The Altar Burial Chamber View all content for The Altar

Seven years ago I came here in high summer and though I loved the little dolmen I was frustrated by all the thick abundant plant growth, so, seeing as Ive just won round two with Parc y Llyn which is less than a mile away I decided to have another sit down with the Altar. Driving north through Colston the place came up quicker than I was expecting, I actually remembered the bit of road that goes past the invisible dolmen, a million miles of roads traveled and I can recognize a blank country lane by nothing more than the hedge and a passing place. I parked north of the site by the high gates, climbed over them and wobbled down the slight hill over the uneven ploughed field. I arrived at the chamber and felt gratified that I could see all the stones quite clearly, including the quartz boulder that I presume is part of the original kerbing. But just to make sure that when I photographed the stones they were as free from tangled plant blight as possible I brought my big scissors and set about the place removing as much weedy clutter as I could. Under the capstone is still full of earth, is it just part of the bank the dolmen is now half incorporated into or could it contain archaeological stuff. The dolmen looks like it's struggling out of the hedge, any minute now it'll topple out before me, like an embattled stonehunter struggling through head high gorse. I don't understand how they could have put the road so close to the stones, they were just a few feet from destroying the whole thing, the fact that the chamber has survived at all should be applauded, nay celebrated. With no car parking worries this would be a place to sit and wonder for a whole afternoon, I can imagine sitting on the cap stone and not being interrupted all day, apart from the occasional traffic just a meter away. But where such a parking place would be I haven't a clue.

Posted by postman 17th November 2015ce

Comments (1)
We are certainly lucky that this site survived the road building. Very close!	Posted by CARL 18th November 2015ce
You must be logged in to add a comment