Cup-and-Ring Stone (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – NT 138 746
Archaeology & History
Lost carving of Carlowrie
Two-thirds of a mile west of the Cat Stane, on land immediately north of the River Almond by Edinburgh Airport in an area that was reported in 1780 to be “filled with the skeletons of human bodies,” this old petroglyph could once be found. The Scottish Royal Commission (1929) described it as being a covering stone for a short prehistoric tomb near the OS-grid reference cited here, “but when discovered it was much broken by the plough that it does not appear to have been preserved.” They refer instead to the last report of the site in the Scottish Society of Antiquaries journal, where we were informed that the cover stone was,
“marked with three series at least of concentric circles… The widest diameters of the sets of rings cut on the inside of the lid is about five inches, and each set is composed of five concentric circles.”
All trace of this carving appears to have been lost. Other carvings reported nearby in the 19th century also appear to have been lost or destroyed.
References:
Morris, Ronald W.B., The Prehistoric Rock Art of Southern Scotland, BAR 86: Oxford 1981.
Royal Commission on Ancient & Historical Monuments, Scotland, Midlothian and Westlothian, HMSO: Edinburgh 1929.
Simpson, J.Y., The Cat-Stane, Edinburghshire, Neill & Co: Edinburgh 1862.
Simpson, J.Y., “On Ancient Sculpturings of Cups and Concentric Rings,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 6, 1864-66.
An unexcavated ring cairn in a very good state of preservation can be seen in the field immediately west of the River Halladale. Measuring more than 14 yards across east-west and 15 yards north-south, the site stands in association with several other unexcavated cairns.
Folklore
Although some of the cairns here have been found with prehistoric burials in them, tradition tells that the cairns here were the result of “a great battle between the native Pictish inhabitants and the invading Norsemen.” So wrote George Sutherland, many moons ago. He continued:
“The Norsemen were defeated in that battle, and Halladha, their leader, was slain. It is from him that the river and the dale take their name. The battle was fought on a hillside, on the east side of the river and that hillside is covered with cairns which are supposed to mark the graves of those slain in this battle, but the body of Halladha, the norse leader, was interred on the west side of the river, and his sword was laid in the grave beside his body. Near the circular trench where he is said to have been buried there are several heaps of stones which are supposed to mark the graves of other Norsemen of note who fell in the battle.”
References:
Sutherland, G., Folklore Gleanings and Character Sketches from the Far North, John o’ Groats Journal: Wick 1937.
I’m presuming that this burial site is the right one, described in the fine Mr MacGregor’s Peat Fire Flame (1937) as being “by the roadside up near Scallasaig.” There certainly doesn’t appear to be another alternative site close by (though if I’ve got it wrong, someone please lemme know!). This place was, said MacGregor, a site “where the people in olden times used to worship the serpent.”
MacGregor spoke with a local man about the myths here and asked how long it had been associated with serpents.
“Och, about two thousand years,” said Mr John MacRae. “The mound was in the shape of a serpent, and when the chief of the people would die, he would be buried in the head of the serpent..”
He continued, saying, “One from London, that was going about searching things like that, opened the mound, and they found in the mound a big stone coffin with a big stone slab on the top. And there the bowl was found with the ashes of the chief of the people at that time. The bowl was taken to the Manse. That’s about fifty years ago. It was there for a few months; and they took it to Edinburgh, to some museum or something. They were saying that there was a funny noise in the Manse when the bowl was lying there. If there was any treasure in the bowl, or in the grave along with the bowl, it was taken out before. You see, had he any treasure – the chief like – guns and money and the like – I’m sure they wouldn’t be putting much money in the grave. It would be going into the grave with the dead man, so, when he would rise in the next world, he would be ready to start at the same game as he was carrying on here on Earth.”
This sounds a little like the folk-memory of an idea of a heathen afterlife – and of course it’d make sense finding such lore here at a tomb.
I’ve come across references to several other serpent mounds scattering the western side of Scotland, but their exact locations have proven hard to pin down. It makes y’ wonder how many more there once were before the christian paradigm became entangled in the myths of the country people.
References:
MacGregor, Alisdair Alpin, The Peat-Fire Flame: Folk-Tales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands, Ettrick Press: Edinburgh 1937.
From the Avebury stone circle, walk out eastwards and straight up the ancient Ridgeway for about a mile until it levels out and meets up with the adjoining track upon the hilltop. Instead of going left or right, go straight across and onto the footpath that crosses Overton Down, until you reach the wide horse-racing track lookalike called ‘the Gallops.’ Stop – don’t go on it – and follow the fence down for a coupla hundred yards till you’ll see the fenced-off rise with a modern ‘barrow’ enclosed within. You’re very close! From here, go another 100 yards or so down and keep your eyes on the rise of land with rocks scattered around it. That’s it!
