Andy Burnham's Blog, page 3

Brustigåsen

In a beautiful location on a hilltop in Buskerud, Norway overlooking the valley to the east. From the main road a small drivable dirt road that leads to some old cobolt mines. Halfway to the mines a small but well marked footpath leads up to the hillfort.

The Megalithic Portal's Top 15 Stone Rows in England

Something we did in our book The Old Stones, was to attempt objective ratings of the best of various types of megalithic monuments to visit in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. We did this by analysing numbers of visits, and ratings left for the various sites by visitors to the Megalithic Portal. Here is one of the lists we worked out - a run down of the best stone rows to visit in England - featuring many wonderful Dartmoor examples, and others you may not know.

Roman inscription at Boldog

At first sight you might easily overlook this stone, especially compared with the imposing remains of Roman monuments elsewhere. But its significance becomes clear once we consider the broader historical context - it lies some 30 kilometres beyond the former Roman frontier, north of the Danube, within what was once regarded as Teutonic tribal territory.

Hovenweep - Cutthroat Castle

One of the Hovenweep sites in Colorado. The Cutthroat Group also appears to have a large number of kivas (ceremonial Puebloan structures) relative to other building types.

Drannandow S

It is a general rule of thumb that the impressiveness of a site is inversely proportional to the difficulty in reaching it. This relatively well-preserved long cairn in Galloway is reached by a c. 2 mile walk along reasonable tracks. The nearby cairn at Drannandow S requires a further 600 yards detour S over rough moorland to a small grassy mound topped by a shepherds cairn. Driving directions and my walking route are available on the main page.

Le Doigt de Dieu

The Finger of God, a natural mass of rock in Finistère sculptured by erosion. About 1 km W of Port Manec'h on the rocky cliff facing the Atlantic ocean.

Kroghenlund Runddysse

Megalitgrav (Burial Chamber) in Svendborg. A tree has grown up against the large capstone, shaping itself around the stone to the point where it appears almost fused with it. More photos on our page.

Trewavas Cliff Chambered Cairn

The remains of a clifftop chambered cairn, possibly once a Scillonian entrance grave. You can see one capstone in position, one misplaced capstone and one stone of the kerb. There is an ancient settlement (see photos on our page) and fresh water on the headland as well.

Hersoug

In a large sloping grassy field easily visible from the local round is a round barrow located on a smaller flat hill which is part of the barrow, making it a very rare "step barrow" known only in a handful of sites in Norway. The base is 40 metres in diameter and 2 metres in height and flattened with a mound of top, making the step appearance. The top part of the barrow is 12 metres in diameter and 1,5 metres in height. This detail is easier to see on LIDAR maps because of the vegetation which consists of large and small trees and scrub.

Palazzo Besta

This Renaissance building in Teglio (Sondrio province) is known for its frescoes and its stüe: typical rooms entirely covered with wood panels. Most importantly, the ground floor houses an extensive collection of Bronze Age Steles. The stones come from the Teglio area, most of them are in very good conditions, all are accompanied by illustrative material and there are several information panels.