 Previous 20 | Showing 41-53 of 53 fieldnotes. Most recent first
It stands just to the NW of the track leading to Moel Goedog.
Coflein description: "Standing stone 0.9m high by 0.6m by 0.5m at the base. It is situated between two tracks, near the junction."
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It stands to the W of the road, just S of where the track braches off to Moel Goedog.
Coflein description: "Standing stone 1m high by 0.5m by 0.18m, leaning slightly to the W."
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It lies to the SE of the road just N of the entrance to Merthyr Farm.
Coflein description (Fonlief Hir stone E): 'Standing stone about 0.8m high. It measures 0.34 by 0.3m at the base, but is wedge-shaped in profile. there is a raised stony area around the base of the stone, spreading out for some 2m on the W and E and 1m on the N and S."
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It lies to the NW of the road just N of the cattle-grid and the fence running off to the NW.
Coflein description: "Standing stone 2.2m high, 0.9m wide and 0.4m thick at the base. An earthfast stone is visible on the W side."
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It lies to the SE of the road 100m S of the road junction.
Coflein description: "Standing stone 1.8m high by 0.6m by 0.3m at the base.Erosion round the base has exposed a number of stones, although none of them obviously used as packing stones."
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I drove from Llwyngwril up to the end of the tarmacced road at SH598101. It was then a 15 minute walk NE up the track and S along the footpath to the stones.
The location is superb. The stones are on a flat area of land on the side of the hillside with a magnificant of the whole of the Lleyn peninsula across Cardigan Bay. Both stones seem to be looking NW virtually directly at the shapely peak of Carn Fadryn on the Lleyn. Would the sun set directly into it at the summer solstice? Unfortunately, I was there 2 weeks too early to find out!
The S stone is 1.65m high, 1.3m wide and 0.65m deep with an approximately triangular cross-section, the long flat side being at the NW.
The N stone lies about 8m away to the NNE. It is 1.17m high, 1.02m wide and 0.56m deep with an approximayely semi-circular cross-section, the long flat side being at the SE.
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Drove up to the end of the tarmacced lane at SH641192 and then had a 15 minute walk N along the track at the edge of the forest, NW along a footpath through the forest and then S and E along forest tracks.
The stone 1.4m high, 0.46 m wide and 0.35m deep stands at the S side of the track. It is really well disguised amongst the trees around it and at first glance looks just like a tree stump with its covering of moss and vertical bands of grey and brown looking like bark.
I tried unsuccessfully to find the glacial erratic with the supposed sword imprint listed as Cerrig y Cledd (North) in the Megalithic Portal. I could see no sign of it in the relatively thin forest up to 100m north of the stone but did not venture into the denser forest further north.
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We visited the site on 24th June 2005. The stone lies ca. 100m. north of the "Ormaig Walk" as described in the Isle of Ulva visitors' guide. We didn't climb the fence to get closer.
The Canmore database gives the following description from a visit in 1972:
"A recumbent stone, formerly erect measuring 2.6m in length and 2.7m in girth at the base, which is triangular in shape. The sides of the stone are almost straight and what has been the top is pointed."
The Ordnance Survey field surveyor found in August 1995 that it had been put upright.
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We visited the site in April 2000 and were totally perplexed by the layout of the stones. I'm not at all convinced that they represent a field system but cannot offer a better explanation. I contacted the National Monument Record at English Heritage about the site. They quoted the Elgee article but also sent me notes and a site plan from a survey carried out by the Scarborough and District Archaeological Society in June 1966.
They recorded measurements on 116 stones and assigned them to 5 possible rows. The stones averaged 17.1 in. in height (range 6 to 54 in.), 16.4 in. in width (range 6 to 33 in.) and 9.3 in. in depth (range 4 to 40 in.)
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Leaving the car at the right-angled bend in Sir William Hill road (SK224780), it took 20 minutes to find the cairn. Follow the path alongside the wall until Gotherage Plantation comes into view on the left. Windago's 2 upright stones act as clear markers for where to head west.
