Thought it might be a good idea to bump this thread up separately to dee's (on the Druid burial) as the subject really is fascinating.

The photo of the Towie Ball, in the latest edition of the British Archaeology magazine, is also illustrated here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carved_Stone_Balls The Towie Ball is only 76mm across but the amount of detail on it is amazing.

At first glance I couldn't help being reminded of some of the squat mother goddess carvings from the Neolithic, though the idea that the stone balls might also have been used in divination ceremonies is also interesting.