IronMan

A map of the Mickleden end of the Langdale Valley showing the axe factory, which can be compared with Chris Collyer’s diagram of the carvings.

From the Anderton parish council newsletter, Spring 2002ce

The Cup & Ring Stone
You may remember mention in a previous Newsletter of the Cup & Ring stone found in September 1999 at the edge of Lower Rivington Reservoir. The stone was found at a time of unusually low water level at the eastern edge of the reservoir (which was constructed in about 1850) at 10 metres below the high-water mark, so that as a rule it was visible only very infrequently. It was of a rather irregular shape, but its dimensions were roughly 80 cms in length. 55 cms wide and 50 cms deep and it was put on display at The Anderton Centre. pending examination by Lancashire County Council to confirm the ‘genuineness’ of the carving. To date we are still awaiting examination by a suitable expert .... more news on this topic in a future Newsletter.

If the stone was found when the reservoir was at an ‘unusually low water level’ it begs the question,is there any more rock art down there?

Brean Down was essentially an island up until the medieval period when the surrounding land was drained for agricultural purposes. The thought of having to paddle through foggy swamp to this remote, stormy place is quite something!

In 1896 Marconi made the word’s first radio transmission from Brean Down to Lavernock Point, Penarth.

The Dunamuck stones are the survivors of a group of monuments that at one time included at least two stone circles and possibly a ceremonial avenue.

Dunamuck’s strategic position, and perhaps memories of its former ceremonial status, led people to use it for the great Kilmichael Tryst, an important fair and market to which cattle traders came from all over Scotland. On these occasions people used the stones to measure pieces of cloth.

(Taken from Kilmartin by Rachel Butter published by Kilmartin House Trust)

Whilst looking for details on sites in the area, I came across reference to this site as ‘Torrisholme barrow’ and so have amended accordingly! Oh, and it’s most definitely in Lancashire and not Cumbria :-)

The date of this site is debatable – it is quite possible, due to it’s proximity to the other barrow at Winckley Lowes, that this is a Bronze Age site. However some have claimed the mound to have been built after the battle of Billington in 789ce.

Simeon of Durham gives an account of that battle:

“A confederacy was made of the murderers of King Aethelred; Wada, chief in that conspiracy, with his force went against Eardwulf, in a place called by the English Billangahoh (Billington), near Walalege (Whalley), and on either side many were slain; Wada, the chief, with his men, was put to flight, and King Eardwulf regally achieved victory over his enemies.”

“In this year in Spring, on 2nd April, there was a great battle at Whalley in Northumbria, and there was slain Alric, son of Heardberht, and many others with him.”

The following information is taken from a book published in the mid-eighties – things have changed quite a bit since then. Well the barrow’s reappeared for a start...

No physical evidence remains of this Darwen barrow. It was destroyed during October 1864 as foundations were dug for Ashleigh House, itself since demolished in 1986.

30 yards in diameter, the barrow sat on a promontory of an undulating plateau overlooking the Darwen Valley. It’s height was said to vary from around 12 feet to the E and 2-3 feet on the W, the centre being about 6 feet in diameter and consisting of a slight hollow. Ten internments appear to have been made. Two urns contained ‘incense cups’ and another a 7 1/2” bronze dagger. An excavation of 1986 found only evidence of the original lie of the land, the naze apparently being levelled during the construction of Ashleigh house.

The Whitehall Urns are on display in Darwen reference library.

From the case containing the Whitehall Urns:

“Three Bronze Age pottery urns from Whitehall, Over Darwen. They were discovered in 1864 in a large mound. Originally there were ten urns in all, but most of these were fragmentary, and nine of these contained cremated human remains.

Ritual burial sites of this type, that is, under a burial mound or barrow, are known from elsewhere in the county, as far afield as Chorley, the Pendle Hill area, Clitheroe and the Burnley moors. They date from the early to mid bronze age, that is from around 2,000 – 800 BC.”

Additional note 23/1/3ce

It was with reluctance that I changed the name of this site from my original Ashleigh Street, Darwen to the correct name above...

When the ring cairn at Cheetham Close was excavated in 1893 it was claimed that the bank was faced both internally and externally by large gritstone slabs set around the kerb. A possible entrance exists to the NE, where an approx. 1m gap is flanked by a much thicker section of the bank. A low cairn at the centre is clearly defined on the W and partially destroyed by illicit excavators. A small satellite cairn, 2m diameter, lies in the NE quadrant. Two other smaller cairns lie to the NE and SE of the stone circle and ring cairn respectively.

In 1954 a Bronze Age saddle quern was found 80m NE of the stone circle with three barbed and tangled arrowheads.

Peat digging on Charters Moss revealed many Bronze Age finds, the best examples being a perforated stone hammer and a bronze palstave. Other finds include a looped socketed spearhead with part of it’s original wooden shaft, a more developed palstave with handle and a bronze loop headed spearhead.

At least 11 groups of cup- and cup-and-ring markings lie in the valley to the north of Ardifuir farmhouse. Grid references, taken from RCAHMS’ “Kilmartin Prehistoric & Early Historic Monuments, an inventory of the monuments extracted from Argyll volume 6” are:

NR789970, NR789969, NR790970 (six at this reference), NR790971, NR788970 (two at this reference)

For folks with a GPS device the 8 digit reference is NY82351423. An example of portable rock art lies nearby at NY83161466.

Within the Castle Fold Iron Age enclosure lies a cup-marked piece of sandstone. According to Stan Beckensall ‘it is debatable whether this cup-marked stone is contemporary with the site, or originates from a destroyed earlier Bronze Age cairn.‘

For anyone with a GPS device the eight digit reference is NY57127088.

