I’ve not yet visited the Great Orme, but according to Gwynedd Archaeological Trust records there’s a prehistoric hut circle north of Pyllau Road (SH77258305). I’ve no idea what kind of access there is to the site, or how much evidence remains on the ground.
There are two other possible hut circles to the south east (one at SH77498300 and the other at SH77358321). One of these looks like it has a public footpath running past it.
From an article by David Prudames, published on the 24 Hour Museum Web site (8th January 2003):
Archaeologists in Bedfordshire are angry after discovering serious damage to the remains of an Iron Age fort near Dunstable just before Christmas, apparently caused by a mechanical digger.More ...Considered to be one of the most significant Iron Age monuments in the county, the Maiden Bower site was left scarred in what appears to be an act of vandalism.
It is believed a mechanical digger found at the scene was used to cause severe damage to surrounding earthworks and create a number of holes inside the fort.
Dinas is visible from most of the Bronze Age sites that surround it, so inevitably it’s ended up in the photos I’ve posted up for them. Rather than post the same images up twice, here are some links to those photos:
Buwch a’r Llo
Garn Lwyd Stone
Garn Lwyd Stone
Y Garnedd
Lle’r Neuaddau Circle
Visited Winter 1999 (I think): The climb up to Dinas isn’t quite as bad as it looks, but you’d be hard pressed to get a pushchair up there. Approaching from the south you can park at the gate just to the north of the bridge (SN741827) and there’s a public footpath that goes east, then north, passing to the east of the hillfort. Obviously there’s no point in sticking to this path because you’ll miss the views to the west, and any chance of identifying the ramparts of the fort itself.
Up at the top the views are spectacular, especially to the west and east (towards Pumlumon Fawr). The climb is worth it just for the feeling of splendid isolation, and knowing that you’re slap bang in the middle of an excellent cluster of upland Bronze Age sites.
Visited 29th December 2002: We cleverly ignored the directions to the site in the Modern Antiquarian, and for a short while I thought we wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near the stones. Then I remembered the book, and it turned out to be easy.
There were winter crops in the field surrounding the stones, and there’s no public footpath, so we couldn’t get very close. I’m dying to take a better look, so we’ll be back in 2003 for another try.
I’ve driven past this War Memorial on numerous occassions, and apart from thinking it was made from a remarkably large lump of quartz, never thought anything of it.
More recently I started to wonder about the origins of the this boulder. It reminded me of some of the standings stones in the area (the Glandwr Stone and one of the Pond Nant y Cagal stones). I made some enquiries and a good friend of mine who lives nearby (and has a passing interest in archaeology) assured me that this was probably just a boulder transported from one of the nearby mines.
It was only by coincidence that while I was thumbing through some records in the NMRW looking for something entirely unconnected, I found an the extract from Sainsbury’s thesis (below). This indicates that the stone does have a mining connection, but it wasn’t dug out of the ground by modern miners, it was already standing out in the open. I can’t help feeling a bit smug.
Taken 10th January 2003: This is the memorial from the south.
Taken 10th January 2003: Looking south east, this is the War Memorial in the village of Penrhyn-coch. The quartz boulder with the cross on the top of it was formerly a standing stone.
Taken 10th December 2002: This is the tumulus like lump shown in the other two photos I’ve posted. There’s no sign of any cairn material here, and tumuli aren’t unprecedented in the area.
This time the hill in the background is Disgwylfa Fawr (big for the area at 507 metres, but not exactly Alpine in proportions).
Taken 10th December 2002: This photo is taken from the road looking south west over Y Garnedd. Two of the cairns are visible in this shot (cairns or tumulus, it’s debateable). I’ve marked them with red arrows because they’re a bit tricky to spot.
In the background is Afon Rheidol, and to the left is Dinas. There’s another obvious cairn just off the shot to the left, and I understand there are more that I’ve not yet identified.
Taken August 1997: Looking south east towards the Watchstone and the Stones of Stennes. In the distance you can see Barnhouse.
Taken August 1997: This is the Watchstone looking nort west towards Brodgar. I’m not sure what the origins of the smaller stone on the right are.
A Web site belonging to Charles Tait who I’m assuming is a professional photographer. This page has a good photo of the Watchstone on it, and if you’re in a mood for browsing there are a few other photos worth looking at on the same site.
Another page from this great Web site, with some excellent old photographs of the Stennes stones.
Visited 20th July 2002: We had a some trouble finding this circle, so here are some directions. Approaching on the A488 park at the anonymous little hamlet near the junction that leads to Hemford (the hamlet) and the village of Shelve (SO327995). Resist the temptation of driving towards the hamlet of Hemford as you can’t get to the stones from the north*. We parked on the A488 in a slither of a lay-by just to the south of the junction.
Access to the stones is down a driveway that has a green wooden sign with Graham Radley TRADITIONAL FURNITURE KITCHENS & JOINERY on it. From this point you’ll see three gateways (one with no gate that leads to Mr. Radley’s house). Take the middle gateway (the gate with a sign saying Holly Bank on it) and follow the drive down the side of Mr Radley’s land until you come to another gate. Go through this (and the next one if it’s closed), and keep going in the same direction following the perimeter of the field (heading west). If you look north you can just make out the circle.
In the furthest corner of the field where the footpath meets the boundary fence, you need to change direction and cross the little bridge (two railway sleepers) over a drainage ditch, and then cross the stile. Judging by the OS map you’re leaving the public footpath at this point. Mr Radley told us that taking this route wouldn’t be a problem, but I gather he’s not the land owner, so tread carefully.
Follow the perimeter of this field (heading approximately north west) and when you reach the next perimeter keep going (through the gateway). You’re now in the same field as the circle, but this field is farmed so try and avoid damaging any crops. We visited when the hay had just been cut, so we had no difficulty getting to the stones. I’ve said so much about getting to the circle that I won’t bore you with too much detail about the stones themselves (the plethora of photos is enough).
* See Reg’s post ‘cos it looks like you can get to the stones from the north.
Taken 20th July 2002: I realise this is shameless advertising for Mr Radley, but when we knocked on his door and asked for directions he was very friendly, and this is a good landmark when you’re trying to find the footpath.
Visited 20th July 2002: Having approached from the Chirbury direction we headed towards Mitchell’s Fold from the north west. There’s a footpath onto the common that follows a farmer’s track from this direction. In our ignorance we drove up this track to the edge of the common without realising that we would land up almost right next to the circle.
I wouldn’t drive this route again, armed with the knowledge that once you’ve started it you can’t easily park up or turn around until you’re there. Also anything less than a 4x4 would have trouble with it, and it’s embarrassing enough having a 4x4 without parking it next to a stone circle like some sort of klutz. Next time I think I’ll try approaching from another direction on foot!
Mitchell’s Fold is a very calm circle, and the views are spectacular. While we were there it threatened to rain really hard, and we had the pleasure of watching an enormous rain storm gentle roll towards us from Wales.
Taken 4th January 2003: This is the stone viewed from the gate at the end of the field (i.e. looking north west). Sheep placed carefully for scale.
Taken 4th January 2003: This is the stone from the road (you can see a strand of barbed wire running across the shot). This is about as close as you can get without getting permission.
Visited 4th January 2003: Llech Bron is on private land, but you can see it clearly from the road. William and I bumped into the woman who owns the land while I was gawping at the stone, and we chatted by the roadside for a while. She was very friendly, but wasn’t keen for us to go up to the stone because there were rams in the field (and it was muddy – not sure why she thought this was problem though). She invited us to come back in the summer to take a closer look.
From our conversation I learned an found out a variation on the legend that Rhiannon has posted (below). Apparently while he was making Devil’s Bridge the Devil threw the stone from “that hill over there” (presumably Trichrug).
Another story she told me is that a local farmer tried digging down the side of the stone with his tractor. Apparently he got 30 feet down, and still didn’t find the bottom of the stone.
I’m a bit suspicious about the tractor story, but the Devil story sounds about right. I was also told that the name Garreg y Big is used affectionately by the locals to describe the stone.
This Web page is largely about the castle, but it includes photos of the cave, and the passage leading to it. Don’t be alarmed if you find that some images on this page are obscured by text. The page isn’t very well glued together!
The hilltop is best known for it’s spectacular late 13th century castle. Long before this was built the site was occupied, probably as an Iron Age fortress, and possibly earlier. Roman coins and four skeletons have been found at the site indicating early occupation, but if there was an Iron Age hillfort at the site, all trace of it has been obliterated by subsequent building.
The sacred well or spring was probably sited at the end of the cave that was eventually incorporated into the castle itself. Water still collects at the end of the cave, but if this is the site of the spring, it’s no longer active. The atmosphere in the cave is certainly electric. When I lived in Carmarthen we sneaked up there at night and sat at the end of the cave in the dark. It was an amazing feeling being so deep down in the cold wet rock.
I’ve read in one source that the name Carreg Cennen has its roots in the Welsh for sacred well. I’ve not been able to confirm this though.
Taken 2nd January 2003: Here’s a slightly blurry shot of two of the stones that are visible. They’re not quite two foot long, so they would make pretty poor standing stones, even by my north Ceredigion standards.
Taken 2nd January 2003: This is the site from the north west, complete with feeding trough (there’s no extra charge to see the feeding trough). You can just make out two of the stones in the bottom right hand quarter of the photo.
Visited 2nd January 2003: Pen y Wern sits at the top of the hill (the one it takes it’s name from), at the top of a cultivated field. The area immediately around the site has been left unploughed and there are a couple of sorry looking Scots Pines standing on the south west edge of the site. The view across the valley towards the small town of Knighton (aka Tref-y-Clawdd) is presumably quite impressive on a good day, but unfortunately it wasn’t a good day when we visited. Unless you enjoy climbing hills, I’d recommend approaching from the north because it’s a relatively gentle slope up to the site itself.
I’m afraid that there’s not much to see at Pen y Wern, and I’m pretty convinced it’s a cairn rather than a stone circle. There are some stones on the ground, but they are relatively small. I’d hesitate to suggest that they are anything but cairn material, but I may be wrong. The edges of the cairn are difficult to discern, but the stones that can be seen don’t appear to correspond with the contours of the site, so probably not a kerb cairn. There is a large hollow within the site that may relate to an illicit excavation at some time.
Unless you’re already in the area I wouldn’t recommend making a trip just to see this site.
If you need to report damage to West Kennet Long Barrow, or come across such vast quantities of rubbish up there that you can’t clear it up yourself, it’s worth contacting the local National Trust office in Avebury.
Tel: 01672 539250
Fax: 01672 539388
Email: [email protected]
Kammer x
This page gives the times of opening and cost of entry for the Alexander Keiller Museum, Barn gallery and National Trust shop. It also has other information about access to the site and contact details for the local NT.
An article about the long running survey of Prehistoric Funerary & Ritual Monuments in Wales, being carried out by CPAT on behalf of Cadw. The page includes photos of Gop Cairn and Moel Ty-Uchaf stone circle.
An idiot’s guide to the Iron Age in the context of Hertfordshire, this page contains a small black and white aerial photo of the Aubreys.
An idiot’s guide to the Neolithic period in the context of Hertfordshire, this page contains a tiny photo of the Therfield Heath long barrow.
Visited 31st December 2002: First I should warn you that this is one of those sites that has had all the zing kicked out of it. Don’t make the journey unless you’re ready for disappointment.
We parked at the rather incongruous Ramada Jarvis Hotel which intersects the enclosure (I asked permission and they were happy so long as we gave our registration number). A footpath follows the perimeter of the field that the site sits in, but pretty early on we decided to ignore that and follow the edge of the enclosure (there’s no livestock or crops in the field).
The M1 makes the site pretty unpleasant, mainly because it’s so noisy. On the eastern side of the enclosure Lou and I had trouble talking to each other over the racket. In the north west we found a BMX track, presumably made by local kids. Unfortunately it consists of both ditches and ramps dug out of the enclosure. I had a look amongst the mess for worked flint, but didn’t find anything.
Poor old Aubreys.
Taken 31st December 2002: This shot shows the north west corner of the enclosure, where there’s a possible secondary entrance.
I took the photo to show the BMX track that has been made here. In case you can’t make it out, there are three rows of ditches and obstacles in the foreground (including a sofa). I’m not sure how much damage has been done by this little bit of random digging, but it can’t be good for a site to have people cutting chunks out of it.
Taken 31st December 2002: Looking up the north east side of the enclosure (so the M1 is just out of the shot to the right).
The Aubreys is an Iron Age defensive enclosure, oval in shape and covering approximately 8 hectares. It’s now right next to the M1 and the B487 between Hemel Hempstead and Redbourn, and is relatively close to Watling Street (now the A5183).
There’s a double bank and ditch around most of the enclosure, except for on the west side where there’s only a single bank and ditch. There have been flint finds at the site suggesting occupation as far back as 4000 BCE. Excavations indicate that in it’s last incarnation as a fortification, the site was not a permanent settlement. It was abandoned during the Roman period.
There’s a horrible looking (mostly modern) hotel built into the edge of the site. This stands on the site of a 13th Century farmstead.
The name Aubreys is derived from the Anglo Saxon meaning an old fortified place.
Kammer x
Devil’s Dyke and the Slad (to the east) are thought to be the remains of the stronghold of Cassivellaunus, the king of the Catuvellauni tribe. One version of events is that Cassivellaunus invaded the territory of the Trinovantian tribe, murdering its king. At this point the king’s son Mandubracius fled to the Romans for help, giving Caesar an excuse to invade Britain. In his article about Colchester Dr Mike Ibeji writes,
...after a botched attempt in 55 (which even his own propaganda cannot quite disguise), Caesar returned to finish the job in 54 BC. He chased Cassivellaunus back to his stronghold, which he stormed from two sides, forcing Cassivellaunus to flee and come to terms.
Including a good description of the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni tribes.
A page describing Devil’s Dyke, including a photograph and a link to a good plan of the site.
Visited 29th December 2002: Despite the rain we walked most of the way down the renovated stretch of the West Kennett Avenue. I had planned to visit Falkner’s Circle, but I stupidly left Merrick’s directions in the car and couldn’t remember where it was. This was the first time either of the boys had been to Avebury, so I decided not to hunt too hard for the circle and leave the avenue on a high note before Will got too pissed off with the rain.
Taken 29th December 2002: By the time we got this far we were soaked, but still having fun. This is William (age 3 and a half) standing next to one of the boy stones. Coming from the direction of the henge this stone is the last on the right hand side before the road starts to intersect the avenue.
Taken 29th December 2002: I’m not sure what the numerical identity of this stone is, but it’s about half way around the south west quarter of the circle. In the background (to the right of the stone) is the famous Red Lion Inn.
Taken 29th December 2002: This is the first stone you come to (in the south west quarter of the circle) if you approach from the big National Trust car park. I’ve been trying to find out what number it is, but no joy. Obviously it’s been pieced together after some pretty serious damage was done to it.
Taken 29th December 2002: There were winter crops in the field surrounding Adam and Eve, so we couldn’t get very close. Considering the amount of rain and the poor light, this photo came out better than I expected.
Taken 29th December 2002: The wall of the chamber was littered with tea lights, and the accompanying soot and wax.
Taken 29th December 2002: On our way to Avebury we were passing Gwernvale, so I insisted on stopping to show William. It was much as I remembered it, but this time I was struck by the original size of the tomb, indicated by the small concrete markers.
Visited 29th December 2002: We made the long slog up to West Kennet this afternoon, despite the muddy river that used to be a footpath. The National Trust have put a sign up at the car park warning people about the state of the path and suggesting that appropriate footwear should be worn. I’m guessing that high heeled boots aren’t recommended, but I saw someone struggle to the top despite wearing a chunky pair (all power to them).
When we entered the barrow, and moved down to the chamber at the end I was mightily pissed off to find a plastic tarpaulin on the floor, covered in mud and spent tea lights. The wall of the chamber was also littered with tea lights, and the accompanying soot and wax. There were a couple of biodegradable offerings in the chamber as well, but they both had poisonous berries on them, and I had to keep asking William not to pick them up (or to put them down, depending on how far he’d got). Unfortunately we couldn’t do much clearing up (with the prospect of getting the two boys back down the mud slide to the car). It made me sad to see the place looking like that.
What’s the story with this sort of behaviour? Are the people who do this really Pagans? If they are, how the hell do they justify causing so much damage to a place that is sacred and/or of unique archaeological importance? How stupid can you be? It gives a bad name to the majority of people who use the site for spiritual purposes without leaving it in a mess.
Despite all this, I’m glad we took the boys to see West Kennett. Next time, we take bin bags!
Taken 19th December 2002: OK, so this is pretty cheesy, but here’s my Christmas offering to the site. Garreg Fawr is built into the top of the wall in the foreground. The Christmas tree in the background is one of two standing in the village of Llanbadarn Fawr (that’s more than Aberystwyth has, so perhaps they’re trying to say something).
Ho ho ho, merry Christmas etc etc!
According to a thesis by AR Sainsbury (published in 1939) the quartz stone that acts as a war memorial in the village Penrhyn-coch was originally a standing stone (standing at SN66138586).
A large menhir of white quartz formerly stood on the crest of the ridge north of the road and 400 yards north-east of the magazine of Court Grange mine. It has since been placed on a plinth and adorned with a cross in the village of Penrhyncoch and now forms the village War memorial. The stone is approximately 5’ in height and 15’ in girth and is rectangular in section.
Apparently the stone was marked on the 1853 OS map, presumably in it’s original location. The stone is sometimes referred to as the Banc Troed Rhiw Seiri Stone, in reference to its original location.
Visited 10th December 2002: I finally got round to visiting this site. Lle’r Neuaddau Circle is a kerb cairn, situated on the hillside between the Rheidol Gorge and a smaller gorge belonging to a tributary.
Lle’r Neuaddau is on private land, but the farmer seemed happy for me to go and look at the stones when I asked at the farmhouse. There are two sheep dogs that inhabit the farmyard and bark a lot (I’m not great with dogs) but they seemed to quieten down when I talked to them in pigeon Welsh (ci da = good dog).
The circle is a short walk south from the farm. As you approach, the view down the Rheidol valley is impressive. Lle’r Neuaddau circle is very similar in shape and location to two other local curb cairns, Hirnant (nearby) and Dolgamfa (three and a half miles down stream). It’s much less well know than the other two sites, presumably because it’s not so easy to get at. Apparently there were 19 stones in the circle when it was first surveyed, but there are now on only 18 in situ. There’s a large depression on the inside of the circle, presumably made by treasure hunters (it’s not central, but approximately to the south).
Well worth a visit, but obviously you’re dependant on the farmer being in, and willing for you to see the site.
Taken 10th December 2002: A self portrait taken looking north west with the camera balanced precariously on one of the stones. It was very cold and windy, so I was expecting the camera to be blown away before the shutter went off.
