Andy Burnham's Blog, page 73

Bildstein Marienkirche

An ancient relief of a human figure (a Slavonic deity?) in the wall at the entrance of the Marienkirche Bergen.

Dolmen de Trouesses

Recently I noticed a Rue des Dolmen locally, then with the help of my bike and Google earth I found it tucked down a chemin in a small housing area. The area is flat and well tended and situated in the centre is a large dolmen. The main chamber has collapsed over time but it is still in recognisable condition.

Cockrow Hill Bell Barrow

A recent drone image released by Highways England shows the progress of the M25/A3 junction work. I have highlighted the location of the barrow with an arrow (a bit below so as not to obscure it). A large bell barrow, 42m in diameter, 3.3m high, situated upon the top of a rise of ground on heathland. The mound is tree covered, and has been eroded away in part by footpaths, but is otherwise in fairly good condition. It is very close to the M25 / A3 roundabout which is being upgraded, see 'Option 14' plan below.

Ziprianu 'e Forra Domus de Janas

A large Neolithic domus de janas (rock-cut tomb) located on the south-eastern slope of Monte Ziprianu (sometimes spelled Zipirianu), west of Tissi in Sardinia / Sardegna. The tomb is partly collapsed and covered in thick vegetation, although part of its interior has survived.

Must Farm

The full, huge, report on Must Farm has been published, and it is fully Open Access. Bronze Age settlement built on oak piles driven into the bed of the River Nene. Destroyed by a fire sometime between 700 - 500BC, the remains were first excavated from the Must Farm Quarry by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) in 2010-2011. The work continued for many years and has now been written up, details in the comments below.

Stane Street (Chichester section)

Stane Street is the modern name for the Roman Road that linked Chichester (Noviomagus Reginorum) to London. In West Sussex what remains of the road can be followed from the outskirts of Chichester (starting in Halnaker allows for a detour to see the lovely Boxgrove Priory) to the panoramic Bignor Hill.

Frenne Bautasten

Boeddel recreated some photos from 1869 for the 150th (now 155th) anniversary of the originals. Part of a grove of standing stones on Bornholm island. The Frenne stone stands close to the road south of Svaneke, near the Feriebyen holiday cottages. Have a look for the "face" on the stone, see the other angles on our page - it turns left with mouth and eye in the top middle.

Wellhill Copse Barrow

A little known Bronze Age round barrow nestling between Daglingworth and Cirencester with a diameter of 30m and about 1.5m high. It has little recorded history and did not even feature in George Witts Archaeological Handbook Of Gloucestershire 1883. There was a passing reference to it in Beecham's History of Gloucestershire 1887.

Caru Benllech Mini Cromlech (modern)

This is a wonderful mini cromlech/dolmen that has been created on a grass verge by the side of the road in Benllech, Anglesey. It was created sometime in the Autumn of 2022. It is only small - about 3 foot high, but captures the spirit of what it represents wonderfully (even down to the cap stone not sitting flush to the "legs").

Castaldu statue-menhir

One of the most interesting and hard-to-find statues-menhirs in Corsica. It has a dagger mark and, very unique, 2 round swells on its breast. Is it an Amazon or a new type of armour? Do not believe the triangle (menhir) mark on the IGN 4253OT map, this statue-menhir stands in an oak wood beyond the stone boundary wall of Castaldu meadow, on the 2nd natural terrace above the Taravo river and an apple garden.