cairns – Page 2

Ardoch (1), Fowlis Wester, Perthshire

21/08/202413/10/2024 megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 91195 25511

From Fowlis Wester village, head up the road for just over ½ a mile (veering sharp left at a junction) to the dusty car-park on the left-side of the road near the standing stones. From here walk along the track, past the standing stones, veering right to go downhill and cross the burn by the loch near the ruins of Ardoch house; then keeping uphill on the track for another half-mile or so and, just before a split in the dirt-track, you’ll see a reasonably large rounded boulder just a few yards above the track on your right. Y’ can’t really miss it!

Archaeology & History

This previously unrecorded cup-and-ring carving was rediscovered a few years ago by local lady Fiona McLaren: an absolute fount of knowledge when it comes to ancient sites in this area. It’s a pretty basic carving but is certainly worth looking at on your way up to see the much more unusual petroglyph of Ardoch (2).

When we visited this stone for the first time recently, the design was difficult to make out due to the grey overcast skies. The first thing you’ll notice is the single cup-marking on the left-side (west) of a natural crack near the top of the rock. It’s pretty easy to make out. But the cup-and-ring immediately left of this is much harder to see—or at least is was when we came here! But spend a bit of time with it, adjusting your sight, wetting the stone and, slowly but surely, you’ll notice the shallow ring surrounding another smaller cup-mark. You can make it out in the photo. A possible smaller cup-mark on the sloping northern face seems more likely to have Nature’s signature on it.

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks to Fiona McLaren of Abercairney for first uncovering this carving and pointing us towards it.

Seat Knowe, Fowlis Wester, Perthshire

09/08/202411/08/2024 megalithix

Cairn: OS Grid Reference – NN 93616 24689

Also Known as:

Blairmore
Murray’s Hill Wood

Getting Here

You need to hit the village of Fowlis Wester, which is easiest to approach from both east and west along the A85, between Crieff and Perth: nearly 3 miles east of Gilmerton and about 6½ mile west of Methven. Keep your eyes peeled and take the road up (north) where the large rounded tree-covered tumulus stands and up to the village. Go through the village and uphill for literally ½ a mile (veering sharp left at a junction) where a gate on your right leads into the fields. (a large parking spot is 300 yards further uphill) Walk ¼-mile east and through the other side of the small woodland, over the fence, you’ll see the mound of a typical tumulus. That’s it!

Archaeology & History

If you’re going to visit the megalithic remains of Fowlis Wester ¾-miles to the west, the antiquarians amongst you might as well give this old burial mound your attention too. It’s not grandiose by any means, but its position in the landscape is quite superb. It’s built upon a long geological promontory with extensive views that reach from south-east to south to south-west for many miles into the distance with the Ochils framing the majority of the southern horizon, but also with the notable pap of the West Lomond hill 20 miles to the south-east mimicking the shape of the tomb itself. It was obviously built here with the extended landscape having some ancestral importance. Visit it and see for yourself!

Despite being a notable mound, this tumulus-cum-cairn only seems to have been written about for the first time as recently as 1998, when archaeologist Ian Armit visited the site. Roughly circular in form, it’s about 12 yards across and more than six feet in height. A small pile of stones crowns the very top, placed here in much more recent times. At ground level on its northern side, an arc of low lying stones define the edge of the tomb. The stones probably continue all the way round the entire structure, but it’s overgrown by centuries of soil and vegetation and we lose sight of it as we walk round. When Mr Armit (1998) wrote about the site, he and colleague wrote:

Seat Knowe, looking NW

Seat Knowe, looking north

“A grassed-over stony cairn lies on the highest point of Seat Knowe, a ridge commanding extensive views to the south. The cairn has a diameter of c.10m and is up to 2m high. A modern cairn occupies it summit. The low turf foundations of a rectilinear structure, some 6 x 8m, occupy its south flank, and thee are extensive cultivation and field system remains in the vicinity.”

Check it out! You won’t be disappointed.

Folklore

An interesting piece of relatively recent folklore about Seat Knowe, described in the Perthshire Name Book around 1862, told that,

“One of the Earls of Strathearn, desirous of having a church in the vicinity of his Castle, stood on an eminence, on which he had a summer seat, and resolved to erect it where the sun first shone, which was on the spot where it now stands.”

References:

Armit, Ian & Hall, M., “Seat Knowe (Fowlis Wester parish): Cairn,” in Discovery & Excavation Scotland, 1998.

