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Miscellaneous Posts by Idwal

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Nant-y-Cytiau Arrow Stone (Carving)

"Some Arrow Stones and Other Incised Stones in North Carnarvonshire and North Denbighshire" by W. Bezant Lowe in Archaeologia Cambrensis 1924 pp. 340 - 362 gives the following description:

"This stone is situated on Nant-y-Cytiau, about 200 yards east of the sheep pens on the way to the Pass of the Two Stones, and close to the Afon Ddu; the sheep pens are about 300 yards east of the wall that runs across the moor to the Afon Ddu. The stone is not very fine grained and is partially covered with turf. All the marks are very distinct, one being ¼ in.wide and 5/16 in. deep. The marks are in groups and vary in length from 4 in. to 10 in. In the centre of the stone is one mark which cuts two others at right angles. The length of the stone (which runs from east to west) is about 2 ft., being 2 ft. broad at the eastern end and 16 in. at the western. There are at least 29 marks."

There is a funny pattern of walls on the OS map at SH 7093 7258 which on the 1891 OS map is marked as a sheep fold and which is just over 300 yards east of a wall that runs north to Afon Ddu. This is less than 1 Km from the standing stones at Bwlch y Ddeufaen and so it seems to fit in with Bezant Lowe's sheep pens. The arrow stone should therefore be another 200 yards further east at ca. SH 7111 7258.

The Gwynedd Archaeological Trust have sent me the information that the Regional Historic Environment Record has an arrow stone recorded at SH 7101 7249 and that there is also reference to the site in the 1956 RCAHMW Inventory of Ancient Monuments in Caernarfonshire Vol 1:East p.127 but that the RCAHMW officers state that the stone could not be located. Perhaps they were looking in the wrong place or perhaps the stone is now totally covered with turf? Who knows? Either way, I hope I can find the time one day to have a good search in the area but would be delighted to hear from anyone who gets there before me!

Moel Faban Arrow Stone (Carving)

This stone is listed by the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust as of "unknown period"

"Some Arrow Stones and Other Incised Stones in North Carnarvonshire and North Denbighshire" by W. Bezant Lowe in Archaeologia Cambrensis 1924 pp. 340 - 362 gives the following description:

"An immense boulder of fine-grained rock, situated on the SE slope of Moel Faban, about 3 yards to the NW of a stream that flows down the valley between Gyrn and Drosgl, and about 12 yards to the NW of the path from Tanyfoel in the direction of Gyrn. The stone roughly measures 12 ft. by 12 ft. and 10 ft. high, but 3 large fragments have evidently been split off by frost. The markings occur in different places on the main block of stone.

(a) The most interesting group are those on the highest point of the stone; they are in a cup-shaped oval cavity which measures 6½ in. by 9 in. The markings, 23 in number, radiate from the centre of the cavity, and seem to be in 4 groups, each group having one deep and broad mark, about 6 in. long; the remainder are from 2½ in. to 3 in. long.

(b) On the NW face of the stone are two groups. In one group are 10 marks having lengths from 1½ to 6 in. They are all well marked and the deepest is 3/16 in. deep. To the right of this group are 5 fine marks measuring from 3½ to 5 in. About 15 in. above the last set is a narrow flat surface and on this are 11 marks, with one cutting across them: the middle one is ¼ in. deep, and the length of these marks is about 3 in."

Arrow Stone II Near Ffridd Newydd (Carving)

"Some Arrow Stones and Other Incised Stones in North Carnarvonshire and North Denbighshire" by W. Bezant Lowe in Archaeologia Cambrensis 1924 pp. 340 - 362 gives the following description:

"Situated 100 yards NNE of the signpost, and the direction of its greatest length is NNE by SSW. Its length is 9 ft. 6 in. and its breadth 3 ft. 2 in. The edge is quite straight and the surface of this side slopes at an angle of 20 degrees from the vertical." He describes 10 "more or less vertical marks" on "the upper edge of the sloping surface i.e. along the edge" and 29 markings in 7 groups on the top flat surface.

The nearby stone incised with concentric squares is described as "about 110 yards NE of the signpost, flat and level with the surface of the ground and partly covered with turf and moss. It is an irregular square, the sides measuring roughly 3 ft. 8 in., 2 ft. 6 in., 2 ft. and 2 ft. 6 in. respectively."

The signpost is said to stand at the meeting of 4 tracks, which I presume is at SH 6932 7223.

Arrow Stone SW of Cammarnaint (Carving)

"Cerrig Saethau (Arrow Stones) near Llanfairfechan" by W. Bezant Lowe in Proceedings of the Llandudno and District Field Club Vol. VII 1912-13 pp. 61-65 gives the following description:

"The extreme length of the stone (NE to SW) is 8 feet 2 inches; its width, at the centre, 2 feet 10 inches; it is 3 feet 2 inches wide at a distance of 2 feet from the NE end. A large portion of the surface is perfectly smooth and horizontal, the length of this part being 6 feet 8 inches. The broader end has a downward slope of about 2 feet, and this diminishes to 10 inches on the NE side.

