Andy Burnham's Blog, page 18

Micalona statue-menhir 1

Don't try and find this Corsica statue-menhir at this location as it has been relocated to the nearby Filitosa Museum where it is on display. The sign reads: MICALONA I Granite Height of the fragment: 0.60 m; width 0.56 m: thickness: 030 m A statue-menhir fragment from Olmeto,

Great Gnat's Head Cist

This hard-to-find cist on Dartmoor consists of two side slabs and a fallen end slab, with no trace of a cover stone. Size 1m long by 0.7m internally and 0.7m deep. A slight 0.2m mound surrounds the cist but this was probably constructed when the cist was restored following excavation in 1901. A pit dug into the floor was located but no finds were made.

Qumran

Many of the Dead Sea scrolls look to be older than previously thought - researchers enlist help of radiocarbon dating and machine learning to produce new insights. A series of caves, some natural, some artificial, which can be found around the archaeological site of Qumran. It is in a number of these caves that the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were found. The limestone cliffs above Qumran contain numerous caves that have been used over the millennia. The first traces of occupation are from the Chalcolithic period.

Source St. Hubert

A rock beside a holy well showing parts of a 3.70m wide Gallo-Roman relief. It shows the lower part of two human figures, two deer, dogs and a wild boar. The human figures are probably the gods Diana (goddess of hunting) and Silvanus (god of the forest). This is just south of the better known Rocher des trois figures. There is also a third carving, probably of the Celtic goddess of fortune Ritona. See our nearby sites map and list for more on these.

Falak-ol-Aflak Fortress

This fort in Iran has an excellent archaeological museum which contains 114 of the famous Lorestan bronzes and silverware items discovered in the province. These date back almost three millennia and are spectacular. The Kulma Karrah Cave 20 kilometres south west of Pol-e Dokhtar, Lorestan produced a large number of the bronze and silver cast objects and of those that remain in Iran the major part (114) are here whilst a further 100 are in the National Museum in Tehran.

Embo Chambered Cairn

Chambered Cairn also known as Grannie's Heilan Hame (!) outside the reception of a holiday park near Dornocht. Of nine later cremations intruding, one was accompanied by fragments of a Middle Bronze Age bifid bronze razor, another by part of a bronze blade, probably part of a razor.

Northern Earth 180, Summer 2025, is out now

In this issue: NE interviews Fiona Robertson, author of the new book Stone Lands • The Cleobury Mortimer ‘sheela na gig’ • the St Michael’s Well solar alignment, Cambridgeshire • H.G. Wells and the megaliths • Oliver Cromwell and the vampire’s grave • Camino pilgrimage connections and lots more.

Maiden Castle (Dorset)

New research from Bournemouth Uni: Mortimer Wheeler's 'war cemetery' victims were not from a Roman attack on the hillfort but died over the early and middle decades of the first century AD when Maiden Castle was long abandoned. Neolithic causewayed enclosure and Iron Age hillfort in Dorset - the most spectacular in southern England. The basic hillfort was built in about 600 BC, and greatly expanded in around 450 BC.

Whitby Abbey

In its bleak windblown position on top of the hill above the harbour, Whitby Abbey makes for a great visit. The weathering shapes and patterns of the stone remains make it truly memorable. The museum is also fascinating with many items of ancient historic interest. The abbey is built on the site of previous Early Medieval ecclesiastical communities. It was originally founded as a double house priory in 657 and destroyed by the Danes circa 867, and re-founded as a Benedictine Priory by 1077.

Gettlinge

A ‘skeppsättning' (ship setting), one of the many fascinating sites on the Baltic island of Öland. Explore more via our page. The site contains 2 and a half stone ships, 2 stone circles, 1 rectangular stone setting, 1 irregular stone settings, 2 flat standing stones and a mound! There are 3 flat standing stones across the road.