ancient monuments

Ash Cabin Flat, Hallam Moor, South Yorkshire

23/11/200929/08/2019 megadread

Embanked Stone Circle: OS Grid Reference – SK 26940 86268

Follow Redmires road till you come to Wyming brook nature reserve and use the free parking facilities there. From the car park you need the signposted path to the right of the notice board, the first one not the one by the metal barrier; climb the rocky steps and follow the line of the dry stone wall to your left, and after around 50 metres you’ll pass through a wooden gate. You then continue following the wall as it heads downhill and the wall becomes broken. Here you should notice a path that goes through the broken wall off to your left: don’t take it but continue another 50 metres or so, then turn 90° to your right facing the moorland. The circle is around 50 metres into the heather.

Ash Cabin Flat Stone Circle - as of 26/5/09 — Ash Cabin Flat Stone Circle – as of 26/5/09

Archaeology & History

A fairly well preserved late neolithic or early Bronze age embanked stone circle located in a sea of heather on Ash Cabin Flat on the Western outskirts of Sheffield and rediscovered in 1981 due to the moor being burnt back.

The site is oval in shape and around 9m x 7m diameter to the outer edge of the bank. The banking is well preserved and shows there was no entrance to the interior.

There are around a dozen stones within and on top of the bank but it’s uncertain whether they are circle stones or packing stones from the bank. English Heritage have recorded 5 of the stones, 2 still standing, as stones that once stood making up the circle.

If you visit any time soon (23/11/09) you’ll find the moor has been burnt back again giving an excellent view of the site, when the heather is in full flow it’s as high as the highest stones making not only finding the circle nigh on impossible to find but also defining the site very difficult.

Additional Notes:

Editor – 1.12.9. – Following a visit to this site in the company of Megadread recently, we found what appears to be a number of other cairns on the flat moorland plain around this seeming cairn-circle site. There also appeared to be distinct evidence of ancient walling. Further archaeological evaluations are required here.

References:

Burl, Aubrey, The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, Yale University Press 2000.

Fearby Cross, Masham, North Yorkshire

23/11/200928/09/2019 megalithix

Cross: OS Grid Reference – SE 1984 8127

Getting Here

Take the road from Masham into this lovely hamlet and, as you reach the staggered crossroads, you’ll see a small village green with a single tree at where the four roads meet. In the grass below the tree is this forgotten monument!

Archaeology & History

Found at the meeting point of five old lanes, little has been written about the old cross remnants here, which is barely a foot high and rests on its roughly circular stone base. It sits where five old tracks meet and is thought to be medieval in origin. Speculation alone pronounces the site to have been a place where local council proclamations occurred, and where funerals stopped and the dead were rested.

One intriguing piece of information narrated by Edmund Bogg (1906) that may have had some relevance to the siting of this old cross, told that between here and the hamlet of Healey a mile west,

“there were formerly circles of upright stones and other relics suggestive of druidical origin.”

Any historical information or folklore relating to these apparent megalithic remains needs to be uncovered!

References:

Bogg, Edmund, Richmondshire and the Vale of Mowbray, James Miles: Leeds 1906.

Devil’s Den Cups, Clatford, Wiltshire

17/11/200918/08/2019 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SU 15211 69652

Getting Here

Follow the directions to reach the Devil’s Den, a half-mile north of Clatford up the footpath towards the Fyfield Down cup-marked rock. You can’t miss it! The cup-markings are on the top of the capstone.

Archaeology & History

First described and illustrated by local historian and photographer, Pete Glastonbury, as far as I’m aware these cup-markings have not previously been included in any of Wiltshire’s archaeological surveys (that can’t be, surely?). The only reference I’ve found — not untypically — is from one of the early editions of the english Folklore Journal.

Devils Den CR01 — Devil’s Den cup-markings

At least two well-defined cups stand out on the top of the capstone. Each of them have ‘cracks’ running out of them, with the easternmost one of them (closer to the edge) turning into a channel which runs upwards on the stone, before then leading down off the edge of the rock. Each cup-mark is very clear, about two inches across and about a half-inch deep.

