prehistoric sites

Big Rings Henge, Dorchester, Oxfordshire

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Henge (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – SU 572 953

Archaeology & History

Very close to the once impressive Dorchester Cursus, this double-ringed prehistoric monument can no longer be seen thanks to the self-righteous arrogance of modern industrialists who care little for the ancestral monuments of the British people, destroying all traces of the site — an activity which, in this case, astonishingly started in more ancient times, as Jean Cook (1985) told: “The banks and the ditches had been levelled through agricultural activity, possibly in the Iron Age”!

The destruction of this environment continues to this day, destroying many important archaeological remains with little care. Thankfully we we’ve got a good account of the site due to the archaeological excavations of R.J.C. Atkinson (1951) and his team in the late-1940s, from whom Cook and just about everyone else gets most of their data regarding the site.

The Big Rings Henge was probably built sometime in the middle of the second millenium BC. It was an important prehistoric ritual site and, most likely, had some relevance to the adjacent cursus monument. A number of important mortuary and ritual sites were also built close to the site over a period of nearly two thousand years, showing the importance this landscape had to our ancestors.

Jean Cook (1985) described the Big Rings henge as follows:

“The ditches, of which there were two, had opposed entrances on the NNW and SSE. They were about 7.6m wide and 1.8m deep with flat bottoms. Originally there seems to have been a broad low bank on the inner side of each ditch. The southern entrance incorporated an existing monument, consisting of a ring ditch which enclosed a large four-post setting and contained a cremation and a stone axe. Just outside the north entrance was a round barrow, containing a central oval burial pit which produced a crouched inhumation, together with a well-preserved beaker, two small copper or bronze knives and a rectangular wrist-guard of greenstone. The Big Rings ditches themselves contained pottery belonging to the middle or late Beaker period. Although the area within the ditches was trenched, there was no evidence of internal timber structures.”

References:

Atkinson, R.J.C., “The Henge Monuments of Great Britain,” in Atkinson, Piggott & Sandars’ Excavations at Dorchester, Oxon (Department of Antiquities: Oxford 1951).
Atkinson, R.J.C., Piggott, C.M. & Sandars, N.K., Excavations at Dorchester, Oxon, Department of Antiquities: Oxford 1951.
Cook, Jean, “The Earliest Evidence,” in Dorchester through the Ages, Oxford University 1985.
Harding, A.F., Henge Monuments and Related Sites of Great Britain, BAR 175: Oxford 1987.
Harding, Jan, The Henge Monuments of the British Isles, Tempus: Stroud 2003.
Wainwright, Geoffrey J., The Henge Monuments: Ceremony and Society in Prehistoric Britain, Thames & Hudson: London 1989.

Skelshaw Ring, Easington, Lancashire

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Enclosure: OS Grid Reference – SD 7194 5037

Archaeology & History

Skelshaw Ring — Faint outline of oval remains

Very little can be seen of this once large oval-shaped prehistoric enclosure, a mile south of Slaidburn, on the level below the rise towards Easington Fell. Few archaeologists know about the site and there has been little written about it. Although very little of it is visible at ground level today, three-quarters of the site is vaguely discernible from the air and on GoogleEarth, as the photo here shows. The Skelshaw Ring was described in Greenwood & Bolton’s Bolland Forest (1955), where they said, “The late Colonel Parker (Browsholme Hall) claimed to have found a good specimen of an ancient earthwork above Easington Green. Unfortunately, this has been ploughed over during the last war (WWII).” And little else appears to have been said of the place until the Lancastrian writer John Dixon (2003) wrote about it. More recently John said the following about the site:

Skelshaw Ring plan (after Dixon 2003)

“This oval earthwork, 320 ft. diameter, crowns a small hill on the general slope of the east bank of Easington Beck. It consists of a ditch and bank with a gateway through the bank and a causeway across the ditch on the west side. Inside the bank and ditch the ground rises gently into a rounded hill so that most of the inside of the earthwork is well above the level of the bank.

“During the spring of 1934 a preliminary excavation of the site was undertaken by the late Dr. Arthur Raistrick. Three sections were cut through the ditch and bank and the inner area was briefly explored.

“Although nothing was obtained to date the earthwork, the sections did show the ordered structure of the site and proved the presence of large floors that may well have been the site of huts.

“This site may be compared with the large ringwork at Fair Oak Farm, SD 648 458, as both have a similar size and the same features are displayed. Bleasdale Circle, SD 577 460, is a slightly smaller ringwork, but I consider all three monument (plus: Easington Fell Circle [no:2] SD 717 492 ) to have the same origins.

“These earthworks represent the first settlements of a people determined to tame, settle and cultivate the landscape. What we observe at Skelshaw is the possible farmstead of an extended family unit, part of a clan that worked the land here some 4000 years ago in what is referred to as the Bronze Technology Period.”

