fitzcoraldo
A large upright stone slab incorporating the celtic word for stone, maen, in it’s name.
This is also reputed to be the largest standing stone on the North York Moors
The name incorporates the celtic word maen – a stone..A very large slab with another recumbent one at its foot.
A very large monolith apparently in situ on the top of a howe; is now inclined at an angle and no longer upright
Stanhope White commenting on Thom
” The reader who wants to persue the matter (astroarchaeology) should read Hadingham’s book, easily the best unbiased survey of the whole field. he mentions a set of five standing stones in Scotland arranged in the form of a cross known to the locals as a Temple. On our moors we have a similar arrangement; the spaces between the four outer stones and the one at the centre of the cross have been filled in to give a sheep shelter, or beeld. Temple Beeld, as it is known, stands at NZ 756103. With the help of members of one of my classes, I took sight along every possible combination of sight lines, and then asked the Royal Observatory in any of these could be related to any significant lunar or stella position at say 1500BC. The answer, not suprisingly, was none”.
The North York Moors
Stanhope White
Dalesman Books 1979
Stanhope White reports the discovery of a bowl furnace for the smelting of iron being discovered at this site
This was brigantesnations and I’s final stop on our journey of discovery through this part of The North York Moors.
We parked up in the car park of the Hole Of Horcum/ The Devil’s Punchbowl.
The hole is a huge glacial feature and is well worth the trip alone.
Our destination was the site marked on the OS map as “Bloomety” .
We walked to the head of the hole crossing the Gallows Dike and then onto Levisham Moor, after we tramped across the moor for ten minutes I remarked as to how featureless the moor was. In my neck of the NY Moors the sky line would have been dotted with barrows. Just as I said this we came across a plaque stating that there were three barrows within the vacinity. We did eventually spot them- not impressed.
I’m sure Brigantesnation will add his description of the habitations and dikes that we came across, he’s far better at these earthworky Iron age things.
I was gutted I hadn’t seen a stone all day and now wasn’t likely too.
This said don’t let me put you off, this is a beautiful place with a fairly unique post glacial landscape.
“In the central cist of a barrow near the Beacon on Seamer Moor, the floor of which was 7 1/2 feet below the top of the mound, Lord Londesborough discovered a vessel containing ashes and teeth. Nine feet from the central grave was a large stone embedded in the natural soil, at one corner of which lay a vessel of type 2 . It also held the ashes of an animal or human being, and close to it were calcined human bones. Forty five feet from outside of the barrow, a stone circle surrounded the cist.”
Early Man In N.E. Yorkshire
Frank Elgee
John Bellows Pub.
1930
Seamer beacon is located just off the A170 on the edge of Scarborough.
To access the site, turn off the A170 at Irton Mount and drive up to the wireless station and park in the car park there.
The beacon is an obvious feature and easy to access. The top of the beacon was once a folly which has now fallen into disrepair. The folly was constructed from large and generally unworked stone.
The possible source of this stone could have been the stone circle and cist reported by Frank Elgee ” Forty five feet from outside of the barrow, a stone circle surrounded the cist.”
There are a number of barrows in this area including the lovely named Hagworm Hill.
The beacon itself has an excellent aspect and is perfectly placed to relay signals from Scarborough Castle to the hinterlands of the vale of Pickering and beyond.
There was once a Roman signal station (not to mention Bronze and Iron age settlements) situated on the Scarborough Castle site and given the local barrows and earthworks I think it it safe to assume that this site has been utilised since the Bronze Age.
The position of this site has not been lost on telecommunications folk, there is a large array of dishes and masts situated close to the site, continuity of use or what?
The OS map has an earthwork marked between the beacon and Hagworm Hill, Brigantesnation and I searched extensively and found no trace of this earthwork.
Brigantesnation and myself set out to check out these multiple dykes that so dramatically cross the landscape of the tabular hills .
Our first target was the multiple dikes of the Cockmore system.
We drove to Snaiton and the turned right along Nettledale lane.
As we moved into the dry valley of Wydale we became aware of the dyke running along the ridge to our right. Most of the time it was signified by an unploughed zone running along the ridge, but where the plough had got through a soil or crop mark was left to indicate that the dyke was still running true to line.
The valley peters out just beyond Cockmore Hall, this is the really interesting zone. The valley is funneled into a gap between the hills and drops away dramatically into Troutsdale.
As for The dyke, as the ridge flattens out towards the head of the valley, the dykes become more numerous until you have 20 or so parallel dykes runing towards the head of the valley and then dropping over the brow into Troutsdale gradually petering out about 10 meters over the brow.
