greywether

The grid reference is for the original location of this cist but there is nothing there now.

The cist was part of a small cemetery discovered during sand-quarrying operations in 1939. It is now in Hamilton Low Parks Museum (ML3 6BJ).

The notable feature of this cist is that one of the side slabs was decorated on both sides with examples of the concentric circles, arcs and spirals generally known as “passage grave art”.

The Museum does not allow photography of the cist and, as a further example of their unhelpfulness, only one side of the decorated slab is visible in the reconstruction.

The designs can be seen in the PSAS link below.

An Unenclosed Platform Settlement (UPS) is formed by taking a semi-circular scoop out of a hillside and using the materials to build a circular level platform on the downslope side. A timber house is then built on the platform.

Walk SE from Fall Hill. A good UPS can be seen after 35m.

Continue round the S side of Normangill Rigg to the small plantation where another good UPS can be seen on the E side near the gate. This and others in the vicinity correspond with the grid reference given for this entry.

Continue walking E parallel to the road where further UPSs can be seen near the sheepfold at NS 971211.

Park at the junction of the two minor roads just S of the site. Walk N to a small quarry on the E of the road. Head E and (sadly) follow the vehicle tracks which run through the centre of the site.

A low stony bank 2.1 to 2.4m wide surrounds an area 16m diameter enclosing an eccentrically placed stony mound of 4.3m diameter.

On the SE arc of the bank are visible two shallow grooves about 0.7m apart. They may have supported timber uprights and, although no longer visible, could have continued around the entire bank.

No detailed directions should be necessary for this site as a look at the map will confirm.

A Class II henge measuring 61m x 55m. Both entrances can still be seen and the bank/ditch are best preserved on the E.

Leave the M74 at Junction 13 and take the B7078 north. Stop at a farm gate on the E about 0.75 miles after passing the B740.

From the gate head in an “11 o’clock” direction for the higher ground nearer the motorway. Keep the stream on your left. Once nearer the location, you should see a 2m stone lying flat. This is on the E of the circle. The other stones are either just above or in a hollow just below ground level but are all visible.

23 stones can be seen in an elipse measuring 50m x 40m. They range in length from 0.9m to 1.7m. It is estimated that the monument may have had 40 stones originally.

It is not known whether the stones were originally standing and later fell or whether they were brought to the monument but never erected.

Canmore quotes the Statistical Account’s reference to the stone being 5’2” (1.6m) high without comment but it is more like 1.2m high – a little higher than the two on the other side of the road.

Plenty of parking available at the crossroads in Tweedsmuir village – a short walk from the stones.

Visited 17 February 2004

An alternative approach, particularly if level ground is important, is to park at NN740230 and walk the mile or so along the disused railway line.

This is a fairly typical Clyde cairn with its one axial and two lateral chambers. However, an unusual feature is the narrow width of the forecourt. It is assumed that forecourts were used for some form of ritual activity and they are generally semi-circular but here it is more V-shaped.

Visited 14 February 2004

Revisited 19 February 2004

This is another Bargrennan-style tomb (third today!). It is in the process of detailed excavation and has been backfilled since my last visit making the main features easier to make out. Further work will continue this year.

There are three chambers (S with a capstone, E and N) in a round cairn. What looks like the remains of a kerb can also be seen in the W.

The remains of a Bargrennan-style tomb in Ayrshire. Not discovered (or re-discovered) until 1975 so not included in Audrey Henshall’s massive inventory of Scotland’s chambered tombs.

The cairn has been almost entirely removed and used to build the sheepfold which incorporates the surviving and impressive chamber.

The most visible features of the chamber are the capstone and two orthostats within the sheepfold (ie to the S) and these are considered to have been part of the rear of the chamber. Two large stones to the E were also part of the chamber.

Park at the bridge where the pylon lines (not on the map) cross the road and walk N to the raised area at the bend where the tomb is situated.