Archaeology & History
From all accounts, there’s been nowt of any consequence written about this site — which is bloody incredible to be honest!! We came here on a fine day (that’s Mikki, Geoff and June) in the company of the local Avebury magus, Pete Glastonbury. Crossing Overton Down towards an experimental “barrow” that some archaeo’s have knocked-up, the rise in the land here stands out quite clearly, saying (at the very least), “look at me!” But until Pete Fowler (2000) first described this “unrecorded kerbed round barrow” a few years back, it had escaped the noses of all previous archaeological surveys! How!?
What the hell do archaeologists in the Avebury area do with themselves if they can’t pick this sorta monument out!? But anyway…
Overton Down cairn – looking NW
This is quite a large rounded cairn structure by the look of it. At least 30-feet across, probably kerbed from the initial look (only for a few minutes, sadly). Local writer Terence Meaden has apparently found the site of some importance in his studies (not yet published). Its position here in the landscape was what caught my attention more than anything: it stands on the crest of the hill and has superb uninterrupted views far across the Avebury landscape. This siting was obviously quite deliberate. Less than 100 yards due north of here are two curiously placed stones which may ‘frame’ the cairn for a southern lunar alignment. I had no time to look at this really, so it would be good if some local Avebury dood could check this out. The outlying stones may be merely fortuitous, but it’d be good to know for sure!
The site has been plotted amidst a mass of landscape changes dating from the neolithic to medieval periods. It seems probable, on first impression, that the ‘cairn’ is of Bronze Age in character (though could be earlier), but until detailed analysis has been made we obviously won’t know for sure. A short distance to the south we have the much-denuded Overton Down site X1: another Bronze Age burial that yielded three beaker graves when Fowler excavated the place in the 1960s.
For those of you into geomancy, meditation and the subjective realms of genius loci, this one really grabbed me. Give it a go and lemme know what you get. But please, no stupid pagan or New Age offerings — the site doesn’t need that sorta thing.
References:
Fowler, Peter, Landscape Plotted and Pierced: Landscape History and Local Archaeology in Fyfield and Overton, Wiltshire, Society of Antiquaries: London 2000.
Despite a footpath being marked on the OS map, there’s none I could find and the only way to get there is to make your way through the heather. Park at the Wyming Brook nature reserve car park on Redmires road, take the signposted path besides the notice board and follow the line of the dry stone wall. Go through the gate and continue till you come to the end of the wall where a path leads off to your left through the broken wall, follow the path through the boggy bit and head uphill till you get to the highest point of the path by another wall with a path the other side. From here it gets a little tricky! You’ll now need to go off path heading NNE and down hill till you come to the post-and-wire fencing where you should pick up a slight path heading WNW (your left) and head for the high point about half a mile in front of you. Just before you come to the high point you’ll have to cross the stream (easily done). The cist lays on the flat ground just beyond the brow of the rise.
Archaeology & History
A long cist around 3 feet wide and 6 feet long in a well preserved condition aligned almost — but not quite — East/West on a prominent position on Hallam Moor, commanding views over Ash Cabin flat, Rivelin Valley and the A57 road. The only restricted view is to the northwest, where the moor rises then drops down again towards the Headstone.
There are 3 side-stones still in situ: the largest around 1 metre tall, the others still in place being about 70cm. The stones that would have made up the rest of the walls lay close by.
When you’re at the site it’s obvious why it’s in this location: the views are spectacular and afford excellent views of the surrounding area. A burial site with a vista truly fit for a king!
Archaeologically there’s not much info kicking around that I can find and I’m indebted to Stubob for alerting me to it’s presence. It’s very unlikely you’d be walking this area for any reason other than to visit the site, as there are decent paths across the moor to the most popular site in this area, the Headstone off to the North West. Remains of the Ash Cabin Flat stone circle are about 750 yards southeast of here.
A real gem of a site and a “must see” if your in the area.
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.
…and again!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.
There are several tumuli near the top of the hill here, but only one of them really stands out. Nick Thomas (1976) told it to be one “of the best preserved bowl barrows in Surrey.” A brief description of the relevant tombs, running north to south:
“the first is 75ft across and 6ft high; the second, which has a surrounding ditch 9ft wide, is also 75ft across, but is 8ft high. The third has a diameter of 42ft and a height of 4ft. The last is 54ft wide and 5½ft high. It has a surrounding ditch 8ft wide. ” (Thomas 1976)
None of the tombs had been excavated up to the early 1980s, but I’m not sure if anything has been found since then. There was also a potential “great stone” up here that was mentioned by John Aubrey in the late 17th century, but nothing has been seen of it since. In all probability this was a standing stone or the remains of some prehistoric tomb.
