moss

Found in Pevsner – North Somerset 1958. interesting fact,

He mentions that there was... l mile to the NW of Hautville Quoit, two similar stones in a field called Middle Ham.
Checking back to Burl in “Carnac to Callanish” possible grid.ref. at ST591 633, under Lower Tyning – 2 adjacent prostrate stones (now presumably lost).

Pevsner also goes on to describe the Stanton Drew stones as
“dolomitic conglomerates of different kinds, probably from near Harptree; sandstones of uncertain origin; and a jurassic limestone – probably Dundry stone.
The Harptree connection is interesting because Burl mentions two stones (now lost) at Shrowl Field, East Harptree called The Devils Quoits (what else).
How did these stones travel, by the river Chew maybe...

[Also see
pastscape.org/hob.aspx?hob_id=1097273 – TMA Ed.]

These pair of barrows lie adjacent to the road, on the opposite side of the road is an old farmhouse. And hereby hangs a tale – for many months I have spied this farmhouse from afar, and have always been able to locate through its opposing chimneys the monument on Cherhill down (30 kms) in the distance, allowing me to focus on Silbury and Avebury. Not exactly a blinding white flash, but the penny dropped when I remembered there was an old chapel which had been embraced in the farmhouse building, giving the whole building an east/west alignment., in fact it sits at an awkward angle to the road – which in itself is probably roman/prehistoric track.
So was this an early holy place settled maybe by the “desert” monks, who set up in opposition, or maybe on top of these tumuli, and the thin thread of religion continued down through the ages. What makes it more conclusive is that there is a holy well about 500 yards from the chapel, its called St.Alpege (much later saint) Well.
Having written that, no way am I implying that there is a “straight line” to Avebury, its just happenstance and the strange things that happen between earth and sky!!

Dramatic views from these cromlechs crouched beneath the large rock face. In the Nash book he says that this was probably the burial chambers of the Neolithic people of Clegyr Boia. Be that as it may, one thing does strike, is the cavelike or rock shelter that must surely have hearkened back to ancestral memories of their forefathers who fished and found shellfish on the shores round here. The bones of the dead would have brought up here, not perhaps as a final resting place, it would also have been a place of ceremonial visiting, a chance to communicate with whatever spirits they chose..
Daniels gave rise to the term “earthfast” to explain the imbedded nature of the back of the capstone of some of these cromlechs, but if they are imitations of caves, it would have been natural for the capstone to form a cavelike shelter...

To add to Redbrickdream’s miscellaneous; And also taken from Burl. He states that there were three large stones circles in close proximity to each other.

1) Burderop Wood – Fir Clump concentric stone circle(completely destroyed by construction of M4) diameter given by Burl about a 107 metres across- inner about 86 x 73 m, which makes it larger than Coate circle

2) Coate circles diameter as mentioned is 100 x 95 m, measurement by Passmore.

3) Broome, completely gone and mentioned by Stukeley with a probable avenue as well.

Which brings to mind that Avebury also has three stone circles the two inner circles about the same size as Coate. The other defining factor of the Coate group is their proximity to water, not to the man-made reservoir/lake of today but to the small rivers/brooks that must have flowed in this area.

To add to Rhiannon’s post. Anne Ross mentions a stone head that was found in the foundations of a 3rd C AD roman house. This local limestone head is probably much earlier, and could be a” foundation offering” in the building of the house. She describes it as celtic but looking very “neolithic” in other respects. The head culture round here is fairly common, the beautiful Celtic head of Bath springs to mind. But she also mentions A “phallic” head from Eype some 45 miles away...

This fort was probably a temporary defensive site in times of trouble. Though hillforts are thought of as iron age, they probably have a much longer lineage. It’s iron age tag is underlined by the fact there were three barrows in the enclosed area, plus one outside by the entrance. There seems little respect by the later occupants of the earlier people. The “religious significance” of the bronze age barrows not even acknowledged. Its interesting to note that the west entrance lines up with a gap between the hills towards the west coast of Wales and the sea.
The area around here has been quarried for centuries, a substantial roman settlement half mile to the north probably took the stone down via North Stoke to the river.
The remains of a small stone hut at the foot of the west entrance may have been a 17th/18th c shelter for the people who quarried here, there are the remains of a further hut just by the gate under the escarpment of the fort. History jostles through the landscape not in a measured way but in a small series of reminders that past generations have also eked out their liveilhoods here..