Visited 19 February 2004

This is a Bargrennan-style long cairn – the most northerly of all the Bargrennan cairns. Dimensions around 45m x 20m.

It runs NW/SE and three chambers are visible in the NW end. For ease, they are called NW, NE and S. The NW and NE chambers have one capstone each.

The site lies off a road between the Kirkleegreen and Cuffhill Reservoirs. There is parking at a boathouse at Kirkleegreen.

Visited 18 Feb 2004

The only identifiable Clyde chambered tomb in Ayrshire.

One chamber with one capstone and divided into three compartments remains. The cairn was removed in 1772 when “five stone coffins” were found. There may therefore have been another two-compartment chamber.

It can be seen at the back of Douglas Park at the S end of Largs. Off-street parking is available.

Visited 18 February 2004

Cup and ring marked rock measuring 14m by 6m at its widest point. Situated on the lower slopes of Blackshaw Hill and with views over the Firth of Clyde.

Heavily weathered and mainly cup marks visible but at least 10 cup and ring motifs could be identified.

Blackshaw Farm is a Quad Bike centre. They were happy to let me use their car park and walk up. No offer to go by bike, sadly.

Visited 18 Feb 2004

A collection of about 20 round barrows with a variety of different types.

Long barrow 107m long and 2.4m high next to public footpath off A354.

To find these from the Tregeseal stone circle, take the path from the SE corner of the circle that runs NE just skirting the S side of the southerly of the three cairns. The holed stones start a little beyond the cairn.

There are five stones. Three are in an alignment of four stones (one unholed) and these have been numbered 2,3,4 from E to W. Numbers 3 and 4 have fallen. Number 2 still stands and is the tallest of the five at 1.4m.

There are two outliers – stone number 1 lies 90m to NE of the alignment and is fairly easily spotted on the hill. Number 5 is easily seen 18m NW of 4.

1 and 5 have been repaired and are made of different stone from the other three.

Visited October 2003

A well-preserved wedge tomb with all its main features still intact. It opens to the W where the effect of two slabs against the double side walling creates a short facade.

Another Cork circle with portal stones, centre stone and a recumbent.

The circle is 7.6m diameter.

An 8.1m long alignment of five stones, one of which has fallen. The tallest is 3m high.

This (the SW circle) is the better of two circles in the area.

It has two portal stones, a central stone and a recumbent.

Another of the many wedge tombs in the townland of Parknabinnia – number 69 in the Co Clare inventory of megalithic tombs.

This one lies 0.4km SSW of the better known site near the road. It sits on a field wall but is still well preserved.

I’ve posted some images of kerbstones from the NW quadrant not previously posted. The references are (1) to the K numbering system used by the excavator George Eogan to number the kerbstones consecutively clockwise starting from the break in the NE (11 is at the E entrance and 74 at the W entrance) and (2) the quadrant (NW, NE, etc) numbering system used by Martin Brennan.

I’ve also posted some images of inside the smaller tombs taken in 1993 shortly after Knowth opened to the public and they had a more relaxed attitude to what you could see. These smaller tombs are not now open to the public.

Impressive circular stone fort – a bit less so when you realise it was largely destroyed in 1101 and then significantly restored in 1870. Worth it for the view.

Interior space – about 23m diameter.

You probably wouldn’t want to go out of your way to see this site but it is roughly equidistant from Legananny and Audleystown.

A large capstone is the most visible feature. The chamber it covers may be a portal tomb but there are early accounts of a large cairn and a lintelled passage so it may also be a passage grave.

Michael Herity certainly includes it in his book on passage graves mentioning accounts of an 18m diameter cairn and a passage open to the NE.

In you’re in County Down and you’ve got as far east as Audleystown and you’re wondering if it’s worth the cost and the effort of getting the ferry over to Portaferry so you can visit this site, the answer is – probably not.

It’s a site that produced interesting results on excavation in 1953 but it has been back-filled to its pre-excavation state and all you can see now is a grassy mound with some stones sticking out.