Folklore
Several hundred years ago the King’s antiquary, John Aubrey, told the curious tale of the great cauldron that was said to have been found here:
“In the vestry (of Frensham church, in Surrey), on the north side of the chancel, is an extraordinary great kettle or caldron, which the inhabitants say, by tradition, was brought hither by the fairies, time out of mind, from Borough-Hill, about a mile hence. To this place, if anyone went to borrow a yoke of oxen, money, etc., he might have it for a year or longer, so he kept his word to return it. There is a cave where some have fancied to hear music. On this Borough hill…is a great stone lying along, of the length of about six feet. They went to this stone and knocked at it, and declared what they could borrow, and when they would repay, and a voice would answer when they should come, and that they should find what they desired to borrow at that stone. This caldron, with the trivet, was borrowed here after the manner aforesaid, and not return’d according to promise; and though the caldron was afterwards carried to the stone, it could not be received, and ever since that time no borrowing there.”
In relation to the folklore that is generally attached to the tumulus on top of the hill here from which modern lore ascribes the cauldron to have originated, when A.G. Wade (1928) came to investigate the nature of the site and the folktale he found that,
“there are several folk-tales other than those given by Aubrey. One relates that it was dug up on Kettlebury Hill, south of Hankley Common, by the monks of Waverley Abbey, and that it was taken by them to Frensham for brewing ale. Another tale says that it was a loan from the fairies of Thursley — there are tumuli in this parish, south of Ockley Common — and that Mother Ludlam, a medieval witch who lived, according to tradition, in Ludlam’s Cave in Moor Park, was the owner and lender. The cave was dug by a monk of Waverley Abbey who, when the water supply of the Abbey failed, found that three springs joined here, and by enlarging their outlets and bringing them together he obtained a good supply of fresh drinking water…”
Mr Wade was also unable to satisfactorily show that the Borough Hill named in Aubrey’s survey and Frensham Common hilltop were one and the same.
References:
Aubrey, John, The Natural History and Antiquities of Surrey, E. Curll: London 1719.
Thomas, Nicholas, Guide to Prehistoric England, Batsford: London 1976.
Wade, A.G., “The Great Cauldron of Frensham,” in Antiquity, 2:6, June 1928.
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
The Little Stone, Bingley Moor
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!
Follow the same directions to reach the Lunar Stone carving. Once here, amble about a few yards to your immediate south and you’ll find it — assuming the heather aint grown back over and covered it!
Archaeology & History
Teaspoon Rock, Stanbury Hill
This’d probably be another of those carvings first found by Stuart Feather in his amblings here in the 1970s, but we can’t say for sure. In Boughey & Vickerman’s survey (2003), apart from attributing it as being in two separate positions (mistaking some reference from the English Heritage doods as some other carving – though that shouldn’t surprise anyone!),* they then correctly describe it as having “one cup with groove” running outwards — which we can see quite plainly (lending Michala Potts to say, “it reminds me of a teaspoon!” – hence the title!). There may be as many as four other cups on this rock, though it’s hard to say for sure. Two of them, perhaps, may have a very worn line linking them together (as you can slightly work out on the top-half of the carving) — but again, this is hard to say for sure. Certainly this poor little carving aint quite as decorative as its nearby partners!
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
* In their survey this stone was also listed as carving no.98 by mistake, which should now be deleted from subsequent survey listings.
Follow the same directions to find the Lunar Stone. Once here, walk just 20 yards southwest and keep your eyes peeled! This is a long flat stone which can easily get overgrown in the heather, so you might need to search around till you find it.
Archaeology & History
Ringtail Stone, Stanbury Hill
Thought to be another carving first located by Stuart Feather in 1978, though we can’t bne totally sure on that. Curiously omitted from Hedge’s (1986) survey, this old glyph comprises of a single cup-mark near the western end of the stone and a complete cup-and-ring at the eastern-end. It was first illustrated in Boughey & Vickerman’s (2003) fine survey, but they missed seeing a quite distinct line or ‘tail’ coming out the northern side of the cup-and-ring. Nowt special in archaeological terms, but of obvious relevance to the dood who carved it! They thought there may have been two faint cups in the ring, but it isn’t clear by any means.
As with the other carvings nearby, we find it amidst a scattering of prehistoric walling and the remnants of old cairns.
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
