Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Tag: neolithic

  • From Stone Ruck to Roseberry: Though a Neolithic lens

    From Stone Ruck to Roseberry: Though a Neolithic lens

    The recognition of a clustering of rock-art sites around the perimeter of Scugdale has given rise to a hypothesis concerning a plausible ancient prehistoric route encircling the valley. This period corresponds to approximately 5,000 years ago, specifically the Middle Neolithic era, when Scugdale likely comprised a blend of thick woodland and the marshy vestiges of…

  • Long Meg and Her Daughters

    Long Meg and Her Daughters

    On a sodden expedition to one of the remarkable and enigmatic ancient marvels in the north of England—Long Meg and Her Daughters. Long Meg, a towering 4-metre monolith of red sandstone, stands apart from her ‘daughters,’ which form a large circle. Reportedly, there are approximately 68 daughter stones, erratics likely displaced from the Lake District…

  • Three Howes — Heritage in flames

    Three Howes — Heritage in flames

    I felt a deep sadness upon coming across this recent burning on a bowl barrow on Gisborough Moor. These bowl barrows are historical landmarks, and government regulations explicitly state that burning “must not … damage important monuments”. I suppose those responsible might argue that the burning was a “cool burn”, not reaching the peat underneath.…

  • Another final battle between the Macdonalds and MacLeods

    Another final battle between the Macdonalds and MacLeods

    The A863 road to Dunvegan, where it crosses the head of Loch Caroy, is quite speedy and most drivers accelerate to maintain their momentum as they ascend the Harlosh Peninsula. Drivers therefore will overlook the two significant stone mounds on the left, situated above the brown moorland. According to tradition, this magnificent location was the…

  • The climb out of Grosmont onto Sleights Moor is steep, very steep, but the effort is well rewarded

    The climb out of Grosmont onto Sleights Moor is steep, very steep, but the effort is well rewarded

    The object was High Bride Stones, a group of, it is said, eleven standing stones “possibly the remains of a pair of Bronze Age ‘four poster’ stone circles” dating to the Bronze Age. I must admit I was a tad disappointed. Most of the stones have fallen, and the tallest one has the ignominy of…

  • The Scugdale ‘Loop’

    The Scugdale ‘Loop’

    I was interested to read of a Neolithic “ritualised route” around Scugdale that was published in the journal of the Teesside Archaeological Society The authors conjecture that the route starts at Sheep Wash near the Cod Beck reservoir, climbs the Red Way estate track on to Near Moor, and follows the skyline of Scugdale eastwards…

  • The Bronze Age funerary landscape of Great Ayton Moor

    The Bronze Age funerary landscape of Great Ayton Moor

    Great Ayton Moor is well known for its wealth of prehistoric monuments, including a chambered cairn, a large cairnfield and an Iron Age enclosure. The most photogenic feature must be the chambered cairn which I’ve posted about before here, but today was submerged by bracken. In the photo this bracken covered chambered cairn is top…

  • Kilmartin Glen

    Kilmartin Glen

    Overblown with pre-historic monuments — stone circles, cists, cairns, standing stones. So many to chose from, Chille Mhartainn has them in abundance. This is Nether Largie Standing Stones, five tall standing stones arranged in an X-shape, with an outlier 100 metres to the north and the stump of another one 300 metres to the west.…

  • Fingal’s Cauldron Seat

    Fingal’s Cauldron Seat

    Giants do get around a bit. In Yorkshire, Wade performed huge landscaping feats. But Wades attempts were nothing compared to Fionn mac Cumhaill, or Fingal in its anglicized form. He built a causeway bridging Northern Ireland with Scotland only to have it destroyed by a rival giant. He pops on Staffa island where a cave…

  • Castlerigg Stone Circle

    Castlerigg Stone Circle

    My early morning run took in the Castlerigg Stone Circle, a 4,500 year old monument built by the earliest farming communities who took advantage of the fertile lands of the valley bottoms. Castlerigg is particularly impressive, giving a 360° panorama of the surrounding fells. This is a view south up the tiny Naddle valley. It’s…