The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

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The Grey Mare & Her Colts (Long Barrow) — Fieldnotes

Walked here from Black Down where I parked up. How I found the long barrow I will never know - pure luck - after deciding I was nowhere near it, I stumbled over it, hidden away behind a hedgerow, round a farmer's gate. Spoilt, after a long acquaintance with Stuart Piggott's masterful restoration of West Kennet Long Barrow ~ why can't it happen here? This site begs to be carefully restored in an age and culture which is beginning to value the living heritage of prehistoric monuments - a heritage which extends into the now & into the future. I would guess before the days of hedgerows that this once substantial barrow was extensively visible to those travelling the Dorset Ridgeway and related track ways, it seems to be perched on the side of a down, but the modern fields make it difficult to work out the syntax of the prehistoric topography. Wayland's Smithy is a bit like that too I think. The folklore behind the naming of the Grey Mare barrow does not appear to have been recorded, a shame if so, that link with the past gone then. Folklore is so important.

Sarn Meyllteyrn (Standing Stone / Menhir) — Fieldnotes

Visited the general locality passing through Sarn Meyllteyrn in 2005. was informed from a local source [Gwenllian] that the place name could be broken down as follows

sarn - ford
meyll (mal) - place [of]
teyrn - king or kings

the standing stone and site is thought of as 'the burial place of Rhiw kings'; it is a mere several kilometres from Mynydd Rhiw *neolithic axe factory*, so it is surprising there are not more stone age monuments hard by - perhaps there are, or were? also, local place names seem to abound with deer names, into which could be read much, perhaps -

there also appears to be an ancient well or spring nearby, known as 'ffynnon fair' -

http://www.rhiw.com/hanes_02/axe_factory/mynydd_rhiw_axe_factory.htm

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=223500&y=332500&z=5&sv=223500,332500&st=4&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&ax=223500&ay=332500

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=223500&y=331500&z=3&sv=223500,331500&st=4&ar=N&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&ax=223500&ay=332500

thanks

Ric
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