Connachan (7), Crieff, Perthshire

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Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 8806 2746

Getting Here

You’re going from Crieff, up the A822 road from the Gilmerton junction and head up towards the Sma’ Glen. And if you’re visiting this stone, you’ve already walked past the carvings of Connachan (2), (4), (5) and (6). So just another 100 yards or so up the dirt-track past Connachan (4), (5) and (6), just where there’s a bend in the track, the land just about levels out (if you’ve reached the gate and fence you’ve gone too far). At this point walk onto the grassland on your right for barely 50 yards, just where the land sweeps back downhill. Look around for a small stone at the edge of some very low indistinct walling. You’ll find it!

Archaeology & History

A site that’s shown on the modern OS-map as a “cairn” but which is, by the look of things, actually a hut circle — and a somewhat indistinct hut circle at that! You could very easily walk right through it without even noticing you’d done so. However, the cup-marked stone on the outer edge of its southern wall does grab your attention! Once you’ve found the stone, if you pace round a few times you’ll begin to see the vague outline of this prehistoric, probably Bronze Age abode.

The carving was probably placed here after the hut circle had been built; or perhaps even built deliberately upon the petroglyph itself—but only an excavation would give us the answer. Its incorporation in the hut circle was probably functional, somewhat like the Man Stone carving in North Yorkshire, which is found at the doorway there. But this site is in such a state of neglect (and is somewhat overgrown) that I couldn’t ascertain whether it was at the entrance or not. If it was, then most likely there was a mythic relationship between the design of the cups and the person who lived therein. This relationship was probably a long standing traditional one attached to a particular family, or tribal leader, or even a shaman figure which no doubt stretched over many centuries. (as seems likely with the aforementioned Man Stone)

The carving itself is somewhat basic, as you can see, comprising of a small irregular cluster of between 18 and 20 tightly packed cups on a small stone. The hut circle is about 14 yards across. About 100 yards to the east is a severely robbed-out cairn.

References:

Stewart, Margaret E.C., “Connachan, Crieff – Cup Marks and Hut Circle,” in Discovery & Excavation, Scotland, 1967.

The Hagg, Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire

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Tumulus (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – SE 6803 8695

Also Known as:

Robin Hood’s Howl

Archaeology & History

There once stood a very impressive prehistoric burial mound here, a few hundred yards east of the roadside, just above the wooded valley known curiously as Robin Hood’s Howl. Highlighted on the 1856 Ordnance Survey map as an elongated structure, it was suggested in McDonnell’s (1963) work to have been a long barrow, measuring roughly 70 feet long by 50 feet across and more than six feet in height. It was seemingly written about for the first time by William Eastmead (1824) in his lengthy history of the area and was, he told,

“a tumulus of considerable dimensions (that) was lately opened at a place called the Hag, about a mile northwest of Kirkby-Moorside, in which was found an urn… Great numbers of human bones were also dug out…; and from the immense size of it, a great number of bodies appear to have been burnt indiscriminately, and the ashes of some particular person deposited in the urn.”

The urn would seem to have been either lost or destroyed—as has the tumulus. It was apparently still intact, albeit very denuded, twenty years ago, but has since been ploughed out.

References:

Eastmead, William, Historia Rievallensis: containing the history of Kirkby Moorside, R. Peat: Thirsk 1824.
McDonnell, J. (ed.), History of Helmsley, Rievaulx and District, Stonegate: York 1963.

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Connachan, Crieff, Perthshire

24/06/202426/06/2024 megalithix

Cairn: OS Grid Reference – NN 88098 27498

Getting Here

A couple of miles east of Crieff, take the A822 road from the Gilmerton junction and head up towards the Sma’ Glen. After literally 1¾ miles (2.8km), on the right-side of the road, you can park-up right opposite the dirt-track that leads up to Connachan Farm a half-mile away. Walking up and then past the farm, go past the Connachan (2) petroglyph, keeping on the same track uphill and just past the (Connachan 4) carving the land levels out where the track curves. From here, walk to your right, into the grasses, and about 90 yards along you’ll see a small rise in the ground with two or three fallen stones in the middle.

Archaeology & History

There’s nothing truly notable about this much-overgrown cairn and you could very easily walk past it without noticing it was even there! Much of its original mass has been removed and, no doubt, its stones reused in the old walling a few yards to the north (a long section of that walling appears to have a prehistoric provenance). It measures roughly 10 yards across and its outer edges are clearly visible as a raised grass-covered mound all round, just one or two feet high at the most. Obviously it was much larger when first built, but all that we see now are its final ruins, four or five thousand years after its birth… The one thing of great note here is the view: you’re looking from east to south to west across an awesome landscape for many many miles. Check it out!