There is also a lovely round barrow that appears to be associated with the system, it is either part of the system or older because the dyke deviates around it .
The traceable length of the dyke is about 3km.
Next we move on to the the Scamridge Dyke. We followed an extremely muddy path into the woodland. the dyke bisects the path about 500km into the wood. The dyke at this point is about 30 metres across and is made up of four dikes and ditches. Again this dike runs across the landscape and terminates at Troutsdale brow.
If you continue along this path you will come out at thew Oxmoor Dykes, which again are multiple dykes and can be seen on the landscape as a large unploughed coppice area running across the landscape.
As for the purpose of the dykes, who knows? They are probably not ‘kingdom’ boundaries as there are too many of them and they make no sense as military structures.
The best Brigantesnation and I can come up with is that they served a ‘none-functional’ role.
Personally I think it may be significant the the valley below the terminations of the dykes, Troutsdale, has a number of springs, two of them have names, Magerick keld and Jenny Thrush. This is limestone country so water appears and disappears as dictated by the geology.
“The Scamridge dyke system in the tabular hills consists of Red Dyke, Gibbendale Dyke, Moor Dyke, the Oxmore Dykes, the Cockmoor Dykes as well as the Scamridge Dyke. Many of the dykes in the Scamridge system run for 2 or 3 miles: sometimes they are single and sometimes several run abreast. The Cockmoor Dykes are the most extraordinary of them all with no less than 20 ditches and banks of various sizes. Some of the banks are believed to be mediaeval and may have been constructed for rabbit warrening, but most archaeologists believe that the earliest dykes were elaborate boundary markers.”
Richard Crossthwaite
Ancient Cleveland from the Air
Tees Towing Co.
1986
“The history of another stone, the Stone of Scone, which is commonly believed to have originated here (Dunadd).
The story goes that when Fergus, the first king of Dalradia, was crowned here in AD 500, making the first footprint in the Dunadd stone, he also brought with him the Stone of Destiny, which was no less than Jacob’s pillow. This was set beside a majic cauldron which always supplied the right amount of food for the number of people needing sustenance”
Celic Jouneys
Shirley Toulson
Hutchison 1985
“At killin, the circle stands in the private grounds of Kinnel House. Thge quickest way to reach it is by the lane on the south side of the bridge which crosses the falls of Dochart, by the entrance to the fortified island, which has been for centuries the burial ground of the clan MacNab. Possibly the men who built the first earthworks on the island were also responsible for placing the sacred stones in position.
Sadly since 1984 it is no longer possible to walk up to the remaining stones of that circle (six still upright and one fallen) beside the walls of Kinnel House. Now you have to make an appointment before you can go through the gate at the end of the lane. You do that by phoning Killin 212 or arrange a visit through the tourist office in the village.
This procedure is not a tribute to the antiquity of the stones. It has been introduced because the house has now been bought by the owner of Hercules, a wrestling bear, and it is the bear that people are making appointments to see.”
Celtic Journeys
Shirley Toulson
Hutchison 1985
“Solstice: Duddo
On such a night the hills dissolved
and re-assembled in the shifting mist,
Numb with moonloghts touch.
We learnt that silence was not hostile.
Took upon ourselves its deepest strength
Waiting for dawn’s layered sun.
A moon that paced
As crow’s shout cracked the sky
fled from the triggered bird-song
Hestitant then loud.
Before our eyes, a second birth,
A new-created universe,
Green and blue and gold.
Fluted stones whose shapes had shifted
with emitted heat
From bearded barley heads,
Buried to the hips,
reclaim their circle and identity,
Introspective, Janus-headed,
Guarding and inviting
As the suns diurnal course
Played a slow game
With shadow shapes
Time and time and time again.”
Stan Beckensall
Northumberland, The Power of Place.
Pub Tempus publishing.
2001
14th -16th March 2003
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, National Museums of Scotland, and the Neolithic Studies Group
CONFERENCE
SCOTLAND IN ANCIENT EUROPE: THE NEOLITHIC AND EARLY BRONZE AGE OF SCOTLAND IN THEIR EUROPEAN CONTEXT
Royal Museum, Edinburgh
Key speaker – Richard Bradley
“Further east on Gerrick Moor there is an unrecorded cross-ridge work, about a quarter of a mile long, with a fosse on the south side, at an altitude of 825 feet. It runs slightly north of west to south of east across the moor between the steep slope of Gerrick Hawa and some very boggy ground of danby peat holes. It no doubt served as a defensive to the settlement site of the urn people, who buried their cremated dead in the Herd Howe which is a little to the north.
