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The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Twyn y Parc » Samhain sunset line |
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Yikaryd 1 posts |
Feb 01, 2018, 11:24
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An interesting site, I do not believe to be a defensive structure.. as the sun sets here on Samhain if bryn celli ddu is used as a focal point.
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thesweetcheat 6209 posts |
Feb 03, 2018, 05:52
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Thanks for this. I wish we'd been able to visit, but the coast path cuts inland here to avoid the estate, access looked iffy and the weather was horrible when we walked round that bit. One for the future though.
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Amil04 447 posts |
Feb 23, 2018, 09:55
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Graham Robb. ‘The Ancient Paths’ - good read regarding sunset lines...
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thesweetcheat 6209 posts |
Feb 23, 2018, 17:32
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It's sitting in one of the "to read" piles that currently occupy most of the floor space here.
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Amil04 447 posts |
Feb 23, 2018, 18:42
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Ha... Must give it another read myself. I remember finding it quite absorbing...
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GLADMAN 950 posts |
Feb 24, 2018, 17:55
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Yikaryd wrote: An interesting site, I do not believe to be a defensive structure.. as the sun sets here on Samhain if bryn celli ddu is used as a focal point. Must say I've felt for a long time now that hill forts had a dual purpose... the way many a Neolithic and Brionze Age monument were incorporated within sometimes quite cramped living space suggests to me that there was an 'other dimensional' aspect to hill forts; a combination of actual military power to metaphysical power. The siting of many, too - http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/8617/chesters.html is perhaps the most blatant example I've seen - also suggests there was a major aspect of 'bling' in the mix as well. Let's see how many banks and gateways we can have to get the message across to other tribes 'you don't even want to think about it'. So military (most certainly), ritualistic (seems that way to me) and sheer showing off.
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Monganaut 2370 posts |
Edited Feb 24, 2018, 21:26
Feb 24, 2018, 20:30
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I was reading one of those old antiquarian books on holiday in Anglesey last year where according to the one of the chapters, there were 2 carnedd (heaps of stones) near to Brn Celli Ddu up until the mid 18th century or so (when they were apparently broken up to make, of all things, a field wall and bridge...see pages 17-18 of E Baynes below....unless I'm reading it wrong that is, though the guardian article seems to agree). Along with the recently discovered rock art to the ENE, the site could have be a more important monument than it is currently considered. According to the book Bryn Kelli (old spelling) was once called Llwyn Llwyd. E N Baynes The megalithic remains of Anglesey can be downloaded free here... https://archive.org/details/cu31924029933011 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/21/archeologists-unearth-prehistoric-ritual-area-bryn-celli-ddu-anglesey The book lists loads of sites/tombs lost in the last coupla hundred years. If you look at the Bryn Celli from Google maps satellite image, there's an interesting almost circular field enclosure very nearby that is unlike other field eboundaries in the area. Probably nothing, but it's curious at almost 550 meters across. I suppose the pinnacle of Gladman's idea would be Maiden Castle. A site of 'importance' since Neolithic times, ulta complex hornworks at the entrance, and a multitude of banks around it's circumference.
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GLADMAN 950 posts |
Feb 25, 2018, 11:12
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Thanks for that link... love those old books. I like to think that, should TMA archives survive in some way or another for the next 50-100 years future people might be able to say 'so that's what once existed at X farm before the farmer destroyed it in 2040'. Re Maiden Castle... it is inconceivable that such a massive perimeter could ever have been defended in depth by the inhabitants so surely something else must have featured in the architects minds as well
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Amil04 447 posts |
Feb 25, 2018, 11:21
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I visited Maiden Castle last year and found a flint core dug out by rabbits. If one looks on google maps you can see two white spots towards the extreme west on one of the outer banks. Should still be there....In fact there were a couple of other possible worked pieces too. I must say I had an real feeling of well being walking around. Just me and one other chap there. Sunny to begin with then the rain came in. Wouldn’t have had it any other way.
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Monganaut 2370 posts |
Edited Feb 25, 2018, 19:12
Feb 25, 2018, 19:05
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We were up there in June last year....was like winter, bloody freezing. Just down the road in Dorchester is Mount Pleasant henge that became an amphithreatre for the Roman town, plus, there's another ploughed out one called Big Rings that went cos' of aggregate extraction. The immediate environs of Maiden Castle are dotted with various round barrows, some of quite a size. I read it was the Oppidum (tribal capital) of the Durotriges prior to the conquest, so obvs a very important 'seat' once upon a time. You get such a great view of the ramparts on the South side, very impressive, plus, like Oswestry, think there are cattle/sheep pens incorporated into the inner ramparts in places. Slightly further south of the fort you get the Dorset Ridgeway, which is literally littered with roundbarrows and other prehistoric remains, plus the legendary Dorchester Cursus. Walking through the elaborate hornworks, it was hard not to imagine Sir Mortimer Wheeler astride his trusty Land Rover pointing out the various points of interest like some General of old.
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