References:

Stewart, Margaret E.C., “Connachan, Crieff – Cup Marks and Hut Circle,” in Discovery & Excavation, Scotland, 1967.

Snake Stone, Hawksworth, West Yorkshire

15/04/202415/04/2024 megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 15078 43546

Getting Here

On the moorland road from Dick Hudson’s pub, head east along the Otley Road for more than 1½ miles, past the T-junction right-turn at Intake Gate (to Hawksworth) and just a quarter-mile further on park-up at the roadside (opposite Reva Reservoir). Walk (north) thru the gate into the field and after 300 yards through another gate into the next field. From this gate, walk straight north to the Fraggle Rock cup-and-ring stone, then go down the slope NNW for nearly 50 yards and just above the old track you’ll see the edge of this stone peeking out!

Archaeology & History

One of a number of previously unrecorded carvings in these fields, this is a pretty simplistic but unique design. The first thing you’ll notice is at the top-corner of the stone where, like many rocks on these moors, a nicely-worn cup stands out. Erosion obviously…. or so it first seems. This cup-mark has another two by its side, along the top edge of the stone which, again, initially suggested them to be little more than natural. But in rolling back the turf this assumption turns out to be wrong; for, along the west-side of the rock you’ll see a notable pecked groove running down to another cup-mark about twelve inches below, kinking slightly just before it reaches that cup. You can see this in the photo. Now, if we return to the prominent cup-mark at the top corner of the stone, in certain light there seems to be a very faint incomplete ring around it – but we can’t say for certain and it needs to be looked at again in better light.

The name given to this carving (thanks to Collette Walsh) comes from the wavy lines that go into the middle of the stone from the long pecked line. These wavy lines are natural, although one portion of them might have been artificially enhanced. It’s difficult to tell one way or the other and we’ll have to wait for the computer boys to assess this particular ingredient. Just above these “waves” is a single eroded cup-mark nearly 2-inch across. And that’s that!

Cat Nab, Brotton, North Yorkshire

19/02/202419/02/2024 megalithix

Tumulus (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – NZ 6692 2154

Archaeology & History

This long lost burial mound was first located by the local antiquarian William Hornsby in the early 20th century. It had been constructed close to the summit of the prominent rise of Cat Nab, immediately east above Saltburn. Its position was shown on the 1930 OS-map of the area. Destroyed by quarrying, it was thankfully excavated by Hornsby in 1913; and although his finds were never published, he left notes which told us that,

“there were two cremations and the sherds of at least three vessels: a collared urn, a pygmy cup and a vessel with an everted rim.” (Crawford 1980)

Crawford (1980) told that these finds could been seen in the Middlesborough Collection.

References:

Crawford, G.M., Bronze Age Burial Mounds in Cleveland, Cleveland County Council 1980.

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Way Hagg, West Ayton Moor, North Yorkshire

18/01/202419/01/2024 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stones (lost): OS Grid Reference – SE 9657 8840

Archaeology & History

In the autumn of 1848, antiquarian John Tissiman (1850) and his associates took to uncovering two burial mounds amidst a large cluster of them on the eastern edge of West Ayton Moor. This one at Way Hagg was quite a big fella, measuring 36 yards across. When they cut into its northern edge towards the centre, 8-10 feet in, they came across an upright stone, nearly two feet high, on which five cup-marks had been cut. (see sketch, no.2) Slightly beyond this were three other stones (in sketch, nos.1, 3 & 4), each with cup-marks on them, beneath which was a tall urn. Whether or not the carvings had been deliberately positioned to cover the urn, we do not know. Nonetheless, we can be reasonably assured that these petroglyphs had some mythic association with death when they were placed here.

Tissiman gave us the following detailed measurements of the respective carvings:

“1: Nearly even surface. Length, from 16 to 18 inches; breadth, 10 to 20 ditto; depth, 8 to 9 ditto; with large oval hole cut in the centre, 7½ inches long, 4 inches broad, and 3½ inches in depth. On the opposite side are three holes, from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and from 1 inch to 1½ deep. 2: Uneven surface. Length, 23 inches; breadth, 14 inches; depth, 13 inches; with five holes, from l½ to 3½ inches in diameter, and 1 to 1½ inches in depth. 3: Uneven surface. Length, 33 inches; breadth, 22 inches; depth, 10 inches, with four holes, the largest being 4½ inches in diameter and 3 inches deep; the others, from 1½ inches to 2 inches in diameter, and 1 to 1½ inches deep. 4: Uneven surface. Length, 27 inches; breadth, 23½ inches; depth, 10 inches, with 13 holes, from 1½ inches to 5 inches in diameter, and ¾ of an inch to 3 inches in depth; also three lines at the end of the stone.”

