’s hand-writing, stating that by supposition they were the bones of a British warrior.
The stone now lies prostrate, close to the hedge at the north-east corner of the meadow. It measures about 9 feet in length, and appears to have been sunk about 3 feet in the ground. It is of quadrangular form, measuring in breadth about 2 feet across the part which was inserted in the ground, and above that part, about 2 1/2 feet, and in depth across the part which was inserted in the ground about 1 1/2 feet, and above it about 1 foot. The part of the stone which was buried in the earth appears to have been roughly splintered or chiselled down, on two sides, thinner than the rest.
.. W.W. Ff.
From Archaeologia Cambrensis v14, 1849.
Is it still under the ground? Or is half of it lurking as a gatepost? Or is it gone completely now?
..This maenhir cannot now be traced, and it is believed to have been broken or removed many years ago. But it may be remarked that in the adjoining meadow west of Dol yr orsedd is a limestone gate post of unusual size, 4 feet 6 inches above ground, 2 feet broad and 16 inches thick. This may be the old maenhir of Dol yr orsedd, utilised to serve a different purpose, and it may have stood upon a low mound forming the “gorsedd” which gave its distinguishing name to the meadow. -- Visited, 12th June, 1910.
from the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire Flint Inventory for 1912. https://www.rcahmw.gov.uk/HI/ENG/Publications/Electronic+Books/Flint+Inventory+1912/
According to EH’s record, this barrow is still 3m high and 20 across. It’s near Easneye House, which is now a training college for evangelical missionaries, but which in Victorian times was owned by the Buxton family. The owner and his son opened the barrow in 1899. “Not a solitary piece of pottery, not a fragment of bronze, nor a single worked flint was found” but there were burnt bones and the jaw of a young pig. “The bones and ashes were, after examination, placed in an earthenware jar, with an inscription on a copper plate stating when and by whom the barrow was opened, and what was found in it. The jar with its contents was then placed in the centre of the mound where the bones were discovered, and the earth was replaced in the excavation.”
From the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1899-90.
Here is Thomas Bere’s letter to the Gentleman’s Magazine, in May 1789. He’d already written to the Bath Chronicle in January in the hope that someone would get in touch with him about the barrow (but no-one had). I apologise for such a long quotation but I feel it’s great to have such a detailed enthusiastic description of the site. And I love the way he describes being inside the chambers and seeing the skulls by candlelight.
The barrow is, from North to South, 150 feet; from East to West 75 feet. This looks more like a designed proportion than the effect of chance. It has been immemorially known by the name of Fairy’s Toote, and considered still, by our sagacious provincials, as the haunts of ghosts, goblins, and fairies. This may be deemed the electrical tremblings of very remote superstition. The idle tale travelled down through many an age, long, long after the cadavers from which it originated had ceased to be had in remembrance.
Desirous of obtaining stone for the adjacent roads, the proprietor ordered his workmen to see what the Toote was made of. They accordingly commenced their labours at the Southern extremity, and soon came to the stone D, which then was at A, with a considerable West inclination, and no doubt served for a door to the sepulchre, which, prior (and in some cases subsequent) to Christianity, was the common mode of securing the entrance of these repositories. Such was that which was placed at the mouth of the cave wherein our blessed Saviour was interred.
The stone D being passed, an admirable unmortar’d wall appeared on the left-hand, and no doubt a similar one after the dotted line on the right once existed, as we find it in the same direction at F. This wall was built of thin irregular base freestone, less in length and breadth, but in general thicker, than common Dutch chimney tile. Its height was somewhat more than four feet; its thickness about fourteen inches. Thirteen feet directly North from A (where the stone D stood) the perforated stone B appears, inclining to the North about thirty degrees, and shutting up the avenue between the unmorta’d walls.
-- Working round the East side, at I a cell presented itself, two feet three inches broad, four feet high, and nine feet from South to North. Here were found a perfect human skull, the teeth entire, all sound, and of the most delicate white; it lay against the inside of the stone B, the body having been deposited North and South. Several other pieces of skulls, human spinal joints, arm bone, &c. were found herein; and particularly the thigh bone of a very large quadruped, which, by comparing with the same bone of an ox, I conjecture to have belonged to an animal of that species. As the skull appeared to me larger than common, I was willing to form some conjecture of the height of that body to which it belonged, and applied my rule to it, taking the painter’s datum, of allowing eight faces (from the hair on the forehead to the chin) for the whole, found it gave something more than eight feet. With this the length of the sepulchre agrees, being, as was before observed, nine feet. In this cell was also found the tooth of some large beast; but no one that has seen it can guess of what genus.