References:

Dixon, John, Slaidburn and Newton, Bowland Forest, Aussteiger Publications: Clitheroe 2003.
Greenwood, Margaret & Bolton, Charles, Bolland Forest and the Hodder Valley: A History, privately printed 1955.

Easington Fell Ring, Newton, Lancashire

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Enclosure: OS Grid Reference – SD 7167 4911

Getting Here

Easington Fell ring — Aerial view of Easington Ring

Go through the gorgeous old village of Waddington northwards, uphill, along the B6478 road, towards the villages of Newton and Slaidburn; or, if you like, go from Newton village uphill southwards along the B6478 road towards Waddington. Either way, when you reach the top of the moors, park up at the car-park beside the road where the view stretches for miles ahead of you. Walk on the road for 100 yards, then take the boggy footpath left, going first down and over a stream, then up to the right (northeast) towards a small cairn on the near-horizon. From the cairn-top you’ll notice a large moorland pond a hundred or so yards ahead of you. Walk towards and past its left side and onwards again for the same distance until, in front of you (before a nearly-dried stream running downhill) keep your eyes peeled in the deep grasses on where you’ll see a very large ring raised in front of you, defined in parts by scatterings of rocks along the tops and sides. You’re here!

Archaeology & History

This is an outstanding prehistoric site, all but lost in old literary records until relocated in recent years by Lancashire historian and writer, John Dixon. However, its precise nature remains a bit of a puzzle. When John took a small party of us to the site on June 16, 2011, there was a variety of ideas as to the precise nature of the place.

Easington Ring02 — Southwestern arc of the Ring

Structurally similar to a number of prehistoric enclosures in the Pennine range, this very large near-circular monument consists primarily of a very large number of rocks and stones making up a thick outer wall, presently piled less than a yard high above the peat and approximately 6 feet wide on average. From north-to-south, outer wall to outer wall, it measures more than 42 yards (38.5m) across; whilst measuring 41 yards (38m) east-to-west. There are distinct entrances on its western and northern sides, and possibly another on the east. Certain sections of the inner region are now somewhat boggy in parts, perhaps indicating there was at one time an internal spring of water. A large singular stone is found on the inner eastern section, which may have been placed there deliberately. On the northwestern inner-edge of the walling is a notable long wide stone which may have stood upright.

My first impression of the site told it to bet at least Iron Age in date, though more probably Bronze Age. But without excavations, I could be talking bullshit! It is an obvious enclosure of some sort, but there are no visible internal structures on the present ground level. There are no notable internal or external ditches and banks, which may have given the site a ‘henge’ classification. More work is obviously needed here before we can say what it is for sure.

Very little has been said of this huge ring in the past. John Dixon’s research found the site briefly described in Greenwood & Bolton’s (1955) work, saying:

“On page 24 they refer to the above site thus: ‘There is also a rough stone circle on top of the fells above Easington, like the remains of an ancient fort (the ringwork)…'”

Also mentioning how Richard Rauthmell’s Antiquitates (1746) very briefly mentions the place aswell. Apart from these passing remarks, John has found little else.

On other parts of this moortop we found scattered evidences of other early human remains (walling, cairns, hut circles), much of it unrecorded. There may well be other important prehistoric remains hidden upon these hills…

References:

Dixon, John, Slaidburn and Newton, Bowland Forest, Aussteiger Publications: Clitheroe 2003.
Greenwood, Margaret & Bolton, Charles, Bolland Forest and the Hodder Valley: A History, privately printed 1955.
Rauthmell, Richard, Antiquitates Bremetonacenses; or, The Roman Antiquities of Overborough, Henry Woodfall: London 1746.

West Agra Plantation 3, Colsterdale, North Yorkshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 14236 81675

Also Known as:

WAP 3a & 3b (Brown & Brown)

Getting Here

From Masham take the Fearby Road & go through the village, onwards & past Healey village and less than a mile on where the road forks, bear to the right past and go along the gorgeous little-known vale of Colsterdale. Less than 2 miles on, walk up the notable track veering to your right that goes diagonally uphill and past the bottom of West Agra farm along the wallside till you reach the gate. Thru the gate, walk immediately uphill on your right following the walling for a coupla hundred yards until you reach another gate into the field on your right. You’ll see a cluster of large boulders in the first field, which you need to walk past and look at the large boulder up against the walling in the next field. You can’t miss it!

Archaeology & History

First mentioned — albeit briefly — in Brown’s (2008) work, this large bedrock stone, covered down its eastern side by a line of drystone walling, has a good scattering of cups and lines, mainly on its central and westerly side. A cluster of them were etched onto a natural rise near the middle of the rock, which itself has a long circuitous line running around its northern and western sides, which you can just see below centre in the photo (below left). Altogether on this side of the rock surface there appears to be some 56 cup-marks plus a number of long carved grooves curling in differing directions: some of these appear to have been Nature’s handiwork that were subsequently modified by human hands. It’s an impressive-looking petroglyph.

