Kammer

Taken 11th February 2004: The stone viewed from the south. Note the green colouration caused by sheep rubbing against it.

Taken 11th February 2004: Viewed from the south west, the forestry in the background (the chunk to the left) hides a cairn called Garn Wen.

Taken 11th February 2004: Looking west, this photo of me and Alfie next to Garrig Hir was taken by the gentleman who lives in the house next to the stone.

Taken 17th January 2004: Finds from Bryn Celli Ddu, now exhibited at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff.

The item at the top is a mudstone bead, on the right is a flint scraper, at the bottom a flint chisel-ended arrow head, and on the left a flint blade.

Taken 17th January 2004: A rather shonky photo of a flint scraper (left) and bone pin (right) found at Tinkinswood, now exhibited at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff.

Taken 17th January 2004: Two axe heads found at Mynydd Rhiw, now exhibited at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff.

Taken 17th January 2004: Two axe heads, broken during manufacture, found at Mynydd Rhiw. These are now exhibited at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff.

Taken 17th January 2004: Two stone knives found at Mynydd Rhiw, now exhibited at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff.

Taken 17th January 2004: A saw (on the left) and an awl (on the right) found at Mynydd Rhiw, now exhibited at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff.

Taken 17th January 2004: From a selection of axe maker’s tools, these are scrapers found at Graig Lwyd, now exhibited at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff.

Taken 17th January 2004: A sandstone quern and grain-rubber found at Gwernvale, now exhibited at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff.

Taken 17th January 2004: Stone tools found in the cave (scrapers?), now exhibited at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff, along with a pendant made from mammoth ivory (my photo of this didn’t come out).

Taken 15th December 2003: The southern edge of the cairn, viewed from the north west. The road is visible in the background.

Taken 15th December 2003: The northern edge of the cairn viewed from the west, with the valley behind it.

Taken 15th December 2003: The cairn viewed from (approximately) the west, with the road visible behind it.

Taken 15th December 2003: Looking approximately east, down the valley.

Taken 15th December 2003: The stone viewed from approximately the north.

Taken 15th December 2003: Viewed from the east, the road is just visible behind the stone. Note the packing stones around the base of it.

Taken 15th December 2003: The stone viewed from the west (I think) with the boggy ground to the south of the lower Cregennen lake behind it. Note the packing stones.

Taken 15th December 2003: Viewed from the east with William for scale (he was four and a half at the time).

Taken 15th December 2003: The stone viewed from the west, with the lower of the two lakes behind it.

Taken 15th December 2003: Pared-y-Cefn-Hir, viewed across the lower of the two lakes. This photo was featured on the BBC Wales web site earlier in the year.

Taken 7th December 2003: Moonrise over Gwern Einion.

Taken 7th December 2003: Looking approximately south, this shot illustrates just how close the chamber is to the ruined farmhouse. In case you’re not sure where the chamber is, the capstone is the huge lump in the foreground.

Taken 7th December 2003: Inside the chamber, showing the dry-stone walling that made Gwern Einion such a snug cow-shed (presumably for very small cows).

Taken 7th December 2003: Viewed from the west (approximately speaking) this is the side of the tomb that’s not ex-cow shed.

Adapted from a photo taken 7th December 2003. A lesson in why Photoshop shouldn’t be available to us non-artists.

Taken 7th December 2003: A close-up of the spiral. Unfortunately the font is in the way, so it’s tricky getting a straight-on view.

Taken 7th December 2003: What can you say about this? I guess it’s a view of the stone from the south, with Louise’s hand for scale.

The curved thing in the bottom left of the shot is the base of the font.

Taken 7th December 2003: The top of the taller southern stone.

Taken 7th December 2003: The stones viewed from the east (approximately speaking).

Taken 7th December 2003: The stone pair viewed from the south, with the northern end of Llandbedr in the distance.

Taken 7th December 2003: The tomb viewed from the south. Cairn material is just about visible around the chamber, and the nice tarmac path is to the right of the shot (with menacing cattle in the distance – you can’t see them, but they’re there... waiting).

Taken 7th December 2003: Viewed from the west with the might Moelfre in the background. It’s hard not to make a link between the position of the tomb and the mountain.

Taken 7th December 2003: The eastern chamber with it’s brickwork pseudo-orthostat, viewed from the south west.

Taken 7th December 2003: From inside the western chamber looking east. It’s tricky squeezing inside, but there’s room in there for an adult, a one year old and a four year old.

Taken 7th December 2003: The western chamber, viewed from the north east.

Taken 7th December 2003: This is the capstone of the western chamber, viewed from the north west.

Taken 6th December 2003: The smaller southern barrow, covered in moss. The modest hill Mynydd Ffynnon-Wen behind it. Between the two hills runs Afon Tuen, a tributary of the Rheidol.

Taken 6th December 2003: The larger northern barrow, with the Rheidol Windfarm behind it on Bwa Drain. Note the pronounced ditch surrounding the barrow.

Taken 6th December 2003: This is the larger of the two barrows (the northern one) with the moon rising behind it.

Taken 26th November 2003: The only photo that I managed to take without camera shake, before the camera stopped working.

Taken 22nd November 2003: This is the point where the sun started going down, and I realised we had better get off the mountain before we got very cold.

The bump in the slope is the rampart on the western side of the fort. It’s easy to see why this side of the settlement didn’t need much in the way of artificial defenses. I was teetering o the edge to get this shot.

Taken 22nd November 2003: William walking up to the highest point of the fort. The ridge he’s walking on appears to be natural, but behind him is the southern defence, the reeds to the left marking the original entrance. In the background is Dinas Reservoir with the Cambrian Hills running away into the distance.

Taken 22nd November 2003: The rampart on the western side of the fort. This is the side that’s best protected by the topography of the hill, so this bank and ditch is realtively small compared to the others. The hill in the distance is cairn topped Disgwylfa Fawr.

Taken 22nd November 2003: Here is the view along the defensive ditch on the south side of the fort. The reeds mark the original entrance.

Taken 22nd November 2003: Here is Lle’r Neuaddau Circle as viewed from Dinas Hillfort. The red arrow indicates where the circle is, and the detail gives a slightly better idea what it looks like from this angle.

Note Afon Rheidol running across the bottom left corner of the frame (where the caravan is), and much clearer, the small tributary running to the right of the circle. Lle’r Neuaddau, Hirnant and Dolgamfa all share proximity with the Rheidol, and it seems more than likely that this was planned. A sacred river running from the feet of a sacred mountain (Pumlumon)?

Taken 9th December 2003: Viewed from the lane to the north east, Old Warren Hillfort looks singularly unimpressive. It’s almost entirely hidden in the trees on the horizon in the middle of the shot. You can just make out the contours of the hill reflected in the tops of the trees.

Taken 9th December 2003: Relatively new wooden steps cut into the defensive bank on the north side of the fort (surely a bit dodgy, especially given the small number of visitors that the site gets).

Taken 9th December 2003: From the bottom of the defensive ditch on the north side of the fort, looking approximately west along it.