At the termination of the first sepulchre, the horizontal stones in the top of the avenue had fallen down. With some difficulty, and no little danger, I obtruded far enough to see, by the light of a candle, two other similar catacombs, one to the right, the other on the left side of the avenue, containing several human skulls, and other bones; but which, from the imminent hazard of being buried in the ruins of the surrounding masses, have not yet been entered. This, as far as it goes, is a true account of the discoveries at the Southern extremity of the tumulus.
The lateral section at G has afforded as yet nothing more than a view of the unmortar’d wall, seen in the Southern extremity at H, and here at F, with the continuation of the central avenue seen at B, and here from C to C. This avenue is constructed of very large rock fragments, consisting of three stones, two perpendicular and one horizontal, as may be seen in the representation E. Three cells are here discernible, two of which are on the West side, and one on the East; these also have human bones. The proprietor means now to proceed from B to CC, propping up the avenue with wooden posts, in the same manner in which our miners do in their adits, to the lapis caluminaris veins. This mode will give the visitor an opportunity of seeing the different cells with safety and convenience.
I have only to add, that the tumulus is formed of small whitish stone, of which the neighbourhood affords plenty; and that the exterior appears to have been turfed, yet there remains a stratum, five or six inches deep, of grassed earth on the stones. The view I took on the spot, in one of the sneaping[*] days of the last rigorous season. I can therefore say nothing for it, but that, if it be not a good drawing, it is a true representation. When the central avenue is cleared, I purpose to send you the ichnography. ...
When the Proprietor seemed quite keen to prop up the insides to admit visitors, it seems such a shame that something went wrong somewhere and now the barrow lies in disarray. It could so easily have gone the other way and have been restored like at Stoney Littleton?
*[as in nippily cold?]
The Whetstones (6 in. Ord. Surv. sheet, Mont. 31 S.E.; lat. 52 34 18, long. 30 1 42). Owner, the Earl of Powis, Powis Castle, Welshpool; occupier, Mr. Jacob Ellis.
At the foot of the northern slope of Corndon Hill, and close to a stile on the south side of the road near the turning to Cliffdale mine. It is certain that at this place there once stood a circle of eight or nine stones. An intelligent man named John Jones, aged 74 years, and a resident in the vicinity since his youth, remembers four stones arranged as though forming parts of a circle, with an appendage of four or five other stones extending in a curve “like a hook.” About one hundred yards distant was a cairn, the foundation of which is still discernible. The land was then unenclosed, but on its enclosure the cairn and the circle were rifled to provide stone for the construction of the existing fence. Mr. Jones pointed out the four stones which had been members of the circle.
The Rev. C. Hartshorne’s account of this circle in Salopia Antiqua, 1841, p.33, gives a slightly different account of the stones. He observes “these three stones [The Whetstones] were formerly placed upright though they now lean, owing to the soft and boggy nature of the soil. They stand equidistant and assume a circular position... The highest of these is four feet above the surface; one foot six inches in thickness, and three feet in width.”
Only one stone is now to be found, embedded in the ground close to the stile entering the field, and this is so small that it is not likely to have formed one of the stones of the circle, or it must be a mere fragment of a larger mass. Close by, but within the borders of Shropshire, is the still perfect circle called Mitchell’s Fold. -- Visited 29th August, 1909.
From the ‘Inventory of the Ancient and Historical Monuments of the County of Montgomeryshire’ (1911).
Brent Tor was fortified in a manner very similar to Whit Tor; the outer wall has been much injured. In this instance it is not the summit, but the base of the hill that has been defended. As there is a church on the summit, as also a churchyard with its wall, these have drawn their supplies from the circumvallation. Moreover, it has been broken through to form a way up to the church.
A late curate of Tavistock, whose function it was to take the service on Brent Tor, and who found it often desperate work to scramble to the summit in storm and sleet and rain, resolved on forming a roadway to the churchyard gate. But he experienced some difficulty in persuading men to go out from Tavistock to work at this churchway. However, he supplied himself with several bottle of whisky, and when he saw a sturdy labourer standing idle in the market-place he invited him into his lodgings and plied him with hot grog, till the man in a moist and smiling condition assented to the proposition that he should give a day to the Brent Tor path. By this means it was made. The curate was wont to say: “Hannibal cut his way through the Alps with vinegar; I hewed mine over Brent Tor with prime usquebaugh.” Few traces of this way remain, but in making it sad mischief was made with the inner wall of the fortress.