If we go over to the other side of the walling, we find more cup-markings. This discovery led Paul & Barbara Brown (2008) to classify the site as being two separate carved rocks — calling them 3a and 3b — thinking that the much smaller carved area on the other side of the wall, “may have originated from WAP 3a’s quarried southern section.” On this smaller section we find some 7 cup-markings with possible carved lines running off the edge of the stone and some running roughly parallel to the walling. Whatever the truth of the Browns’ assertion, this is a fine carving well worth looking at!

References:

Brown, Paul & Barbara, Prehistoric Rock Art in the Northern Dales, Tempus: Stroud 2008.

Links:

Agra Wood Rock Art – more notes & images

Acknowledgements: For use of their photos, many thanks to Geoff Watson; and QDanT and his Teddy!

West Agra Plantation 2b, Colsterdale, North Yorkshire

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Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 14126 81669

Also Known as:

WAP 2b (Brown & Brown)

Getting Here

From Masham, take the Fearby Road to the village, keep going on the same road through Healey village and less than a mile on where the road forks, bear to the right past and go along the gorgeous little-known vale of Colsterdale. It’s bloody beautiful! Less than 2 miles on, walk up the notable track veering to your right that goes diagonally uphill and past the bottom of West Agra farm along the wallside till you get to the gate. Thru the gate, follow the wall immediately uphill to the right for a coupla hundred yards until you reach a gate into the field on your right. The cluster of large boulders in front of you is where you need to be!

Archaeology & History

WAP2b 01 — Cluster of cups on WAP-2b (image by ‘QDanT’)

This carving is to be found on the largest of the boulders in this cluster. It’s a large scattered cluster of cup-markings and natural bowls all over the rolling surface of the rock. It was first described in the Browns’ (2008) survey, although as they have given this and one of the adjacent stones incorrect grid-references, it made it troublesome to initially work out which carving was which! But the photos here certainly lets you know which one I’m describing! In the event that I’ve got the wrong title for this one, someone lemme know and I’ll remedy the situation!

Brown (2008) describes this design as being “cups some linked by grooves, a rectangular feature and eroded cups and depressions.” We couldn’t work out any further elements on the stone, but the cloudy conditions when we were here prohibited a decent view of the surface.

References:

Brown, Paul & Barbara, Prehistoric Rock Art in the Northern Dales, Tempus: Stroud 2008.

Links:

Agra Wood Rock Art – more notes & images

West Agra Carving, Colsterdale, North Yorkshire

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Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 14069 81627

Getting Here

From Masham, take the Fearby Road to the village, keep going on the same road through Healey village and less than a mile on where the road forks, bear to the right past and go along the gorgeous little-known vale of Colsterdale. It’s bloody beautiful! Less than 2 miles on, walk up the notable track veering to your right that goes diagonally uphill and past the bottom of West Agra farm along the wallside till you get to the gate. Thru the gate, follow the wall immediately uphill to the right and, about 100 yards up, watch out for the large flat stone by the side of the footpath. You can’t really miss it.

Archaeology & History

Initially we thought that this carving was one described in Paul Brown’s work as ‘West Agra Plantation no.1’, but this is clearly a different carved stone. It is found close to WAP-1 (as he called it), but a few yard further up alongside the footpath by the walling. With two large bowls on the top of the stone and another at the edge, two average-sized cup-markings are several inches away to the bottom-right of the largest bowl. What seems to be a carved line runs from one of the cups. We need to visit this stone again and look at it when there’s better lighting conditions so we can get a more accurate assessment of its nature.

References:

Brown, Paul & Barbara, Prehistoric Rock Art in the Northern Dales, Tempus: Stroud 2008.

Brown Beck Stone, Agra Moor, North Yorkshire

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Standing Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 13499 82440 — NEW FIND

Also Known as:

Agra Moor Standing Stone

Getting Here

Brown Beck stone01 — Agra Moor standing stone

From Masham, take the Fearby Road to the village, keep going on the same road through Healey village and less than a mile on where the road forks, bear to the right past and go along the gorgeous little-known vale of Colsterdale. It’s bloody beautiful! Less than 2 miles on, walk up the notable track veering to your right, diagonally uphill. Walk along till you get to the moor edge. Go thru the gate and follow the swerving uphill path to the bottom of Slipstone Crags. Once you level out at the Crags top, look across the small valley to your left and, on t’other side, you’ll notice a standing stone upright in the heather, just 100 yards on the flat on the other side of the valley. Head right for it!