The excavation revealed an oval of standing stones within which was another oval of thin slabs on end surrounding a long cist full of bones neatly sorted and stacked. Some of the stones carried crude passage grave style art.

Creggandevesky (Stony place of black water) court tomb lies on the west of Lough Mallon. It has been restored after excavation between 1979 and 1982.

To access it, park on the road running E of Lough Mallon and take the path which skirts S of the lough.

The court and three-chamber gallery (opening to the SE) are impressive. The lintel over the gallery entrance is still in position (with a little help!).

This court grave is aligned E/W with the court in the E. The outline of the cairn some 30m long by 15m wide can still be seen.

The line of the court can still be traced reasonably well and especially around the gallery entrance where the stones are still standing.

The gallery is 6m long and has two compartments. One capstone remains but has fallen.

In the W of the cairn are two subsidiary chambers opening to the N and S.

A ruined wedge tomb lying about 100m to the S of its court namesake.

A damaged dual court tomb with galleries at the E and W joined by a two-chambered gallery.

Lying about 0.4 km SSE of Cairn K is this ruined cruciform chamber open to the NE.

This is an undifferentiated passage tomb with curved passage and a sill separating the chamber from the passage.

This is the odd one out amongst the Carrowkeel cairns as it is the only long cairn.

It has been classified as a court cairn because of the unusual features at its S end.

However the excavators in 1911 found a transepted (cruciform) chamber at the N end so it appears to have some passage grave features as well. This is now the most visible feature at the site.

Only two days were spent excavating the cairn so some important detail may have been missed.

These two cairns lie 50m apart in the hills to the N of the access road to the Carrowkeel cemetery about 0.6 km W of cairn G.

Both are ruined. The 1911 excavations suggest that C had the cruciform chamber seen at other Carrowkeel sites and D had traces of a passage leading to a cist within the cairn.

Part of a cruciform gallery of this court tomb is visible in the peat. It can be seen as part of a visit to the Ceide Fields visitor centre.

I visited this site 10 years ago and agree it is a wonderful monument and it is a pity that it has been so neglected.

I’ve posted some images to show what it would look like if the vegetation were cleared again.

Six wrecked portal tombs stand in a 90m line running E/W. The westernmost tomb is the best preserved.

A superb partly reconstructed court tomb E of Malin More on the minor road.

Its total length is 40m including an oval court 14m long. The entrance to the court is in the E and on either side of the entrance are two chambers built into the cairn each of which has a decorated orthostat.

At the W end of the court are two parallel galleries.

Situated close to its much better known portal namesake, the best surviving part of the court tomb is the 6m long gallery running W from two entrance jambs to a backstone – all 1.8m high. The side stones are lower.

Two lintels survive – one, slightly displaced, across the gallery and the other fallen and lying in front of the entrance jambs.

Two stones from the NE arm of the court adjoin the N entrance jamb.

As a small contribution to the winter solstice celebrations, I’ve posted some images of the inside of Newgrange taken during a visit in the late 80s when you were taken round the tomb at a much more leisurely pace than today and photography was permitted.

Also posted are images from roughly the same time of some art on the kerbstones. Most of these stones already appear here but the new ones are from the days before the lichen started to grow.

The identification system in the images (K for kerb, C for chamber, L and R for left and right hand sides of the passage) are those used by O’Kelly.

An easily accessible site with a variety of monuments.

Approaching from the car park at SX646787 and heading S for the clear area in the forest, you come first to the cairn circle marked on the OS map at SX64347777. 13 stones – 6.0m diameter.

Continuing S, you come to a low stone row running approximately E/W at SX64387765. 20m long.

From the E end of the stone row, head SE into the forest to a cist and stone row at SX64497760 (wrongly positioned on the OS map). The row is 12m long. The cist had been surrounded by a stone circle of which six stones remain.