On Brent Tor summit it is sometimes impossible to stand against the wind. I remember how that on one occasion a baptismal party mounted it in driving rain. The father carried the child, and he wore for the occasion a new blue jersey. WHen the poor babe was presented at the font it was not only streaming with water, but its sopped white garment had become blue with the stain from the father’s jersey.
On an occasion of a funeral, when the parson emerged from the church door he was all but prostrated by the north-west blast, and he and the funeral party had to proceed to the grave much like frogs. “Crook’y down, sir!” was the sexton’s advice; and the whole company had to press forward bent double, and to finish the service seated in the “lew” of headstones.
According to popular belief the graves, which are cut in the volcanic tufa, fill with water, and the dead dissolve into a sort of soup. But this is not true; the rock is dry and porous. It discharges its drainage by a little spring on the north-east that in process of ages has worked itself from stage to stage lower down the hill.
From Baring-Gould’s “Book of Dartmoor” of 1900.
From the Gentleman’s Magazine for 1785, pt.1, p360.
Brandrith Craggs.
Hearing some time ago the above-mentioned appellation given to a ridge of rocks, situated on a mountain, overlooking a deep vale, about half-way betwixt Knaresbrough and Shipton, I was led to suppose the place had once been appropriated to Druidical superstition, in name manifestly implying the “fire circle.”.. On the highest part of one of these rocks is a smooth, regular, well-wrought bason, formed out of the solid stone, 2 feet in depth, and 3 1/2 feet in diameter. On each side of this is a smaller bason formed, each on a prominent point of the rock. A few yards from hence is a rocking stone, the irregularity of the figure making it difficult to ascertain the weight exactly; yet it may be reasonably supposed to weigh near 20 tons, and so equally poised, as to be moved with ease by one hand.
The rocking stone is still marked on the OS map so one can only hope it’s still rocking.
The Coflein site says this rock (between two cairns) has at least eight cupmarks.
The details on Coflein say that this stone is an earthfast boulder with at least 18 cupmarks (a previous surveyor enthusiastically suggests 32). It’s about a metre long and is right next to the farm track.
There are two stones here, and their record on Canmore says that they are reused prehistoric stones. I don’t know how they know that, but far be it from me to argue. One of them is inscribed with Ogham (that is the Newton Stone) and the other has Pictish symbols.
The Newton Stone is over 2 metres high. It wasn’t here originally – ” ‘I think it was in the year 1804’ writes the (fourth) Earl of Aberdeen to Dr John Stuart, ‘that I first saw the Newton Stone, the inscription on which I believe had been discovered by some shepherd boys in the preceding year. The stone, at that time, was situated in a fir plantation, a few paces distant from the high road, and near to the Pitmachie turnpike. The trees have since been cut down, and the stone removed to the House of Newton.”
archive.org/stream/aberdeenjournal00unkngoog#page/n47
PJ Anderson says in this little article, ‘The versions attempted of the inscription are amusing in their variety.‘
In Lhan Hammwich Parish, there is an ancient Monument commonly call’d Ty Ilhtud or St. Iltut’s Hermitage. It stands on the top of a hill, not far from the Church; and is composed of four large Stones somewhat of a flat form, altogether rude and unpolish’d. Three of which are so pitch’d in the ground, and the fourth laid on the top for a cover, that they make an oblong square Hut, open at the one end; about eight foot long, four wide, and near the same height. Having entered it, I found the two side Stones thus inscrib’d with variety of Crosses.
I suppose this Cell, notwithstanding the crosses and the name, to have been erected in the time of Paganism; for that I have elsewhere observ’d such Monuments plac’d in the center of circles of stones, somewhat like that at Rolrich in Oxfordshire. And though ther eis not at present such a circle about this; yet I have grounds to suspect that they may have been carried off, and applied to some use. for there has been one remov’d very lately, which stood within a few paces of this Cell, and was call’d Maen Ilhtud; and there are some Stones still remaining there.
From the third edition of Camden’s Britannia (I think partly the added notes), from 1753.
This barrow probably looks quite unassuming. But it does get a mention in volume 2 of Camden’s Britannia. He says:
The Wye crosses the west angle of the County; and having its rapid course somewhat abated by the rocks it meets with, and its chanel discontinu’d, it suddenly falls headlong over a steep precipice. Whence the place is called Rhaiadr Gwy, that is, the Cataract or fall of the River Wye. [...] About two furlongs below [the Castle] I observed a large Tumulus or Barrow, call’d from a Chapel adjoyning, Tommen Iban St. Fred: and on the other side, at a farther distance, there are two more, much less than the former, called Krigeu Kevn Keido, vix. the Barrows of Kevn Keido, a place so call’d; where it is suppos’d, there stood heretofore a church, in regard a piece of ground adjoining is call’d Klyttieu’r Eglwys.