Archaeology & History

There are no known written references to this standing stone, which we visited for the first time yesterday, in a brief wander to the nearby Agra Woods cup-and-ring stones a few hundred yards southeast. The monolith stands some four-and-half-feet tall and, at its base, is more than three feet broad and just one foot wide. Just to its side and almost completely covered in peat and vegetation is what may have been another once-upright companion asleep in the Earth. Another possibly fallen stone is less than 10 yards west. The upright stands on the flat moorland overlooking the confluence of two (once) fast-flowing waters of Brown Beck and Birk Gill; and the landscape that reaches out from here is something to behold!

We found the remains of other old monuments on the moor, but some were obviously related to the industrial mining not far away. However, two or three other small upright stones and a large stone circular structure were also located which very obviously predated any industrial or medieval workings. We need to revisit this moorland and spend more time exploring to see what other things are hidden, lost midst the peat and heather.

Newhall Bridge, Kenmore, Perthshire

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Standing Stones: OS Grid Reference – NN 7926 4668

Also Known as:

Canmore ID 24910
Newhall Stones
Taymouth Standing Stones

Kenmore stones07 — Newhall Stones, Kenmore

Getting Here

Pretty easy to find. At the eastern end of Loch Tay, go through the old village of Kenmore along the A827, towards Aberfeldy, for about a mile. At least a mile past Kenmore, keep your eyes peeled for a small left turn which takes you back into the grounds of Taymouth Castle. Go on this small road, pass the ornate walling, and you’ll see these two standing stones in front of you, before the trees, on the left. If you reach the Croftmoraig Stone Circle, you’ve gone a few hundred yards past the turning.

Archaeology & History

Kenmore stone (Cole) — Fred Coles’ drawing & lay-out

These fine-looking standing stones a mile northeast of Kenmore village, on the edge of the grounds of the superb Taymouth Castle, are worthy old monoliths, encrusted by the lichens of many centuries, resting within the long grass beside the track that runs to the castle. But they have received little attention in archaeological terms. When Fred Coles (1910) described them, he thought them to be the remains of a stone circle — an impression echoed by Margaret Stewart (1966) many years later (I got the same impression aswell), but no other stones have been found to substantiate this (although Mr Gillies’ folklore remnant is intriguing). There is a notable rounded hillock immediately behind the two stones which may, or may not, have had other uprights surrounding it; though I can find no further data anywhere to substantiate such a thing.

In William Gillies’ (1938) historical survey of the area he related Mr Coles’ earlier findings of the two stones, telling us:

“There are two great standing stones just within the Principal Gate leading to Taymouth Castle. The stone A (see plan) stands at a distance of 54 feet to the NNW of B — a somewhat greater diameter than is common among the Perthshire Circles. These stones are almost equal in height — A is 4ft 9in, B is 4ft 7in — and they are both rugged blocks of a rough species of diorite. Stone A measures round the base 10ft 8in, and stone B 14ft.”

But it seems that little else has been found about the place. It’s in a gorgeous setting (but, round here, everything’s in a gorgeous setting!) and must have related to other sites in the area, but it’s hard to contextualize the place on a single visit. If you stand behind the two stones, the shape of their ‘heads’ fits very nicely onto the rounded hillock on the northwestern skyline — which seems to have later been used as a hillfort. Whether this has any astronomical potential, I aint checked. (though Thom says nothing about them)

In geomantic terms both of these stones possess a distinct female flavour to them; the easternmost thinner of the two, particularly so. But then I could just be talking bullshit! I’d have loved to have spent more time with these two stones — bimbling, sitting, focussing, dreaming — as people of olde naturally did; but we were on the move and had other places to see. Tis a delightful spot indeed…

(NOTE – This site was first given a grid reference of NN 801 477 in Margaret Stewart’s (1967) fine essay on the standing stones at nearby Lundin; and the grid-ref has since been reproduced in texts by Burl (1993), Thom (1990) and others. Please note that this grid-ref is incorrect and is nearly a mile away from the actual position of the stones.)

Kenmore stones14 — Easternmost stone from another angle

Folklore

There is the possibility that this site once played a part in an important megalithic stone row. Mr Gillies (1938) once again notes an old tradition told by local people which “says that at one time there was a paved way connecting the circle, of which these stones are the remains, with the great Croftmoraig circle.” Very intriguing indeed…

References:

Burl, Aubrey, From Carnac to Callanish, Yale University Press 1993.
Coles, Fred, “Report on Stone Circles Surveyed in Perthshire,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 44, 1910.
Gillies, William A., In Famed Breadalbane, Munro Press: Perth 1938.
Stewart, M.E.C., “The excavation of a setting of standing stones at Lundin Farm near Aberfeldy, Perthshire“, in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 98, 1966.
Thom, A., Thom, A.S. & Burl, Aubrey, Stone Rows and Standing Stones – 2 volumes, BAR: Oxford 1990.

West Agra Plantation (8), Colsterdale, North Yorkshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 14250 81756