The ammonite at Stoney Littleton may (and I stress may) have something to do with the ammonites found at Keynsham, some 15 miles away. Ammonites were found in a quarry at Keynsham, and they still decorate cottage walls there.

The small fossil on the opposite stone of the doorway, opposite to ammonite, is probably a nautilus fossil.

To add to the history of ammonites in this area, apparently ammonites occasionally get” pyritized”, the fossil being replaced by iron pyrites (these were also found at Priddy Henges). ‘Fools gold ’ turns the fossil into something of real beauty, perhaps it is this that the neolithic people were remembering when they displayed the door stone at Stoney Littleton, a golden sun.
taken from “Gloucester” by Peter Sale.

And to add to Rhiannon’s post below. When the reconstruction was done in 1858, a sunken ditch was dug so that a small fence could be built, on digging the ditch they found an “original wall of unmortared stones on each side of the doorway (the horned effect). The junction of the old/new wall is marked by two upright stones.
As stones would have been taken away in the 19th c, the longbarrow has been somewhat reduced on top, in the drawings in the 1858 article, the top is much more pronounced and is also tree covered., to quote ” looked like a large boat keel turned upwards”

Littledown Fort sits on a promontory overlooking the villages of Northstoke and Kelston. Bronze age barrows (3) have been ploughed out in the centre of the fort. There is also a barrow at its entrance, though the farmers seems to use the barrow as a turning point. The entrance from the racecourse side faces due west to Wales. The field in which the fort sits was an old B/A burial place, and yet the iron age fort hardly seems to repect this. Use of the word fort, of course with its military rings gives a false idea of its use; defensive yes on occasions, settlement might be, also place for securing farm animals. Its very similar to Stantonbury fort, in that its seems to have a central dividing bank. Littledown fort sits on the opposite side of the river Avon to Stantonbury, as does Little Solsbury to Bathampton and the theory has been put forward, that these four defended the area round Bath and the river...

some notes from Martin Green’s “A Landscape revealed” a book about this area;
He says that there were two separate cursuses, both 90 metres wide and 5 kilometres long, and built end to end. -Gussage cursus descends from Thickthorn Down, crosses Gussage Valley and climbs up the next ridge – Gussage Down. It then incorporates a longbarrow at approximately its half point,then descends into the Allen Valley, before climbing up to the top of next ridge (rollercoasting) then terminates.
The longbarrow on Gussage down is important in that the mid winter solstice can be viewed; the moon cresting the barrow.
Also,(continuous thread?) evidence of earlier mesolithic activity can be found at either end of cursus. This area is particularly “sacred landscape”, it also has two vertical shafts with offerings in, similar to the ones found on the Mendips, the so called swallet holes, and the Cursus also incorporates an ancient river cliff (swallowcliff) with a small seasonal lake at its foot....

By walking Men’s reversed Feet
I chanc’d another world to meet;
Tho it did not to View exceed
A Phantom, tis a World indeed,
Where Skies beneath us shine
And Earth by Art divine
Another face presents below;
Where People’s feet against Ours go.

Shadows in the Water, Traherne 1903

Taken from Richard Bradley “An archaeology of Natural Places”

Aubrey Burl classifies this stone as a pair (2 little stones, 1 pros.“thrown by the devil” – Grinsell 1976) in Carnac to Callanish, though he only saw one stone and was unimpressed by its small proportion and lack of orientation, still it might be something else .

St. Elvis Farm; J.Hawkes explains the two valleys sitting either side of The Gribin at Lower Solva, as “drowned valleys”. Solva sits at the end of one valley with Solva river flowing down to the sea. The other valley has St.Elvis tomb at the head with a small brook running through this valley to the sea below.
Its also interesting to note what she says about this area;
“for the plateau of the old sedentary rocks are broken by abrupt outcrops of much harder rocks spewed up by volcanoes.....each one will be seen to have a little farm, edged up against it.....it is also noted that a very considerable number of dolmens have similarly been built against the volcanic outcrops......perhaps endowed with spirits and local deities”
1951 Prehistoric and Roman Monuments in England and Wales.
Strumble Head follows this same pattern of tombs, placed on or near rocks. Dust to dust, or maybe bone to bone.

p.s. St.Elvis’s may have been St.Ailbe, disciple of St.Patrick... In 1291 was Lanelvech with Llaneilw later and then Elfyw.. (History of Solva – Trevor Bloom).