The grooves are very numerous (about 124 in number), and in the centre (in the directions of the length of the stone) are two exceptionally large ones, the one at the SW end measuring 2 feet 11 inches , 1 inch wide, and 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch deep, while that at the NE end is 11 inches long, and 3/16 inch wide and deep. On the NW side, not far from the central part, are a group of 11 grooves, radiating from a point. The stone is of a very fine grain.

When discovered, a few years ago, by Mr Richard Williams, of Hengae, this stone was almost covered by turf."

Afon Anafon Arrow Stone (Carving)

"Cerrig Saethau (Arrow Stones) near Llanfairfechan" by W. Bezant Lowe in Proceedings of the Llandudno and District Field Club Vol. VII 1912-13 pp. 61-65 gives the following description:

"The stone measures roughly 4 feet by 5 feet, but it is broken into two pieces. The surface is flat, and the stone is rounded at the edges. The grooves, which vary from 3 inches to 10 inches in length, correspond with the size of an arrow head, the width varying from 3/16 inch to 1/4 inch, and the depth being 3/8 inch. The markings occur in groups."

Foel Dduarth Arrow Stone (Carving)

"Cerrig Saethau (Arrow Stones) near Llanfairfechan" by W. Bezant Lowe in Proceedings of the Llandudno and District Field Club Vol. VII 1912-13 pp. 61-65 gives the following description:

"This is of very fine grain, of irregular outline, and measures 8 feet 6 inches long by 3 feet 6 inches wide; the direction of its length is NW to SE. A small part of the surface, measuring 12 inches by 8 inches, and situated 8 inches from the SW side, and 3 feet from the SE end, has been smoothed, and on this are most of the grooves, but a few may be seen near the NE end of the stone. The marks vary from 7 inches to 4 1/4 inches in length and from 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch in width; they are 3/16 inch deep."

Gibbet Moor West (Ring Cairn)

The National Monuments Record list a "probable bronze ring cairn (with central cairn) on Gibbet Moor" at SK27894 70557. The NMR report claims it was unrecognised before the RCHME survey 1988-90. It is distinct from the 3 sites in a NW/SE line near SK 27965 70649 which were once interpreted as ringcairns, which Barnatt 1990 interpreted as robbed cairns but which the NMR identifies as Bronze Age house platforms surrounded by field clearance.

Moel Goedog East (Ring Cairn)

Frances Lynch in A Guide to Ancient and Historic Wales: Gwynedd gives the following:
"A cairn of large boulders set on the inner edge of a low grass-grown stone bank forms a circle 6.5m in diameter. The centre is hollowed and probably artificially levelled. there has been no excavation here, so one cannot tell what or who was buried, nor whether it was built at exactly the same time as the lower circle. However, the circles' complementary setting in the landscape - one being visible from the south, the other from the north - would suggest that they were designed as a pair. The very large stone on the south side may be an earthfast boulder; the incorporation of a natural feature is quite common in monuments of this kind (see Cefn Caer Euni Circles)."

Moel Goedog West (Ring Cairn)

Frances Lynch in A Guide to Ancient and Historic Wales: Gwynedd gives the following:
"It is a ring cairn, similar in design to the upper circle but with taller stones set at regular intervals on the inner edge of its low stone bank. Four of these stones have been missing since the 17th century, so new ones were placed in the original stone-holes when the monument was excavated and restored in 1979. These added stones have been marked with a deep T cut into the back.
The interior has been levelled into the slope and several pits had been dug before it was covered with a thin layer of stones (only surviving in the northern quarter). Some of the pits had been dug close to the inner edge of the bank, others were in the centre of the ring. The pits contained various deposits - charcoal alone, charcoal with scraps of burnt human bone, and burnt bone alone, the product of a 'normal' cremation burial. In one case the scraps of bone had been previously buried near the coast (to judge by the soil around them) and had been reburied up here. Some of the bone and charcoal was in pots typical of the early Bronze Age, some just poured directly into the pits.
This evidence indicates that a variety of activities had taken place within the circle. Some of them are matched at other ring cairns in the region; others - the reburial of bone for instance - were unknown before this excavation, but have since been recorded in south Wales. There was evidence to show that the various pits had been dug at different times, and radiocarbon dates suggest that the circle was in use between 1700 and 1400 BC."

Yr Aran (Standing Stones)

Yr Aran Standing Stone II

The Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust lists this stone as bronze age with map reference SJ 0358 3194. Two other standing stones nearby which they designate as stones III and IV are listed as post-medieval with map references SJ 0350 3202 and SJ 0335 3200 respectively.
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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