Archaeologists can check these cups out and work out for themselves whether they’re natural or not. They’re far more qualified than I on such matters and may be able ascertain other faint remarks on the stone. The proximity of the nearby Fyfield Down cup-marked rock, several hundred yards to the north, shows that such petroglyphs can be found in this region. Although we cannot expect many examples of rock art in this area (the rock’s damn tough and takes some burrowing into), it is likely that more carvings await discovery.

Folklore

The capstone on which these cup-markings are seen was told to be immovable and had lore said of it akin to that found at the great Whispering Knights, near the Rollright Stones. But the main piece of lore describes the cups quite specifically. In an article by Alice Gomme (1909), she told that:

“if anyone pours water into any of the natural cup-shaped cavities on the top stone at midnight, it will always be found in the morning to be gone, drunk by a thirst-tormented fiend.”

The tale is later repeated in Kathleen Wiltshire’s (1975) survey, where she too mentions the cup-marking (though only one), saying that,

“if a person pours water into the natural cup-shaped cavity on the top stone at midnight it will always be found to be gone in the morning — drunk by the devil.”

This folklore motif — repeated in Grinsell’s (1976) text — is found at rock-art sites in a number of the northern counties, where milk has been poured into the cup-markings (some of which were known as ‘cat stones’) and left overnight for the spirits to drink. In the case we have recorded at Devil’s Den, the spirit of the place seems to have been demonized, as is common.

Miss Gomme (1909) also reported the curious ingredient that the spirit of a white rabbit with glowing eyes would appear on the capstone at midnight and help the devil demolish the site with the aid of eight oxen! On this latter matter, I am duly informed by one-in-the-know that, to “those of us that know the locals and their humour, we just know this tale was made up for a visiting townie!”

References:

Gomme, Alice B., ‘Folklore Scraps from Several Localities’, in Folklore Journal, 20:1, 1909.
Grinsell, Leslie V., Folklore of Prehistoric Sites in Britain, David & Charles: London 1976.
Wiltshire, Kathleen, Wiltshire Folklore, Compton Russell: Salisbury 1975.

St. Patrick’s Well, Carrowreagh, Donegal

11/11/200918/10/2019 megalithix

Holy Well: OS Grid Reference – C 367 196

Folklore

To be found somewhere between the two outer embankments on the southern side of the legendary Grianan of Aileach, this — one of many St. Patrick’s Wells in Ireland — is typically attributed with healing properties. It was described in Henry Morris’ (1938) survey (amongst others) as being the place where, in the 5th century when St. Patrick came here, Prince Eoghan was baptised and thereafter turned his back on the heathen gods of his ancestors for this new christian cult which was just growing at that time. (‘Eoghan,’ pronounced owen) Thereafter other people were baptised by the waters from here, which in ancient days would have been the water supplies for those at the Grianan.

Henry Swan (1938) told that in previous times there once grew a legendary tree by this well, into which pilgrims inserted pins and other artefacts as offerings and to make wishes to the spirit of the waters. A similar thing (with the same underlying mythic structure) occurred at the tree and holy well of Loch Maree.

Up until quite recently, the well was very overgrown and in a condition that Rear Admiral Pascual o’ Dogherty called “disgusting.” He called for renovation work and action to bring this ancient site back into good health, and thankfully, as a result of the man’s proclamations, St. Patrick’s Well here has been brought back into a good state of life. Excellent stuff good sir!

References:

Lacy, Brian, Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, DCC: Lifford 1983.
Morris, Henry, ‘The Holy Wells of Inishowen,’ in H.P. Swan’s Book of Inishowen, Buncrana 1938.
o’ Muirgheasa, Enri, ‘The Holy Wells of Donegal,’ in Béaloideas 6:2, 1936.
Swan, Harry Percival, The Book of Inishowen, William Doherty: Buncrana 1938.

