Andy Burnham's Blog, page 103

Museum Nasional

The National Museum of Indonesia is an archaeological, historical, ethnological and geographical museum located in central Jakarta. Its broad collections cover all of Indonesia's territory and most of its history. The stelae shown here are inscribed with prashasti (praise in Sanskrit) - a genre of inscriptions composed by poets in praise of their rulers. Most date from the 6th century CE onwards.

Little Galver Propped Stone

A fine example of a propped stone (a possible prehistoric landscape feature) located on the ridge leading to Hannibal’s Carn just north of Little Galver (Galva). The stone setting forms a triangular portal which frames the eastern side of the Carn Galver (Galva) Neolithic Tor enclosure. The view through the portal is close to due west and archaeoastronomer Carolyn Kennett has observed that at the equinox the sun can be seen to slide down the Carn Galver ridge.

Onziebist

Recent incised stone "rock art" discovery during a visit to Egilsay’s Onziebist chambered cairn. Positioned on the edge of a rocky ridge on the southern tip of Egilsay the cairn measures 20m by 17m by 1.8m tall. Towards the northern end a stretch of wall has been exposed, 2.6m long and running north-south. If, as has been suggested, Onziebist was a Maeshowe-type tomb, it should have had side cells branching off from a rectangular or square central chamber. Photos by Sigurd Towrie.

All Hallows by the Tower

See on our page for a Roman remain in London I wasn't aware of - the section of pavement in All Hallows by the Tower church, which also has Saxon remnants and a little museum in the crypt. The Crypt Museum under the church leads you on a fascinating journey through time, charting the history of the church, its people and the City of London. The museum is in part of the original Saxon church and contains part of the Roman tessellated floor of a late 2nd Century domestic house, a collection of Roman and Saxon artefacts, church plate and ancient registers dating back to the 16th century.

Thümmlitzwald Teufelsstein

Cup marks / Rock Art in Saxony. The Teufelsstein (Devils stone) has the marking of the Devils horseshoe. Near the Thümmlitzwald Menhir and Thümmlitzwald Mühlstein. (find these via the nearby sites list on our page)

East Kennett longbarrow

The view from East Kennett Longbarrow - West Kennett in the middle distance to the left and Silbury Hill to the right of course. Lots more landscape photos on our page. This huge long mound is slightly longer than its partner at West Kennet, and survives relatively well apart from to the south-east where some of the chamber stones are visible. Unexcavated, the barrow is 105m long and 6m high.

Chemin de Montauban

Thirty nine ancient standing stones in Carnac, in north-west France, have been destroyed during the construction of a Mr Bricolage DIY store. The site is in the village of Montaubin, a little over 1.5km away from the better known locations of Kermario and Ménec. Top pic: The Mr Bricolage construction site, as seen in 2023 on Google Street view. In the foreground are possible remains of megaliths.

Craig Yr Aderyn

Hill fort overlooking the Afon Dyssynni, the fort occupies the highest prominent peak that juts out into the valley. With tremendous views out to the coast and up to the mountains. Top photo credit: Lou Barker

Plas Maen Stone

Rock art discovered by archaeologist Dr Rachel Pope in late June 2022. Top photo: From left Dr George Nash, Liverpool Uni technician and photography expert JR Peterson, students Hannah and Nour and the finder Dr Rachel Pope. They returned recently to perform RTI on the rock art (see image further down our page), take 3D model images and do photogrammetry at the potential source of the stone.

Men Scryfa

Senseless attack on Men Scryfa as the top is charred and what looks like an attempt to topple it made. A inscribed standing stone in Cornwall. The name Men Scryfa translates simply as 'Inscribed Stone', and is 2 metres high. It probably dates from the Bronze Age and was inscribed around the 5th or 6th century CE to commemorate the death in battle of a royal warrior. The northern face bears the inscription 'RIALOBRANI CUNOVALI FILI' which in Cornish means 'Royal Raven son of the Glorious Prince'.