Andy Burnham's Blog, page 101

Viererstein

A stone circle in Saxony-Anhalt, until 1840 it consisted of six stones. Once the stones were considerably higher, now some have fallen.

Stanwick Lakes

Stanwick Lakes are building their own Bronze Age boat with the help of Dr James Dilley of Ancient Craft. Lots of other heritage plans in the pipeline, including another round houses for the ancient village and improvements to the setting of the large round barrow nearby. Stanwick Lakes visitor centre has a Heritage Zone, created to display the many artefacts that were found on the site during the extensive archaeological excavations in the 1980s. You will find displays that tell the story of the past settlers who have lived here over the last 10,000 years.

Cueva de los Letreros

This cave is one of the most important painted shelters in the south of Spain, discovered in 1861, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. It contains representations of what is known as Levantine-style rock art, with highly stylised animal figures (goats, deer, etc.) as well as men and women, usually with bowed arms and legs, dating to around 5,000 BC. The cave can be visited in June, July and August with a guide.

Ballynahatty

Out Now: Ballynahatty - Excavations in a Neolithic Monumental Landscape. Henge in Co. Down. Only 6.5 km S of the centre of Belfast via the Malone Road and Minnowburn Beeches, “The Giant’s Ring” is an impressive and atmospheric monument, consisting of a circular bank some 3.5 metres high enclosing a large space some 180 metres in diameter and 2.8 hectares in area. Top photo is from the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 1849

Goldington

A shopfloor artwork mnemonic and plaque commemorating a Neolithic henge and timber circle, the remains of which are concealed beneath this Tesco superstore in Riverfield Park, Bedford.

Glastonbury Stone Circle

A Carhenge is part of Glastonbury 2023 - added to this page as it's a temporary installation. More photos linked from here. The Glastonbury Festival stone circle is a recent monument on the British landscape, yet it is one that is visited by huge numbers of people over a very short period of time. Estimates of the numbers of people gathering at the Glastonbury stone circle are subject to speculation, however with a large proportion of the hundreds of thousands of people at festival visiting the stone circle it’s influence and draw is undisputed.

Sion a Siân (Adam and Eve) Stones

A fantastic series of photos by HarryTwenty capturing the summer solstice sunrise 2023. Two natural monoliths at the summit of Tryfan (3,010 ft above sea level) known locally as Sion a Siân (aka Adam and Eve). The rocks are approx. 3m high and 1.2m apart. People who make the jump from one rock to another are said to gain the Freedom of Tryfan. In Arthurian legend Tryfan is said to be the final resting place of Sir Bedivere (Bedwyr)

Men Gurta

Midsummer at Men Gurta by The Enchanted Nomads. Near the top of St Breock Down, stands a prehistoric standing stone, Men Gurta (the waiting stone) which is the largest (4.9m length) and heaviest (16.5 ton) standing stone in Cornwall. This stone fell in 1945 but was re-erected in 1956. It is of local shale with veins of feldspar, and was found to stand in a setting of quartz pebbles within a small cairn.

Abterp Langdysse 2

These two long barrows were built by the first Danish people around 3500-3000 B.C. Langdysse 1 is 7.5 meters wide and 13.5 meters long. It is surrounded by 33 stones, and it has had one grave chamber.
Langdysse 2 (this one) is 6.5-7 meters wide and 42 meters long surrounded by 84 stones. It contains three grave chambers, one of them has a capstone (covered with turf), the other two are open.
The long barrows have a remarkable story:

Boskednan stone circle

Happy Summer Solstice! Here's the sunrise from last year captured by LinCook. Please send us your photos from this year and we'll put the best ones on our front page. Also known as the Nine Maidens, this Cornish stone circle is mostly in ruins, although its isolation on desolate moorland make it very attractive. There were probably twenty-two stones making up the original circle, but only six are still erect, and most of those in the north are missing.