Ring Hill, Littlebury, Essex

07/11/200909/08/2019 megalithix

Hillfort: OS Grid Reference – TL 515 382

Also Known as:

Getting Here

You can’t really miss this. Roughly halfway along the B1383 London Road between Littlebury and Wendens Ambo, just above Chestnut Avenue, a dirttrack on the west-side of the road takes you up and onto the wooded hillside. Where the track splits in two, head straightforward up and into the trees until it opens into the clearing. You’re there!

Archaeology & History

This great monument had already been described several times before the Domesday Book had even been thought about! Indeed, it seems that the town itself gets its name from the hillfort! (Reaney 1935) Nowadays the place is just about overgrown and covered in woodland. You cna make out various undulations where parts of the ditches are apparent, but it could do with a clean-out. Thought to be Iron Age, Nick Thomas (1977) described the site as,

“Oval in plan, this fort follows the contour of the hill it encloses, protecting about 16½ acres… the defences consist of a bank, ditch and counterscarp bank, of which only the ditch is well-preserved.”

References:

Reaney, Paul, The Place-Names of Essex, Cambridge University Press 1935.
Thomas, Nicholas, Guide to Prehistoric England, Batsford: London 1977.

Links:

Ring Hill, Littlebury

Springfield Lyons, Chelmsford, Essex

06/11/200910/08/2019 megalithix

Enclosure: OS Grid Reference – TL 7357 0818

Archaeology & History

Springfield Lyons enclosure (after Brown, 2001)

We’ve known that there was an excessive number of prehistoric archaeological sites in and around the Chelmsford region for quite a long time now, but defining precisely the age and nature of the finds takes some doing! (as you’d expect) It hasn’t helped, of course, with the housing estates and other ecologically destructive building operations in and around the area, screwing up a more accurate and patient assessment of the material there. And this predicament was exemplified with the Springfield Lyons neolithic causewayed enclosure just as much as at the Springfield Cursus and other sites nearby.

Although excavations here found a large, deep ditch with impressive ramparts and entrance, in Oswald, Dyer & Barber’s (2001) survey of these giant monuments, they defined the remains here as “probable,” pending further investigations. But the site was primarily defined by the large deep ditch, broken in several places round its edges with the ’causeways’ built leading onto the site. The enclosure gave good views over the small valley from here and had streams running either side of it.

Adjacent to the site were the remains of a “small circular enclosure with multiple entrances,” saying that excavation here,

“has proved that it is of late Bronze Age date and might be interepreted variously as a defended settlement, or a ritual monument.”

This external small enclosure site was then conjectured, quite spuriously it’s gotta be said, to be a mini-version of the great causewayed enclosure monument, saying:

“Its siting and form both hint that it could have been a conscious imitation of, or re-invention of, the perceived form of the earthworks of the neolithic enclosure.”

I like the idea, it’s gotta be said — but without direct evidence we’ve gotta take this idea with a large pinch of salt!

…to be continued…

References:

Brown, N., ‘The Archaeology of Essex 1500 – 500 BC,’ in Bedwin, O. (ed.), The Archaeology of Essex, ECC: Chelmsford 1996.
Brown, N., “The Late Bronze Age Enclosure at Springfield Lyons in its Landscape Context,” in Essex Archaeology & History, volume 32, 2001.
Oswald, Alastair, Dyer, Caroline & Barber, Martyn, The Creation of Monuments: Neolithic Causewayed Enclosures in the British Isles, EH: Swindon 2001.
Priddy, D., ‘Excavations in Essex, 1987,’ in Essex Archaeology & History, 19, 1988.

Split Rock, Rivock, Keighley, West Yorkshire

04/11/200930/10/2019 megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 07989 44208

Also Known as:

Carving no.39 (Hedges)
Carving no.80 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Head up to Rivock’s Wondjina Stone carving, then keep going east to the Long Rock. Wander 100 or more further east till you see the fence, and about 50 yards before this check out the large rocks which you’ll notice near to each other. One of them is this Split Rock!