This is from p699 of the 1753 version, but he originally published it in 1607. Cefn = a ridge.
Borlase’s description of the fogou:
Bodinar Cave, called the Gyant’s Holt.
In the tenement of Bodinar, in the parish of Sancred, somewhat higher than the present village, is a spot of ground amounting to no more than half an acre of land (formerly much larger), full of irregular heaps of stones overgrown with heath and brambles. It is of no regular shape, neither has it any vestiges of Fortification.
In the Southern part of this plot, you may with some difficulty enter into a hole, faced on each side with a stone-wall, and covered with flat stones. Great part of the walls as well as covering are fallen into the Cave, which does not run in a straight line, but turns to the left hand at a small distance from the place where I entered, and seems to have branched itself out much farther than I could trace it, which did not exceed twenty feet. It is about five feet high, and as much in width, called the Giant’s Holt, and has no other use at present than to frighten and appease froward children.
As the hedges round are very thick, and near one the other, and the inclosures within them extremely small, I imagine these ruins were formerly of much greater extent, and have been removed into the hedges; the stones of which, appearing sizeable, and as if they had been used in Masonry, seem to confirm the conjecture. Possibly here might be a large British town (as I have been informed the late Mr. Tonkin thought), and this Cave might be a private way to get into or sally out of it; but the walls are every where crushed and fallen, and nothing regular to be seen;
I will only add, that this Cave, or under-ground passage, was so well concealed, that though I had been in it in the year 1738, yet, when I came again to examine it in the year 1752, I was a long while before I could find it.
From ‘Antiquities, historical and monumental, of the county of Cornwall..’ by William Borlase, published in 1769. ‘Froward’ is a real word by the way, it means contrary, ungovernable and generally naughty.
Oh wouldn’t it be great if this ‘destroyed’ place wasn’t really destroyed at all but was only hiding (like Higher Boden). If anyone knows what happened to it for sure...
From Scottish Notes and Queries, June 1887.
About a mile to the north-west from the old Chapel is what is known by the name of the Poll-hill of Leask. On the highest point is a green mound, resembling a ship with the keel uppermost, and measuring upwards of 90 feet by 32. It terminates in a point at both sides.
[..] The late General Gordon had this curious mound walled in, and planted with trees for its preservation. The site, which was a favourite haunt, he called his “Observatory.”
Contiguous to the Poll-hill there were numerous cairns and knolls, which were erased during cultivation, seventy years ago.
[..] Upwards of sixty years ago there was another prominent mound on the farm of Bogbrae, known as the Elfin-knap, of which many weird stories are still told. It was demolished in the process of reclaiming part of the farm, and in clearing away the turf from the top and sides, four stone pillars, upwards of four feet high, supporting slabs of stone, serving the purpose of a roof, were discovered. A large stone battle-axe was found in the bottom, embedded among charcoal, probably the war-axe and ashes of the chief whose interment the mound had been raised to commemorate.
During the months of March and April, 1877, five stone battle-axes and a stone ball were found in this neighbourhood, within a radius of a mile and a-half. Three of these were discovered by a lad on the farm of Bogbrae. He found the smallest one in a cairn of stones, carted from the farm to be broken into road metal, and believing their might be more on the same ground, he searched for and got [the] other two, and also a stone ball.
The poor eponymous cairns on Carnmenellis have to squash up with abandoned granite quarries, a farm, reservoir, a mast, a triangulation pillar... But this book has the Copesque idea that the naturally sculptured earthfast boulders that were, are? here still, are its natural predecessors, a naturally sacred spot.
archive.org/stream/earlyracesscotl01leslgoog#page/n22/mode/1up
I think the strange illustration must be from Borlase’s book, as the Heritage Gateway mentions it (and mentions not being able to find the real thing). Several barrows / cairns have been noted up here though.
The interesting-sounding ‘Giant’s Cave’ is on the lower slopes of the hill. But the HG dully says this is really the remains of a post-medieval structure – it’s been dug out beneath a granite slab and is quite a big chamber at 6x6x1.4m.
I’ve added two diagrams from ‘Archaeologia Cambrensis’ of a purported cupmarked stone in the area.
archive.org/stream/archaeologiacam21assogoog#page/n277/mode/1up
Mr Thomas doesn’t really give away the location, he mentions ‘an old enclosure’ but I don’t know if it could be this fort. But it’s not on Coflein as far as I can see. Dunno what people think or if they know more. Or maybe they are genuine and hiding under some turf somewhere.