Near the Howe is another earthwork 215 by 185 feet, like that above Box Hall. It consists of a low rampart with outer ditch, rounded corners, and an entrance on the south side. Adjoining it are the remains of a similar work. It resembles an entrenchment of the Bronze or early Roman age excavated by Pitt-Rivers on Handley Hill, Dorset.”
Early man in N.E.Yorkshire
Frank Elgee
1930
“Then Whitby’s nuns exulting told,
How to their house three barons bold
must menial service do;
They told how in their convent-cell
A saxon princess once did dwell,
The lovely Edelfled;
And how of thousand snakes, each one
Was changed into a coil of stone
When holy Hilda pray’d -
Themselves, within their holy round,
Their stony folds had often found.”
Marmion, canto ii
Sir Walter Scott.
Ord comments on this
” Sir Walter like all true antiquarians, had large faith. “These miracles” he says, “are much insisted on by all ancient writers who have occasion to mention Whitby or Saint Hilda. The relics of the snakes which infested the precincts of the convent, and were at the abbess’s prayer not only beheaded but petrified, are still found about the rocks and are termed by protestant fossilists Ammonitae”
The History and Antiquities of Cleveland
J.W. Ord
1846
“Two miles east of the Herd Howe and one mile north of Danby Beacon is the celebrated ‘British Village’ on Easington High Moor, first described by Young, the scene of so many antiquarian pilgrimages, and the subject of so much discussion. This ‘village’ consists of two more or less paralell rows of circular pits lying across the central part of a spur between two small streams at an altitude of about 750 feet. The pits are in two groups, and on the outer side of each row runs a small wall of earth and stones. One of the pits near the middle of the south row is much larger than the others and interrupts the continuity of the outer wall. Excavations and probings show that the average depth of the pits is from 4-5 feet and that they vary from 10-12 feet in diameter.
In addition to this main group there is another group on the opposite side of the valley that bounds the spur to the east. As described by Young (1817) they begin near the verge of the sloping bank and extend eastward for over a hundred paces in a double row of 28 pits with an outer wall on both sides. a little to the south east is a similar double row of 6 pits also provided with outer walls.
Young was confident that these holes were ancient habitations. He commented on their proximety to the Three Howes, to standing or druidical stones (one of which, the Long Stone, stands a little to the north), and to two semilunar enclosures in the valley on the east, all of which he thinks were made and used by the same people.”
Early Man In North East Yorkshire
Frank Elgee
Pub 1930
This is a site that has puzzled the antiquarians for at least a hundred and fifty years, mainly because of it’s famous pits, but we come to that presently.
To get there you should park up in the Scaling Dam Sailing club car park, walk back out of the main gate, turn left past the wee clump of trees and then turn left again along the bridleway (quarry road). Follow the footpath over the various bridges and duckboards past the Boghouse beck and the end of the reservior. Turn south and head up onto the moor. You will see a number of prominant dykes and ditches along the way. I dont know the age of these features but judging from the standing stones along their margins, some of them are ancient.
The standing stones are marked on the map as BS, boundary stones, but unlike typical NYM boundary stones they are unworked natural monoliths with no markings upon them. Follow this track as it turns west and crosses the Bella Dale slack.
Presently you’ll come to the Long Stone, a handsome 3 1/2 -4m stone with some weathered lettering on the south face (the letter ‘c’ I think).
400m to your south you’ll see the Three barrows of Three Howes Rigg. I recommend you wander over to them and check out the famous pits.
Basically what you’ve got is a double alignment of circular pits bounded by a low dyke. The pits run in the same NNE SSW alignment as the barrows.
There is no sign of spoil around the pits and they are 3-4 m apart so I don’t think they are the result of mining activity. If anyone did want to mine the thin iron stone bands, they would have worked the two valleys that bound the area and I could find no evidence of any such activity. The pits are circular, about 3m diameter and ‘flush’ with the ground. About 200m from the eastern end of the pits is a large mound which I presume is another barrow. The theory that these pits were habitations seems a little bizzare, they seem more defensive, but defending what?
Beats the hell out of me!
Anyway check it out ,its a lovely place and the area is covered in barrows and lovely stones.
Gerrick Moor is one of those busy little sites with something for everyone.
Park up on the layby on the northern side of the A171 and then cross the road and walk back down the bank. You’ll come to a gate, this leads you onto the ancient Siss Cross pathway , which was an ancient pannier route.
Turn left up onto the moor and head for the prominent Herd Howe barrow. If you glance behind, you will be rewarded with lovely views of Freebrough Hill (who needs to build a Silbury when nature has provided one ready assembled!).