Archaeology & History

First described in Hedges’ (1986) survey, this is a large flattish boulder, split across one side, with two distinct cup-marks on its eastern side and a number of other ‘possibles’ scattering the surface. The most intriguing bit to this rock is on its lower eastern side. Here’s what Boughey & Vickerman (2003) described as,

“one clear cup (doubtful) discovered under turf…at extreme lower SE corner, with possible attempt at pecked partial ring.”

This cup they describe as “doubtful” is quite deep, but the half-ring on its northern side has definite artificial peck-marks. I’m more of the opinion that this cup-and-half-ring is man-made — though whether it was done in more recent years is the more debatable aspect here. I’ll try getting some better images (and a drawing) of this stone when we’re next up here.

References:

Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, West Yorkshire Archaeology Service 2003.
Hedges, John, The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.

Long Stone, Rivock, Keighley, West Yorkshire

03/11/200927/10/2019 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 07833 44313

Also Known as:

Carving no.78 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Head up to the lovely Wondjina Stone carving, then walk east towards the triangulation pillar. Keep going, over the wall – and keep going straight on, over the next wall (no footpaths up here at all). You’re now into rough heathland, but if you’re a real cup-and-ring freak, keep heading another 150 yards east, zigzagging slightly. You’ll eventually find it!

Archaeology & History

A quite large, smooth earthfast rock, but nowt much to look at unless you’re one of the crazy bunch! This is just another one of our basic cup-marked rocks with very little modern archaeo-history attached. There are perhaps as many as four cup-markings etched onto the stone: two at the northern end, one a little further down (not mentioned in Boughey & Vickerman’s survey) and another one cited towards the south end of the stone. Gotta be honest though: a couple of them are slightly dubious and may be natural — but hopefully not! (soz about the crap photo of this poor carving; but the light was shit & our camera packed-up!)

References:

Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, West Yorkshire Archaeology Service 2003.

Long Stone, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

01/11/200927/10/2019 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 13282 46222

Also Known as:

Carving no.161 (Hedges)
Carving no.326 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Follow the same directions to reach the Pancake Stone, but about 100 yards west, following the footpath that runs along the edge of the ridge (towards the large Haystack Rock a few hundred yards west), watch out for these large seemingly split rocks, with one elongated length of stone by the pathside. You can’t really miss it!

Archaeology & History

Very little’s been said of this carving as it’s just one more of the many rocks with just a solitary cup-marking etched on top — as we can see in the photo. The cup-mark is near the bottom, southeast-ish portion of the rock and is plain to see.

(Note: I’m not 100% sure that I’ve got Boughey & Vickerman’s (2003) numbered carving correct here. They describe a carved rock very close by here as an “upstanding rock, part of a large split rock,” as their ‘number 326’ carving — which is roughly similar; though I’m not totally sure! No other single cup-marked stone is listed in their survey close by, so assume it’s the same one as in their work.)

References:

Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, West Yorkshire Archaeology Service 2003.
Hedges, John, The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.

Littlestone, Bingley Moor, West Yorkshire

13/10/200927/10/2019 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 11209 43488

Getting Here

Follow the directions to reach the nice Big Rock carving. Once here, walk up the gentle slope less than 100 yards eastwards. Get here before the heather grows back, otherwise it’s unlikely you’ll find it!

Archaeology & History

Not previously catalogued, this is just a small trivial little stone with just a single cup-marking on it. There’s a somewhat debatable line which looks more likely on the photo than when you actually see it in situ. As we had the Big Rock just down the slope from here, I thought this could be a little rock, or Little Stone (makes sense!). It was found by your very own Paul and those of you with the wills to seek it out, don’t be disappointed as most are with such a Littlestone. It’s certainly not as rosy as those close by, but hey – it’s another carved rock!