Kammer

Taken 24th May 2003: From the nort west (ish), the stone sitting tidy in it’s mucky puddle.

Taken 24th May 2003: From the south east, with the loverly Louise posing for scale.

Taken 24th May 2003: From the south east. Apologies for practically repeating RiotGibbon’s photo, but what the heck.

Taken 24th May 2003: The two stones from the south(ish), looking in the directions of St David’s Head (which was visible to the naked eye).

Taken 24th May 2003: The stone pair from the north (or thereabouts) with Lou and William alongside for scale. The stones were vertical before William sat on them!

Taken 10th May 2003: From slightly south of the the centre of the site (that’s tricky to say), looking approximately west.

Taken 10th May 2003: From near the centre of the site, looking towards Silbury Hill (slightly right of centre, just below the horizon) and Knoll Down (I think).

10th May 2003: Viewed from the east, the Cove post-concrete, but pre-tidy up.

10th May 2003: After all the exciting stone moving and concreting had taken place, here is the Cove in the latter stages of being part of a building site.

10th May 2003: The mound viewed from the south (slightly further east than the last shot). In the foreground is a ghastly modern avenue of stones. You can also clearly see the grotty grotto that was dug into the side of the hill.

10th May 2003: The mound viewed from the south.

Taken 24th May 2003: From the west, showing just how close modern development has come to the monument.

Taken 24th May 2003: The chamber from the south west, with Jane sketching in the background and the boys behind the cahmber.

Taken 24th May 2003: The south west side of the cairn, where it’s most discernable. In the distance is one of the natural rocky outcrops that dominate the local landscape (I think this one is Carn Enoch).

Taken 24th May 2003: The cairn from the south. I’m afraid it’s a bit tricky to make out in 2D, because both it and the surrounding land are covered in heather and gorse. In the far distance (to the right) is the lane snaking off towards Dinas Cross.

Taken 24th May 2003: A stone lying in the hedge bank on the field side of the row. I didn’t establish whether this is the same stone that can be seen from the lane (see RiotGibbon’s photo – themodernantiquarian.com/image.php?image_id=24), but it appears to be much smaller.

Taken 24th May 2003: The middle stone (there are four, so this needs explaining). By this I mean the stone that stands between the garepost stone, and the stone at the eastern end of the row.

Taken 24th May 2003: From the south, this is the most westerly of the standing stones, with William standing next to it (not much use for scale until I find out how tall he is). In the background is the natural outcrop called Garn Fawr.

Taken 24th May 2003: The most easterly of the four standing stones is used as a gatepost and a fencepost, and has a barbed wire strand unceremoniously wrapped around it.

Taken 24th May 2003: The clichéd photo of the stone row from the east, but this time with the unusual ingredient of Welsh sunshine! In the distance you can make out Fishguard and the ferry from Ireland.

Taken 10th May 2003: The remaining stone from the north west, with a distinctive round barrow on the horizon (not sure of it’s name but I believe it’s at SU117692).

Taken 10th May 2003: My good friend Flotsky standing next to what remains of Falkner’s circle.

Taken 20th April: From the south west, looking down the road in the direction of Newport.

Taken 20th April: From the south, risking life and limb to take the photo from the middle of the road.

Taken 20th April: Alfie gets megalithic!

Taken 20th April: This capstone (on the north side of the tomb) has the look of a dolmen, but this is probably coincidental.

Taken 20th April: One of the chambers, on the south side of the monument.

Taken 20th April: The chambers from the south, as you see it approaching from the road. Lou, Alfie and Will are doing a good job providing scale.

Taken 20th April: The chambers from the north, with Lou, Alfie and Will for scale.

Taken 20th April: The stone as seen over the gate next to Mercury Garage (not a petrol station, but a mechanic’s workshop).

Taken 20th April: I risked life and limb to take this. Here is the stone from the south, as viewed from t’other side of road (balanced on the crash barier). The headland in the distance is Dinas Island.

Taken 20th April: From the south (slightly to the east) by the roadside. Ty Meini behind bars.

Taken 20th April 2003: The stone viewed from the north west(ish).

Taken 20th April 2003: The stone viewed from the west (or there abouts) with William for scale (he’s a 4 year old, so not much taller than 1 metre).

Taken 20th April 2003: Viewed from the south, you can clearly see the old boundary that the stone is incorporated into.

Taken 20th April 2003: The field that the stone stands in was ploughed into Zen like furrow. This shot is taken from the lane that runs to the north.

Taken 20th April 2003: A close up, taken from the lane that runs to the north of the stone.

Taken 20th April 2003: The stone viewed from the east (right by the farm buildings).

Taken 19th April 2003: Lou took this shot as we left the circle (from the south east).

Taken 19th April 2003: The smaller, and most northerly of the two outlying stones, with the OS Landranger map for scale.

Taken 19th April 2003: The two outlying stones from the south, with Lou William and Alfie for scale.

Taken 19th April 2003: The most northerly stone in the circle, looking towards the two outlying standing stones (marked with an arrow). In the distance is the Preseli range, with Carn Meini on the left.

Taken 19th April 2003: Looking at the circle from the south (yes, that’s the south Louise!) with Carn Meini in the distance. The little red dot on one of the stones is William pretending to be a fireman.

Taken 19th April 2003: These two stones are not the Rhos Fach Standing Stones, but two nearby modern stones. They are much more obvious than the Rhos Fach stones, standing on common land on either side of the road.

The stone on the right was airlifted down from Carn Meini in 1989 to mark the Silver Jubilee of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust (not sure that I can see the connection). The stone on the left is a memorial to someone called Waldo, who died in 1971.

The following translation is taken from the book Saints and Stones (ISBN 1-84323-124-7) by Davies and Eastham:

Wall of my boyhood,
Foel Drygarn, Garn Gyfrwy, Tal Mynydd.

At my back
In all independence of mind

Foel Drygarn is the peak to the north, capped with an Iron Age Fort and three enormous Bronze Age cairns. Garn Gyfrwy is a rocky outcrop to the east of Carn Meini.

Taken 19th April 2003: Looking east towards Bryngwyn (and it’s transmitter mast).

Taken 19th April 2003: A close up of the stones viewed from the south, with Carn Meini and the Stone River in the background.

Taken 19th April 2003: Viewed from the common land to the south of the Rhos Fach stones, with Carn Meini and the Stone River in the background.

Taken 18th April 2003: This stone is not Ffynnon Druidion, but a newly erected stone nearby. I’ve plastered the photo with arrows to illustrate some of the signs that its modern. The back of the stone was covered in compressed soil, suggesting that until very recently, it was recumbent. There’s no record of this stone in the NMRW.

The green arrow (at the top of the stone) indicates a large chip taken out it, relatively recently. The purple arrow (to the left of the stone) indicates a scrape that would correspond with the type of damage that a JCB claw might cause. The red arrow (bottom right) indicates bricks in amongst the packing stones.

Taken 18th April 2003: The base of the stone is surprisingly thin, and there are lots of exposed packing stones (no idea if they’re a later addition or not).

Taken 18th April 2003: From the north west, looking back towards the road.