I was surprised how big the cup marks are: ca. 2 inch wide and 2 inch deep. I was expecting something similar to Schalensteine in north Germany where the cups are half the width and much shallower, similar in fact to the Holymoorside stone.
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I visited the site on 10th November 2005. To find it, follow the north bank of Afon Disgynfa from the top of Pistyll Rhaeadr to the sheepfolds at SJ061300. Then go about 400 yards up the ridge to the northwest. The circle is on fairly flat ground to the left of the most obvious sheeptrack. Note that it is west of a point on Nant y Cerig-duon before the first side stream forks off. I give this much detail because I initially managed to overshoot the circle without spotting it.
W.F.Grimes (1963) The Stone Circles and Related Monuments of Wales in "Culture and Environment, essays in Honour of Sir Cyril Fox" (eds. I.Foster & L.Alcock) pp.120-122 gives the following description:
"The circle, to the west, has a diameter of about 40 ft. 6 in. It is fairly accurately laid out, but only it's eastern half is well preserved. Here there are 10 stones, of which 9 are in situ; their distances apart vary between 5 and about 10 ft., but the spacing is mostly nearer the lower figure. The stones are mainly a good deal less than 2 ft. high, the tallest being about 30 in. The western half of the circle is almost completely destroyed: here there are only two stones (one of them a small stump) with the hollow for a third, which lies a foot or two away to the south-west. There are other fragments about.
The avenue, lying to the east of the circle, has a present length of 162 ft. It does not actually make contact with the circle, its west end being 14-6 ft. away from the nearest stones of the latter; and there is no reason to believe that it was ever any longer on this side. The width between the stone rows varies between about 8 and about 12 ft.: the rows were no doubt intended to be roughly parallel and there is no progressive increase or decrease in either direction. The present spacing of the stones is very uneven, but it is probable that some are now missing. If there was any uniformity in the distances dividing them, which is by no means certain, a figure of about 5 ft. would be likely. Heights vary between about 4 in. and 18 in. and the stones themselves are often irregular in shape. The north row is less well preserved than the south: it is made up of one stone-hole and 15 stones, of which 5 are down; while on the south there are 24 stones (including 2 pairs) of which 3 are down. The rows are equal in length."
I have posted a copy of the site-plan from Grimes.
The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust on their website record that there are 12 stones visible in the circle, 12 in the northern row and 24 in the southern row.
On my visit I found 16 stones in the circle, 10 in the northern row and 14 in the southern row. I didn't have Grimes's plan with me and I could easily have missed stones in both rows. However it is clear that various stones now visible in the circle are recent additions
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A 30 minute walk from Waun Lydan across tussocky pathless grass but surprisingly dry underfoot. Located at 545 m right on top of the hill.
The white quartz can catch the sunlight beautifully and then be seen from at least half a mile away.
Coflein describes it as "1.5m high x 1.4m wide x 0.8m thick. Aligned SW-NE. Possible basal packing"
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An hour's walk from the carpark at the southern end of the Caban-coch reservoir. The stone is perched at 505 m right on top of the hill - keep going upwards and you can't miss it. You are almost guaranteed to see red kites flying overhead on the way.
Coflein describes it as "1.5 m high and 1.1 m by 0.8 m at the base. It is of quartz-veined rock with sandstone packing stones visible around the base where eroded from above the peat by sheep."
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Previous 20 | Showing 41-53 of 53 fieldnotes. Most recent first |
Folk singer, sword dancer, hill walker, Welsh Rugby fan, husband and father. Retired (early!) to stop work getting in the way of interesting things in life. I'm intrigued by stones in wild, remote areas which give clues to what enriched the lives of people living there millenia ago - I'm less interested in what was done to them when they died.
I've been living in Germany since 2007 and so my UK posts have almost dried up!
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