I enclose a sketch of what seems to be a cup-marked stone which I observed yesterday near Rhiwderin, Monmouth. Unless there be some operation which simulates such markings with which I am unacquainted, I take the specimen to add an instance of these mysterious prehistoric remains to the very short list given for Wales by Mr. Romilly Allen, and to be the first reported for South Wales.
The stone displaying the cup-markings is a mass of millstone grit, earth-fast, the slanting surface appearing above the turf being about a yard wide, and 4 feet long. Upon the upper half of the surface is a group of twelve cups from 1 1/2 to 2 ins. in diameter, and about 1 in. deep. On first noticing the cups they were taken for holes out of which quartz pebbles, abundant in the local millstone grit, had been weathered, but examination of the block showed that no pebbles of large size exist, or had existed in it, and the conclusion was arrived at that the cups are artificial. On turning back some of the turf covering the base of the slope of the stone, no other cups were discovered.
The stone lies within an old enclosure, as shown by wild apple-trees and an abundance of daffodils, and still more clearly by ruins, which seem those of a cottage or small farm near by. This contiguity to a habitation which does not seem to have been abandoned more than a century, made me suspect some medieval or more recent origin for the markings. I cannot, however, account for them otherwise than by supposing them to be cup-markings in the technical archaeological sense.
“Footprint” at Morlagganmore. -- Morlagganmore is a farm on the south side of the river Lochay, less than two miles above Lochay Bridge, and just opposite the Falls of the Lochay. About 100 yards north of the farmhouse, and 10 yards west of the farm road, is an outcrop of rock bearing a curious “footprint” hole, 13 1/2 inches long, 6 inches wide, and about 6 inches deep, and narrowing downwards to 9 1/2 inches by 2 inches. It just took my heavily-booted right foot. A natural crack in the rock runs obliquely across it. There is not sufficient evidence in its appearance to determine certainly whether it is natural or artificial, but it looks artificial. It may be compared with the inauguration stones of chiefs and kings, described by Captain Thomas in the Proceedings, vol. xiii. p28.
Cup-marked Rocks at Morlagganmore (fig. 2). -- I was told of one of these by Mr Haggart, but the farm people did not know of its existence. It lies about 200 yards south of the house, in the middle of the uppermost pasture. It is a large block of quartz schist stuck thick with garnets, and bearing fifteen cup-marks, only one of which, 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep, is really well defined, and several of which are faint. The surface of the stone seems much eroded by weather.
About 100 yards south-west of it is another rock with one well-cut cup, 3 inches in diameter and 1 1/2 inches deep, and also a doubtful or faint one.
From v46 of PSAS, ‘Archaeological Gleanings from Killin’ (1912).
On the summit of a hill to the north-east of Elder-Valley is a large tumulus, called BOWLS-BARROW, which measure 150 feet in length, ninety-four in breadth, and ten and a half in height. It was twice opened by Mr. Cunnington, who found that its interior parts were composed entirely of white marl stone, to the depth of four feet and a half, below which was a ridge of large stones and flints, extending wider towards the base of the barrow. This was a floor of flints regularly laid, on which were deposited the remains of fourteen human bodies, thrown together promiscuously within the space of ten feet by six. Near the skeletons was a large cist, and at the east and west ends of the barrow were discovered several heads of oxen, but no charred wood or pottery.
Who needs charred wood or pottery when you’ve found oxen heads, that’s what I’d like to know. From books.google.co.uk/books?id=pi1JAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA319
From From ‘The Beauties of England and Wales’ volume 15, by John Britton and others (1814).
What is remarkable, at the south-west angle of the camp there are three barrows: one of them, a large circular tumulus, fills the entire space of the inner ditch; and the other two are placed in the line of the inner rampart. These last, on opening, proved to be sepulchral; but no interment could be discovered in the other. They are all evidently of anterior date to the camp itself, and throw some light on the era of its construction: for, as Sir Richard Hoare observes,
“We still see them untouched and respected, and the ground taken from excavations near the large barrow to raise the rampart, rather than disturb these ancient memorials of the dead. I doubt if the barbarous Saxons would have paid such a tribute of respect to their British predecessors.”
Oh Sir Richard I so want to like you but do you not see any irony in your pronouncement at all.
From From ‘The Beauties of England and Wales’ volume 15, by John Britton and others (1814).
books.google.co.uk/books?id=pi1JAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA310