Taken July 1995: I’m pretty certain that this photo is taken looking north west towards Calanais.
Yep, I’ve just checked that with the high resolution version of the photo, and you can make out Calanais just below the horizon, left of centre. I’m afraid at this resolution (as posted) you can’t see much though. It’s just above the dark green patch of trees (with a light coloured farm house below them) to the right of the middle stone.
Taken July 1995: This shot was (probably) taken looking south. It’s seven years ago that we were there, so I’m not really sure about the details of the visit. Time to go back again I think!
Taken July 1995: I think I took this photo as we approached the site, so I would have been facing south. That’s just a guess, because my memory of this visit is very foggy.
I’ve never visited Barpa Nam Feannag, or even North Uist, but I saw shacmh’s excellent photo, and couldn’t resist finding out more.
From the information I dug up, the site is a 30 metre long chamber cairn. There’s a stone slab to the east of it, and three large vertical slabs to the west. These are all thought to have been part of the chamber, the former possibly being a lintel.
For some reason the Multimap link doesn’t work for this site, but the grid reference is correct (the eight figure reference is NF85677207).
This stone is on the south side of the road, about 300 yards north west of Breasclete School. It was re-discovered in 1923 after peat cutting revealed it, and it stands in its original position. The stone is about a metre high, and one and a half metres wide.
Na Dromannan consists of eleven large stones, which probably represent a fallen stone circle. Several of the stones are 3 metres in length and over a metre in breadth.
A nearby rock face is probably the quarry that was used as a source for the stones for this site, and possibly the other Calanais monuments. An old theory was that the stones at Na Dromannan were never erected, but represented the remnants on building work on the other sites.
Apparently the site is also known as Druim nan Eum, but only in error. The exact nature of this error isn’t clear, and my Gaelic isn’t really good enough to spot it.
I’ve not been to this site but I understand that it consists of 5 standing stones, 3 of them prominent.
In 1914, “five standing stones, apparently forming the western arc of a large circle”, were recorded by the RCAHMS varying from approximately 75cm to 106 cm in height.
Another record, made in 1969 (possibly after a visit by the Ordnance Survey) cast doubt on whether the site was the remains of a stone circle:
...the fact that two of the stones are set very close to each other whilst the others are widely spaced, and the total lack of others on the circumference of a deduced circle of c.100.0m, casts doubt on this being the remains of a strong circle. It is possible that they form part of a field or enclosure wall, but if so any other trace of it is under the peat. The stones further down the slope appear to be out-cropping natural boulders.
The site was scheduled in 1994.
I’ve not visited this site, but I understand it consists of two fallen standing stones, next to the two holes that they probably once stood in.
This site is also known as Callanish IX. To confuse things a bit more the site is listed on CAMORE under the name Airigh Nam Bidearan (also used to describe Callanish V).
I’ve not visited this site, but it seems to be a contentious one, thought by some to be the remains of a stone circle. Here is a quote taken from CANMORE describing the site:
What may be three unroofed shieling-huts and one enclosure are depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Island of Lewis, Ross-shire 1853, sheet 25). This site lies within a system of head-dykes associated with the township NB23SW 49. Three unroofed buildings which may be shieling-huts, one sheep pen and one sheep dip are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1973).
Information from RCAHMS (AKK) 29 September 1997.
Apparantly the name Cnoc Dubh means black hillock in Gaelic.
I’ve not visited these standing stones, but I understand that most of this site is a relatively recently abandoned settlement. The two stones may be part of the settlement, or they may predate it. One theory is that they may represent the remains of a cairn.
The name Cùl a’Chleit means rocky cliff at the back in Gaelic. The title of this page should have an accent of the ‘u’ of Cul, but for technical reasons it doesn’t.
Aerial photo of Tre’r Ceiri
Taken Autumn 1997: This was my first visit to Hirnant. With Toby acting as my guide I also paid my first visits to Dolgamfa Circle and Aber Camddwr on the same day. It rained really hard for most of the afternoon, so this is the only half decent photo I managed to take.
Taken August 1987 (possibly 10th): This is one of Mum’s photos, taken on a day trip to Kilmartin when we were on holiday. I reckon this is the first stone circle I visited.
In the photo me (aged 15) and my brother Pete (aged 13) are sat in the cist, and Dad (as yet undated) is standing behind us.
Taken August 1987 (possibly 10th): This is a self portait of me inside the chamber, aged 15. You’ll have to excuse the white socks... it was fashionable at the time... honest!
Taken August 1987 (possibly 10th): This is a photo of the cairn was taken on my old Olympus Trip in one of my first forays into black and white photography.
Taken Summer 1983: This is one of my early photos, taken on an old style Olympus Trip. Dad and Mum are on the left, with my brother Pete on the right looking a bit dandy (sorry to inflict this on you mate!).
I was 11 at the time this photo was taken, and Capel Garmon was the second prehistoric site that I’d visited. The significance was lost on me at the time.
Taken Summer 1983: This is one of my Mum’s photos, taken on a childhood holiday where we stayed in a cottage near Harlech. I’m the boy on the right with the brown hair, my brother Pete is sat on the capstone, and Dad is on the left with his sexy walking socks on.
I reckon this was the second prehistoric site that I visited. I was 11 years old at the time, so a bit of a late starter.
If like me you’re wondering, “why is a Norman castle on this Web site?“, the missing bit of information is a referrence to the castle mound (not the castle itself) in the Modern Antiquarian book:
“Crossing Middlebere Heath, the mound of Corfe Castle rises up between its two hill ridges like a divine Mother hill. When I visited Corfe Castle in May 1996ce, I saw that the castleless mound had once represented the Mother lying on her back, the East Hill and West Hill representations of the open legs and the central mound as great clittoris, womb and belly all together.”
Thanks to Holy McGrail for pointing this out. I must read the book from cover to cover ‘cos I keep missing these things!
This is a neat little page about the cairn, with some photos and a description. The Web site also contains an interactive map of prehistoric sites in the Kilmartin area.
This site uses frames, so the link above is a bit of a cheat to get you to the relevant page. If you want to see the site with frames, follow this link.
Visited 24th November 2002: We drove to Carreg y Big from Waen Bant, and spotted it from the gate (one of many that cross the roads around here). The stone is very close to the road, positioned at the bottom of a small elongated lump of hill on the south west shore of the southerly of the two lakes. The only nearby parking space has a sign next to it saying “Parking for Fishermen Only”. We ignored this and parked.
Carreg y Big is just over two metres high (I’m basing this on the photo of Lou standing next to it), so definitely larger than Waen Bant. We both liked it more than Waun Bant, but not just because it’s larger. The surrounding countryside is spectacular, and while we were there the sun made a last attempt at shining, so the whole scene was something special.
Next to Carreg y Big is a much smaller stone which I have yet to find any reference to. It reminded me of a little stone called Castell Coch near the Buwch a’r Llo standing stones in Ceredigion. I was tempted to name this little stone Carreg y Small, but that would be a horrible thing to do with the Welsh language. I’ll have to come up with something better.
Visited 24th November 2002: This little stone sits a few metres to the north east of Carreg y Big, but I can’t find any record of it. The stone is obvious and it looks earth fast, so I’m not sure why it hasn’t been recorded (at least as a possible standing stone or boundary stone).
I’ll have to come up with a name for this stone. It reminds me of the little stone called Castell Coch near Buwch a’r Llo in Ceredigion.
Visited 24th November 2002: Looking east, here are the two stones. On the right is Carreg y Big, and on the left is a much smaller stone which I can’t find any record of.
In the background are the southerly of the two Llynau Cregennen (on the left) and the lower slopes of Cadair Idris (on he right).
Visited 24th November 2002: Looking east, with the southerly of the two Llynau Cregennen just poking into shot on the left and the lower slopes of Cadair Idris on he right.
For scale (and because I think they’re great) here are William and Louise, both looking a bit cold. To the left of William, and partly off shot is the small mysterious stone.
Visited 24th November 2002: Lou and William walking up from the car to Carreg y Big, with Cadair Idris behind them.
Visited 24th November 2002: Taken from the lay-by where we parked, you can just see Carreg y Big and it’s mysterious small neighbour in the middle of the shot, with the little hill behind them.
The bilingual sign by the lay-by says “Parking for Fishermen Only”. The National Trust still haven’t quite got round to banning all blood sports on their land! We parked in protest (plus there weren’t any fishermen/women around).
The name Carreg y Big isn’t a cross between Welsh and English (thanks to Martin for pointing that out) but means ‘stone of the peak’.
Visited 24th November 2002: Waen Bant is easy to find, but if you want to park nearby you’ll have to risk putting at least two wheels on the grass (something I thought twice about because I didn’t fancy getting stuck).
There’s no public footpath to Waen Bant, but it’s not far from the road, and there are no fences between the road and the stone. We approached from the bottom of the field, and got a good view of the stone sitting on it’s little lump of land in front of us as we walked.
The stone isn’t as big as it looks in photos (I’m warning you now so that you don’t expect something enormous). At a guess (based on William’s height) I’d say it’s about 1.75 metres high. There’s a distinctive undercut on it’s eastern side which is about half the stone’s height in length. I’m not sure that this is artificial, but I’m certain it was significant to whoever erected the stone.
The views out towards Cadair Idris are spectacular, as are the views north towards the mountains on the other side of the Mawddach Estuary. The stone seems to be orientated towards Cadair Idris (specifically the peak called Craig-las). Apparently there’s another standing stone to the south east of Waun Bant called the Afon Arthog Stone, but this isn’t marked on the OS map, so in the failing light we decided not to try and find it.
Taken 24th November 2002: Cadair Idris must have been important to the people that erected Waen Bant, and the many others littering the area. The mountain is beautiful and potent, dominating the landscape in a slightly sinister way. By the time we got to the area where Waen Bant stands the winter sun was disappearing, and the mountains were threatening to cast their shadow over us.