There are four carved stones lying in the field near to the fence marking the edge of the military Danger Zone. A series of cairns also lie nearby (west and east).

An unlikely tradition says that this site was once part of a much larger, more complex monument – the two stones standing at the centre of a stone circle, with a burial cist between them.

“A local tradition records that the larger ring was used as a cockpit in the 18th century, when cock fighting was very popular in this region.”
Frances Lynch, Gwynedd

According to Frances Lynch the exact origin of this stone is unknown – it hasn’t been excavated. It may well be a prehistoric marker but it could very well be a Christian stone, like the one (7th-9th Century CE) found in the nearby church SH588009 or it may just be a rubbing stone for the cattle!

Cyfanned Stone Row is listed in Frances Lynch’s ‘Gwynedd’ as Bryn Seward Stones. The following additional information about the site and it’s environment is also provided:

“Settlement traces, walls and a possible round hut, occur on the shelf of level ground below the stones, and the mound just west of them, through the gate, may be the remains of a large Bronze Age cairn. There is another about 500m further west on the left of the road, beyond the fields and huts.”

A later monument than Carneddau Hengwm (2nd millenium BCE).

The chamber collapsed some time in the 19th Century – the capstone still lies on it’s supporters as it has since 1873. Like Bodowyr there was a sill stone on the east between the passage and the burial chamber. The sill stone allows the monument to be classified as a small passage grave and probably one of the earlier tombs on Anglesey.

The Notgrove long barrow was built over an existing circular mound which contained a stone cist containing the remains on an old man. The bones of a young woman were placed at the top of the mound.

The long barrow itself was built with a surrounding drystone wall, an ESE alignment and measured approx. 48 metres by 24 metres. A curved forecourt led to a narrow passage way with a terminal chamber and two pairs of side chambers. Inside were found the remains of 6+ adults, 3 children, a newborn baby and a variety of animal bones. More remains and evidence of fires were found within the passage way.

The burial of three children along with amber beads, bone & antler tools and animal bones were found here.

Translates as ‘Vale of the Carpenter’ – this burial chamber is built over a pit cut into rock. Over forty people were found interred here.

The Glebe House, lies directly beside Dowth, and offers accomodation at the more expensive end of acceptable B&B rates (it worked out at about £25.00 per night when we stayed). The large front bedroom looks out directly to the Dowth monument. From the entrance gates the view stretches out across the Boyne valley to Newgrange – which looks stunning from here.

The Glebe House,
Dowth,
Drogheda,
Co. Meath

Tel 041-9836101
Fax 041-9843469

It is reported that in the 18th century the existing chamber was used by a family of squatters. They must have been a very small family of very small people!

Bryn-yr-Hen-Bobl lies on private land owned by Lord Anglesey, according to the two biddys behind the counter in the Plas Newydd National Trust ticket office. Occasional ‘Archaeological tours’ are organised when this and the Plas Newydd site can be visited.

Anyone wishing to spend time visiting the stone circles of this area should try and pick up a copy of Jack Roberts’ excellent ‘Stone Circles of Cork and Kerry – an astronomical guide’, available from most of the tourist information centres (I picked up my copy from the shop in Bantry for 7 euro, which was roughly £4.30 sterling at the time of writing). The notes on the back of the book read:

There are over 100 stone circles in the Cork/Kerry region, the greatest concentration of Stone Circles to be found in Europe. They are of a unique type, the most distinct feature being their astronomical-calendrical orientation. At many of the circles the astronomical alignment is also harmonised with features of the sacred landscape.

Most of the entries include sketches of the site and/or a plan, with alignments illustrated. The notes include directions for getting to the sites, but be warned, these are not always entirely accurate!

At the centre of this circle is a large block of quartz, ‘Cloch Greine’ or ‘Sun Stone’ and it is thought to have given Clonakilty or Clocha na Coilte its name.

The word Drombeg means ‘The Small Ridge’. The site is known locally as ‘The Druid’s Altar’.

Roughly 120 feet away are the remains of two prehistoric stone huts, which have a doorway connecting them. One of the huts has a cooking place, which was still in use up to the 5th Century CE. A trough located within this kitchen was used for boiling water. This was done by dropping red hot stones into the water. It has been tested, and it showed that 70+ gallons of water could be boiled for three hours using this method.

This site is very prominent when viewed using the aerial photo feature on multimap.

Rev. J R Luck of Stonyhurst College excavated the lower mound in 1894 revealing a cinerary urn dated to around 1250BCE containing the cremated remains of a body. Also found were a young man’s skull and a flint knife, a boy’s skull and a child’s skull.

During WWII J.R.R. Tolkien stayed at Stonyhurst College, which lies within easy walking distance. His son was a boarder there and Tolkien, to escape the blitz, spent many months there in order to concentrate on his writings. It is said that some of his inspiration for the Shire comes from the Ribble Valley.

For a fantastic view of the Thornborough complex link through to multimap and have a look at the ariel photograph.

The Harris Museum, which has three urns excavated from the site, may be contacted on 01772 258248

Here’s what William Wordsworth had to say about Long Meg...

The monument commonly called Long Meg and her daughters, near the river Eden:

A WEIGHT of awe, not easy to be borne,
Fell suddenly upon my Spirit – cast
From the dread bosom of the unknown past,
When first I saw that family forlorn.
Speak Thou, whose massy strength and stature scorn
The power of years – pre-eminent, and placed
Apart, to overlook the circle vast -
Speak, Giant-mother! tell it to the Morn
While she dispels the cumbrous shades of Night;
Let the Moon hear, emerging from a cloud;
At whose behest uprose on British ground
That Sisterhood, in hieroglyphic round
Forth-shadowing, some have deemed, the infinite
The inviolable God, that tames the proud!