Andy Burnham's Blog, page 120

Etowah Mounds - Mound A

Artificial Mound in Bartow County, Georgia, USA. Mound A is the largest of 6 mounds on the site. It stands 19m (63 feet) tall, the second tallest mound in the US. When it was built the flat platform supported a wood structure, probably a temple. The site may have been settled as early the Tenth Century CE by people of the Mississippian Culture. Woode writes: When I visited Etowah Mounds several years ago, there was no one there but me and my traveling companion. It was amazingly serene and a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of nearby Atlanta, where I lived at the time.

Flax Bourton Ancient Cross

A cross for which only the base/socket stone remains and also a carved/inscribed stone which is immediately above the door in the porch.

Calatañazor

Cists and castle in Castilla y León. This small hilltop town is signed from the mainroad. There are two cists down the steep wall of the natural rock of the city. The small town is situated strategically and has some other artefacts as a very old hillfort or castle and a stone with an imprint of a fern of 20-25 million years old.

Devil's Ring and Finger

These two stones, one holed, and believed to have come from a chambered tomb, lie close to the village of Mucklestone in Staffordshire. To find them take the footpath marked to Norton in Hales - the stones are located in the field boundary to the right of the line of this path (to the north-east) on private land. The field boundary is orientated north-west/south-east. Follow the boundary for approx 300m and you will find the stones next to a big oak tree.

Burrow Hill Camp (Shropshire)

This hillfort is another Shropshire defended hilltop well worth a visit. two springs, three entrances, and four sets of ramparts and ditches around most of the circumference make for an engaging visit. It is wonderfully sited, with rewards for the long ascent - the fantastic views. The fort is shaped like a pear, or tear, around the natural contours of the hill, being narrower on the west side. To the north west side there is only one ditch, and two ramparts, as this is the steepest side of the hill.

Kümbet North Tomb

A Phrygian tomb carved into a rock outcrop to the north of Kümbet village. in Eskişehir Province, Turkey. And a recently added photo on this page of another rock cut tomb nearby.

Waldridge Fell Barrow

A late Neolithic or early Bronze Age tree-covered barrow close to Nettlesworth West House, County Durham. I have posted a LIDAR image which shows a second-round barrow to the east of the main one, I have attempted to photograph this one also. The barrrow is easily seen from the adjacent public footpath.

Menires de Milrei e do Padrão

A wonderfully shaped smooth menhir about 2 metres tall which is marked faintly with phallic symbolism. It has been re-erected, but cracking can be seen from the time it was originally pushed over in the middle ages. It is now concreted in situ. The line running across the stone about 40cm from the top is presumeably the phallic marking but it is very difficult to see, and even harder to photograph.

Hull and East Riding Museum

Museum in North Humberside. Top photo: The Roos Carr Figures. If there was an award for the most strange and haunting exhibit, I think this one would win hands down. The quartzite eyes in these polished yew figures' detailed faces seem to return your gaze. The prehistory galleries present our impact on the land since the last Ice Age. The stone tools of the earliest human settlers allow a glimpse sophisticated technologies of the distant past, whilst artefacts from the great Neolithic monument at Duggleby Howe and elsewhere illustrate changes in ritual and burial practices.

Early Archaic Settlement Site on North King Street

Nearby this find site in Massachusetts is what appears to be a large two-person sitting grinding stone. Also on this page is news of a documentary film in production to raise awareness of and help protect Indigenous sites. This 10,000 year old Indigenous archeological site in Northampton, MA was saved from destruction due to proposed road building by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in 2020. This ancient site was preserved – for now – thanks to actions taken by the 50,000 person strong email list of supporters organised by Nayyag Preserve the Aquinnah Wampanoag, and the Narragansett.