Andy Burnham's Blog, page 72

Graig Las Cairn 2

Situated within a high marshland to the west of Tyrrau Mawr this cairn shares the immediate area with another cairn about 20m to the NE. A prehistoric settlement lies further to the SW. The cairn is located at the eastern end of a long terrace.

Fort Hill Sharpening Stone

The surface of this stone, a very hard fine-grained metamorphic boulder, contains a series of long V-shaped grooves as well as scattered depressions. National Park Service interpretation at the site describes the depressions as areas where Native American tribes sharpened their stone axe blades. The V-shaped grooves, now fairly worn, were used to sharpen bone fish hooks.

Hafotty Fach monolith quarry

The site is a large boulder that seems to have been used as the core to extract monoliths. I noticed an 'odd' cairn whilst visiting/photographing the nearby settlement, approx 100m away. On closer inspection the cairn was seen to be a scattering of 6 or 7 stones that look like monoliths, one of which appeared finished - complete with one chisel shaped end - the others all looked to be, at least partially, unfinished.

Dowally

Our first photos of these lovely stones between Perth and Pitlochry. A pair of standing stones located by the green garden hedge of the small cottage. Both monoliths are quite impressive slabs up to 230cm and 260cm tall. The western stone has a distinctive vertical quartzite vein. According to existing sources the stones are not in its origin location. They were relocated and rearranged after one was hit by the bus and broken sometimes before 1975.

Xunantunich

Xunantunich is a Mayan centre in Cayo District, Western Belize. The structures are dated to the Classic period (300 - 900 CE). Among the structures there is El Castillo, one of the largest known Mayan pyramids. There is evidence that the city was abandoned after an earthquake.

Seokchon-dong gobungun

In the south-eastern residential area of Seoul city, a "gobun-gun" (tumulus group) is preserved as a park. Most are thought to have been constructed in the early 4th century during the Baekje kingdom (18BCE?-660CE). Once there seemed to be 66 chambered cairns, but now only the following monuments remain:

Cromeleque do Xarez

One of the few square stone circles (!), in the whole world - or cromlech as the Portuguese call them. Rebuilt in quadrangular form, with 52 small fragmented monoliths of various shapes made out of granite. A huge menhir in the centre about 4 meters tall, also fragmented, which has near its base a set of small carved dimples.

Ring-in-the-Mire

See also the 1845 painting of Ring-in-the-Mire on this page. Designated as a site where four parishes converge the Ring-in-the-Mire is an ancient pond where the parishes of Honiton, Sidbury, Gittisham and Farway meet. It is said that Isabella De Fortibus, the 8th Countess of Devon settled the boundaries after a dispute by throwing her ring into the mire, the name has since stuck. The pond was later associated with Farway Castle in Devon

Harolds Stones

Three tall stones stand leaning at all angles in an open field. Their purpose is unknown, and they may once have been part of a larger stone monument, possibly a circle. Although they were said to commemorate a battle won by King Harold, they very likely date from the Bronze Age.

Slawenburg Rugard

The Slavic hillfort "Rugard" is located at the highest point on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It is a two-part hillfort on the summit of the Rugard, on an area of about 2 hectares. The hillfort was the preferred seat of power for the Ranish elite until 1325.