Head back out into the clearing and continue S to two cairn circles at SX64347750 and SX64367747 (marked as one on the OS map). One is 6.8m diameter and the other (with a cist) is 5.6m diameter.

In the same forest as Fernworthy (not all forest tracks are shown on the 1:50k, you’ll need the 1:25k)

Double stone row running from a cairn at NE end downhill for 125m to a blocking stone at SW end.

There is potential for confusion here between this site and Stall Moor. Both are record-breakers. Stall Moor is the longest and this one has the tallest stones.

It has 62 stones still standing. 17 have fallen and others are buried. It is visible for 502m but is estimated to have run for at least 840m. It runs N/S and the ends are not intervisible.

The tallest stones are at the N end – 1.9m to 2.6m high. The average height of all the stones is 1.1m. There is a cairn in the row about 150 from the top (N) end.

Difficult site to describe without a plan so I have posted a sketch plan.

All rows run NE/SW and have cairns at their NE ends (uphill) and longstones at their SW ends.

Row 1 is 150m long and ends in a 3.0m high longstone – its broad face in line with the row. The SW half of the row is a single row which then becomes double for 47m then single again.

The Row 2 longstone is 4.2m high (the tallest standing stone on Dartmoor). Its broad face cuts across the line of the row. The row is 83m long – single with several large gaps.

Row 3 (like Row 1) is 150m long but is single throughout. Its longstone is 2.3m high.

The Giant’s Basin cairn (22m diameter by 4m high) sits to the SE of the Row 1 cairn.

There are several other cairns at the site not marked on the plan.

25m diameter stone circle restored in 1909 at which time only four stones in the SW quadrant were standing.

Burl certainly does call this a 530m row but Jeremy Butler in his epic Dartmoor – Atlas of Antiquities claims it is only 369m long.

The difference, he claims, is due to the the restorer who “mistakenly added 180 yds to its length”. He puts the original ending at the 1.2m high stone in the row of stones N of the low bank some 300m from the cairn circle.

He also claims it was probably a single row originally as in the areas where there is a double alignment some of the stones are set across the row suggesting they were re-erected incorrectly.

This is a wonderful site. Far enough away from the car parks at the E end of Burrator Reservoir to deter casual visitors but a pleasant enough walk in for the rest.

Its open location, the grading of the stones and the way they run downhill and then up make it look like a Richard Long landscape sculpture.

See the links below for directions, descriptions and plans.

Park at SX654923 and walk up footpath.

One of four triple rows on Dartmoor. Runs for 146m E (downhill) from a cairn. W half better preserved.

Re pure joy’s choice of name, it corresponds with that used by Burl so can be confirmed.

There are actually three rows here. The NW one is described below and is the best preserved. Double row running for 112m NE from cairn and ending in terminal stone.

N of the tor at SX561709 is a ruined double stone row running W from a cairn and visible for about 27m.

To the W, on the other side of the road at SX559707, is a single stone row running SW from a cairn for 132m ending in a terminal stone.

To avoid crossing the River Meavy, park at Devil’s Bridge on the B3212 and walk south along the east bank.

Two stone rows, one double (N) and one single (S). Both run roughly E/W from cairns at their E ends.

The N row runs for some 125m but is damaged in places by a ditch and a leat. An 1859 account says that it ended in a pillar 7.7m high which had fallen at that time. It is no longer there but would have been the largest on the moor. A low circle of stones surrounds the cairn.

The S row runs for 60m and is also damaged by a ditch. Its cairn is also surrounded by a circle of stones.

Park on the B3212 near Warren House Inn and follow the footpath N.

Double stone row with 49 well preserved paired stones running northish from a cairn for about 140m and terminating in a blocking stone.

Shorter (but less attractive) access arrangements (from those given in the link) are to park at Blackaton Cross (SX570632) and follow the track NE past the clay works.

The two alignments here are unusual in that they have different orientations. West runs E/W and East runs N/S.