There are numerous earthworks and barrows in this area indicating it was a busy little spot. Although it’s not mentioned on any map, there is a beautiful standing stone about 200m north east of Herd Howe. Its a typical North York Moors stone, about 3m tall. Also check out the enclosure 200m north west, its a rectangular enclosure with a low bank and ditch approx 50m across.
The proximety of this site to the road makes it a nice little place to spend an hour. I’d recommend it.
Theres a pub at the bottom of the hill too.
Looking from the standing stone to the north west reveals the peak of Roseberry (Odinsburgh hill – Odin’s hill) just peeping up over the horizon.
Up until 150 years the peak was higher (undermining caused a partial collapse) and may have been more prominent on the horizon.
Cairn circle and stone looking north to Freebrough (Freyas’ hill ) on the horizon Danby Low Moor. Check out the ‘notch’ on the stone.
To the immediate east of the rigg is Fryup dale (Freya’s dale). This is goddess country!
This feature shows up well on the Multimap Aerial photo
“These conspicuous earthworks were largely ignored by archaeologists until the 1960’s.
The site looks south-east towards Lonsdale and south-west to the Iron Age fort above Whorlton.
Pollen analysis of the soil beneath the bank of the enclosure shows that, at the time of construction, the countryside round about was open grassland rather than the bracken and heather which overrun the site today. The arable field system near to the enclosure was probably developed at the same time.
The enclosure itself consists of a stoney earth bank and ditch with an entrance half way along it’s left hand side. The foundations of a paved hut – of unusual oval shape-were found within the enclosure. There were no post holes-which would have indicated a wooden pallisade-on top of the earthen bank.
Pottery found on the site was dated to 300-100 BC or earlier and indicated occupation into the late Iron Age.”
Ancient Cleveland From The Air
Richard Crossthwaite.
Pub. Tees Towing Co. Ltd.
“On Ayton Moor is a complex chambered cairn with a bank250 ft long and 10 ft wide”
The North York Moors
Stanhope White
Pub. Dalsman Paperbacks
1979
Ancient field walls close to enclosure.
With large stones used as cornerstones.
The trunkated eastern end.
This is either a ditch bisecting the end or a ditch and bank at the end of the barrow
Figure 1 is an illustration of a stone taken from a tumulus on Bernaldby moor (?Barnaby) near Eston nab about two hundred yards from the encampment
“I found the outline of a noble urn (fig.2 ) standing upright, covered with a large sheild shaped stone curiously carved in the interior with some metallic instrument, representing, as I concieve, either a rude armorial bearing or a religious device”
“Figure 3 is a small urn, preserved entire in the possession of Dr. Young of Whitby, discovered a few years ago at Upleatham. It contained ashes similar to the exterior urn. Figure 4. represents a stone found near Court Green, in one of the tumuli I opened”
Image credit: Taken from Ord's History & Antiquities of Cleveland
Refer to the above illustration
The pictured inscription was found by The Rev John Graves and reporduced in his “History of Cleveland” published in 1808.
He speculates that the inscription was part of the “ancient cromlech”.
Ord in his “The history and Antiquities of Cleveland” of 1830 comments;
“If I have committed any error in the pursuit of these difficult enquiries, I shall not stand alone........
On visiting the place he found the “explanation” very simple indeed. Alas for antiquarians! and alas for Mr graves! this mystical inscription is nothing more than a simple love story, a pure true heart record carved on the trysting-stone “long, long ago2, by some rustic swain, in the presence of his confiding mistress:-
R.O. 1712 WOOING T.D. ”
Grave’s “fac-similie” of the inscription found upon The memorial to ” A Danish Chieftain”
“Holgate How has a large round barrow on the summit (SD 067 048, 436m.OD) with extensive views in all directions. Scattered rocks on the grass slopes below this cairn include some with motifs, to the south east of the West house fields.
Holgate has 3 distinct natural zones marked by green tracks.
1. The highest tract. At the foot of this slope are many scattered blocks of stone, none marked.
2. Towards the valley, below the higher green track, is an area with a scatter of much larger earthfats blocks of sandstone, many that bear marks of quarying and some of which have prehistoric motifs.
3. Below the lower green track is an area predominantly of rough grass, in which are various earthfast stones some of which are marked, and to the north of which is one of the most interesting designs in the area.”
Prehistoric Rock Art of County Durham, Swaledale and Wensleydale.
Stan Beckensall and Tim Laurie
Pub. County Durham Books
1998
Graeme C’s excellent site.
Upleatham marked stone page