The carvings were included in Brown & Chappell’s (2005) fine survey, but they weren’t able to find out what happened to them after Tissiman’s excavation. They remain lost. If anyone has any information as to where they might be, please let us know.

References:

Brown, Paul & Chappell, Graeme, Prehistoric Rock Art in the North York Moors, Tempus: Stroud 2005.
Tissiman, John, “Report on Excavations in Barrows, in Yorkshire,” in Journal British Archaeological Association, April 1850.

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Fernybank, Glen Esk, Lochlee, Angus

28/12/202329/12/2023 megalithix

Ring Cairn (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – NO 5381 7877

Archaeology & History

This is one of many sites that were thankfully recorded by the fine pen of Andrew Jervise (1853) in the middle of the 19th century, without whose diligence in antiquarian interests all knowledge would have vanished. His works remind me very much of those by the late-19th early-20th century writer Harry Speight in Yorkshire, whose veritable madness on that region’s history remains unsurpassed even to this day. But I digress…

Jervise told us that,

“About the year 1830, while the tenant of Fernybank was levelling a hillock in the haugh between the farm-house and the Powpot Bridge (about two miles north-west of Colmeallie), he removed a number of stones varying in length and breadth from eighteen to twenty-four inches. They were ranged singly, and stood upright in a circle at short distances from each other, enclosing an area of about twelve feet in diameter. On the knoll being trenched down, the encircled part (unlike the rest of the haugh, which was of a gravelly soil) was found to be composed of fine black earth; but on several cart-loads being removed, operations were obstructed by a mass of stones that occupied much the same space and form as the layer of earth. Curiosity prompted the farmer to continue his labours further, but after digging to the depth of three or four feet, and finding stones only, he abandoned the work in despair, without having discovered anything worthy of notice… Had this cairn been thoroughly searched, it is probable that some traces of sepulture might have been found in it.”

A short time after this however, Jervise reported the finding of “old warlike instruments, both in the shape of flint arrow-heads and stone hatchets, have been found in the same haugh, and so late as 1851 a spear-head made of iron, and about fifteen inches long, was also discovered; it was much corroded, but had part of the wooden hilt in it.” These were prehistoric artifacts that were subsequently moved to Edinburgh’s central museum where, I presume, they remain to this day.

About ten years later the Ordnance Survey lads came here and were fortunate to be able to meet with the same man who’d uncovered the site. They told that,

“in contradiction to (Jervise’s narrative), the tenant of Fernybank who gave the information to Mr. Jervise, states that he continued the search to the bottom of the Cairn and found a quantity of Charred wood.”

There were a number of other prehistoric sites in this neck o’ the woods, many of which were also destroyed but, again, were thankfully recorded by Mr Jervise.

References:

Jervise, Andrew, The History and Traditions of the Land of the Lindsays in Angus and Mearns, Sutherland and Knox: Edinburgh 1853.

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Keppoch, Gilmerton, Perthshire

29/11/202329/11/2024 megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone (lost): OS Grid Reference – NN 880 252

Archaeology & History

A long lost carving, probably quite impressive in design, was recorded by John Laurie, schoolmaster in Monzie. He told us that,

“a large Druid stone with rude carving upon it lies on the side of the public road between the villages of Monzie and Keppoch. This stone was one of a Circle which Mr Monroe, the then minister, caused to be broken and dispersed.”

When Fred Coles looked for the remains of this “circle” at the beginning of the 20th century, he questioned Laurie’s location of the site, but found remains of one in an adjacent field consisting of two stones, but told that “on neither of them could we discern any carving of any sort.” It’s likely that the carving has been completely destroyed, or if we’re lucky it may be hiding in some nearby walling.

References:

Coles, Fred, “Report on Stone Circles Surveyed in Perthshire, Principally Strathearn” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 45, 1911.
Laurie, John, “Parish of Monzie,” in New Statistical Account of Scotland – volume X: Perth, William Blackwood: Edinburgh 1845.