Andy Burnham's Blog, page 26

Grande Villeneuve Menhir

This menhir is to be found in a garden in the hamlet of the same name, a kilometre or so to the north of Tredion. The menhir is about 4 metres tall and nicely shaped, although it looks to have lost its top at some point, possibly due to a lightning strike.

Birk Field Bank Guide Stone

An early C18 guide stone which local archaeologist Raymond Hayes thought looked suspiciously like a re-used Roman Altar . It is located on the east side of the road in a small Intake behind a barbed wire fence. This is on Birk Field Bank, south west of Castleton on the road to Westerdale. It is suffering badly from erosion and depending on how the light falls on the stone determines the legibility of some of the engravings.

Azraq Geoglyph

Located near the Azraq oasis in the eastern desert of Jordan are several dozen geoglyph "wheels." The geoglpyhs are made of basalt rocks from the surrounding desert, forming roughly circular shapes. Within the circles are variations of cells and spokes. The diameters of the geoglyph circles typically range between 15 and 60m (50 to 200 ft). The wheels are not restricted to the Azraq area alone, but are located throughout the region, extending into Saudi Arabia.

Metheral Hill boundary stones

Two stones standing on the northern slopes of Metheral Hill, which turn out to be marked on the map as Boundary Stones. They are both about 5 - 6 feet tall, and on close inspection have a T carved in them. They have obviously been here a long time as they are all weather worn, so much so that I wonder whether they were ever anything else.

Metherall Hill boundary stones

Two stones standing on the northern slopes of Metheral Hill, which turn out to be marked on the map as Boundary Stones. They are both about 5 - 6 feet tall, and on close inspection have a T carved in them. They have obviously been here a long time as they are all weather worn, so much so that I wonder whether they were ever anything else.

Metheral Kerb Cairn

To the west of Metheral Circle is what looks like a ruined kerb cairn. Two of its kerb stones are still standing with other fallen ones where they fell. There seems to be a ruined cist within the center of the cairn.

Grandma and Grandpa Rocks

Two legendary rocks on Koh Samui island, Thailand, known as Hin Ta and Hin Yai Rocks (the Grandpa and Grandma rocks). For the not so observant, they resemble male and female genitalia. The beachside rocks, located between Lamai and Hua Thanon, raise indulgent chuckles or embarrassed titters from those who go to see them. Even stranger, they are close to one another, giving rise to a convenient legend explaining how they came into being.

Dwarfie Stane

This unique site on the Isle of Hoy, Orkney has attracted attention for centuries. It has been described as the dwelling place of giants, of dwarves, and as the home of an early Christian hermit. It was actually a tomb, related to the many chambered cairns found throughout Orkney. It dates to between 3500 and 2500 BC. Its construction, carved from a single enormous block of stone, is without parallel in Britain and Ireland. The labour involved, given the lack of metal tools, suggests that although small, it may have been of special significance.

Sortegård Bautasten

To the west of Sortegård, Bornholm is a long stone which, according to old folk accounts, is said to have stood upright and can therefore be regarded as a Bautasten (Menhir). About 10 metres southwest of the menhir is a bench with several stones in front of it, including some Quern stones.

Menhir de la Cité du Roz

A substantial standing stone (menhir) in Cité du Roz, Kerléron, Finistère