Taken 24th November 2002: I couldn’t resist trying to line up the top of the stone with Cadair Idris, and as you can see it’s a pretty poor match.
Taken 24th November 2002: This is Waen Bant viewed from the south (approximately) with the mountains on the other side of the Mawddach estuary behind it. I think that the peaks you can see in this shot are Diffwys and the Rhinogs, but I’m not certain.
Another page from this refreshingly simple Web site. It contains some photos and a short description of Kemp Howe and the Goggleby Stone.
In some sources the name of this site is written as ‘Dol-y-Gamfa’. Presumably this has been abbreviated to Dolgamfa over the years.
The name ‘Dol-y-Gamfa’ means something like ‘place of the crooked meadow’, and if you look at the plateau that the circle sits on, this is very appropriate. I’m pretty certain that the farmstead to the south of the circle shares the same name.
Capel Garmon means (unsurprisingly) ‘chapel of Garmon’ in Welsh. As yet I’ve not been able to establish who Garmon was, so perhaps someone out there can tell me.
If you want to hear the name being pronounced in an authentic (north Welsh) accent, there’s a WAV file available on the Betws-y-Coed Web site:
This page contains a photo and a description of the cairn, and it links to more pages containing loads more photos and interactive panoramas of the site. The panoramas are really good fun!
The walk to this site from the road is only a quarter of a mile, so it’s not exactly an arduous pilgrimage. This page directions to the cairn (first by car, then on foot), a description of the site and lots of photos.
The Sea Henge timbers are in storage at Flag Fen. I’ve posted my photos of them to the Sea Henge section of the site.
Taken 24th July 2002: This is a shot showing the inside of the reconstructed Bronze Age round house, with William (aged 3 if you’re wondering about scale) doing some ‘cooking’.
Taken 24th July 2002: This is the apex of the roof inside the Bronze Age round house. There’s a similar shot of the same bit of roof, before the reed and turf was added, on the Flag Fen Web site:
eastmidlands.info/flagfen/iron_age_roundhouse.htm
Taken 24th July 2002: This is one of the reconstructed Bronze Age round houses at Flag Fen. It’s based on findings from an excavation at Fengate in 1976.
Taken 24th July 2002: This is the best shot I managed to get of the timbers that are on display at Flag Fen. The room that houses them is very dimly lit, and sprinklers run every few minutes to keep the timbers wet.
These timber are the remains of a wooden platform which dates back to circa 1300 BCE and is thought to have been used for ritual purposes. The platform was in use for about 400 years.
Visited August 1997: I was impressed by Skara Brae, but I still can’t help comparing it to the Knap of Howar on Papa Westray. Skara Brae is definitely more complex, better preserved, bigger and more accessible than the Knap of Howar, but it’s also blighted by lots of tourists and (albeit on a small scale) the dreaded visitor’s centre syndrome.
You are directed around a specific route at Skara Brae. This doesn’t take you into any of the houses, so you are always looking down into them (a bit artificial given that there was a roof there once). At the Knap of Howar you can walk into the houses and take a seat. The Knap of Howar is the oldest known inhabited structure in northern Europe, and you can have a picnic in it, while at Skara Brae you get to see some bits through protective glass (I can see that this is necessary, but it still spoils things a bit).
I’m glad we went to Skara Brae, because it is something very special. Worth it if only for the Maes Howe T-shirt I bought in the shop (just kidding).
Taken August 1997: This is ‘House 4’ which is part of the new village. It has a cubby hole set into it’s back wall and what appears to be a recessed dresser.
There’s a sparrow perching on the tall stone to the left (not an authentic Neolithic sparrow though).
Taken August 1997: On the left of this shot is ‘House 9’ and to the right is ‘House 10’, both part of the old village (peeking out from underneath the ‘new’ village).
As with the older houses there is a square hearth in the middle of House 9 (filled with darker sand). The beds (in the foreground and on the opposite side of the house) are set into the walls, which differs from the design of the newer houses where the beds project out into the room.
Taken August 1997: This is the imaginatively named ‘House 1’ with the Bay of Skaill in the background.
The ‘dresser’ is pretty obvious in this shot, but you can also make out three small stone tanks around it, thought to be used for preparing fish bait. Directly in front of the dresser is a stone seat, and the square area in the centre of the house (with dark sand in it) is the hearth.
Taken August 1997: Looking north, with Louise poised to leap into the tomb.
Taken August 1997: The stone from the west, looking towards the ridge called Dwarfie Hamars.
Taken August 1995:Looking south east down the barrow from the ‘tail’ end. I’ve visited Wayland’s Smithy many times, but I’m sad to say that it’s been a while now since I last went there.
Taken August 1995: The King Stone complete with it’s Ministry of Works sign. If it’s there for long enough, will the sign itself become a scheduled monument (with a sign of its own)?
Taken August 1995: This shot is taken looking north east, with Louise posing in front of the Knights looking very summery. It all looks rather arid.
