Megalithic and Prehistoric Sites

[Bahnhof Strasse]

i was just looking at Avebury online - never been - the main site looks a bit shit though, the way its been built on and has a road running through it

that local area seems to have a lot of ciricles and stone...can anyone recommend the best to go to?

Yes go now, take my car!

M4 to Marlborough then A4, just past Silbury Hill is the start/end of the Ridgeway, you can park there and head up the hill to until you see the avenue of stones down to your left, walk down towards them through Falkners Circle, cross the road at the bottom of the hill and you are in the avenue of stones, walk up them to the earth works and ring at the end. It’s awesome, free, you can get close and hug the stones. When you’re done being a hippy head to the pub, which is the HQ for the young farmers who spawned a global loonery brand that is crop circles, they’re just bored kids from the arse end of nowhere.

Return to your car and head back to Silbury Hill, you’re not supposed to climb it any more, no one will stop you though, the top is not that stable now. Opposite that is West Kennet Longbarrow, it’s a good one.

So yeah, it’s well worth it.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I get it that Skara Brae is a little bit older than the Pyramids of Egypt and had loads of impressive features as you've mentioned. But to call them (as you didn't, but Bahnhof Strasse did) "perhaps the most extraordinary thing on earth" is a little excessive. I don't think I need to explain why the Pyramids are stronger contenders for "the most extraordinary thing on earth" prize, at least in the "Built by humans" category.

The fact that it was unknown until 1850, therefore is extraordinarily well preserved and only now we’re working out that it is part of something much, much bigger up there. Rather than some poxy pyramids, that kind of shit was going up all over the shop, ten a penny

 

[Lucy Fur]

I get it that Skara Brae is a little bit older than the Pyramids of Egypt and had loads of impressive features as you've mentioned. But to call them (as you didn't, but Bahnhof Strasse did) "perhaps the most extraordinary thing on earth" is a little excessive. I don't think I need to explain why the Pyramids are stronger contenders for "the most extraordinary thing on earth" prize, at least in the "Built by humans" category.

Yep, wouldn't argue with that. Personally I find all ancient architecture totally fascinating but don't feel the need to rank it. I suspect Bahnhof Strasse was just being enthusiastic rather than definitive but that's for him to argue. Anyway top thread and good work Voley with you thread. I'm sure
I'll be preaching to the converted here, but in case anyone has come across his work, Julian cope's books/website are worth checking out.

 

[JimW]

I get it that Skara Brae is a little bit older than the Pyramids of Egypt and had loads of impressive features as you've mentioned. But to call them (as you didn't, but Bahnhof Strasse did) "perhaps the most extraordinary thing on earth" is a little excessive. I don't think I need to explain why the Pyramids are stronger contenders for "the most extraordinary thing on earth" prize, at least in the "Built by humans" category.

Not being an arse, grandiose mausoleums are bit more common (to still be able to find) and thus less impressive than comfy ordinary housing from millennia BC in my book. Have been to Skara Brae but not the pyramids too, so maybe I'm biased.

 

[platinumsage]

Silbury hill is funny, it reminds me of the excessive architecture of Dubai. Someone was living off the fat of the land to get that built.

 

[Voley]

Avebury's ace ska invita - I'd be very surprised if you didn't love it. The main bit with the pub in the middle is just one bit of a massive, sprawling prehistoric landscape. I've barely seen any of it but really enjoyed the couple of days I had up there a few years back.

 

[kebabking]

See, I can see the grandeur and the awe of the pyramids - because, well, they are astonishing - but skara brae is something very different: I can relate to it, I can see my kids playing there, I can see myself sat there stitching clothes, I can see my dad sailing in the sea, I can see Mrs K honking off because I've left all my prehistoric daysacks lying about.

I simply have no emotional connection with a bunch of six fingered, inbred freaks in a death cult in the sand.

 

[Leafster]

I'm not sure I've ever read anything more inconclusive.

I'm not convinced it isn't a Roman road tbh, they weren't always metalled, and the width and ditches being on both sides certainly tick the right boxes. The Ivan D Margery paper referenced in the above makes a good argument, and why make a flint bed foundation for a boundary or ceremonial bank?

Thanks for the link to the Ivan D Margery paper. I've walked and ridden over a stretch of the Roman road he's talking about.

Here's a section of it just north east of Godstone village - there's actually an electricity sub-station on it labelled "Roman Road".



I've walked and ridden over quite a bit of the section he's talking about from Godstone to Purley but I think I'm now going to have to do bits of it again and see if I can identify any of the other features he's mentioned.

Previously I thought this might have been a section of the same Roman Road. It goes on for almost a mile but when I tried to line it up with the road in the photo above it didn't quite match. Ivan Margery seems to think the course of the Roman road was west of this. I need to check it out!

 

[Voley]

Thanks for all the nice things you've said about my thread, everyone. I figured if I started it, it would spur me on to seeing some more stuff around my way.

Been running a year now and it's seen me crawling through underground tunnels, savaged me with barbed wire, given me one unpleasant interaction with a farmer but many more very pleasant ones, killed two pairs of boots. I've made two really good friends because of it. I think at the last count it had taken me to 45-ish sites.

Still updating it. This was a couple of weeks ago:

 

[Artaxerxes]

Ostensibly Skara Brae is slightly more impressive than the Pyramids for being in the arse end of nowhere and still being a major site.


Though back then it wasn't the arse end of nowhere, the waters allowed much faster travel than the land and it was perfectly placed for a trading hub covering Scotland, possibly Ireland and I believe Scandanavia. They've also found artefacts from it around the Stonehenge area.

Think Doggerland must have got a look in to before it went under.

 

[JimW]

Ostensibly Skara Brae is slightly more impressive than the Pyramids for being in the arse end of nowhere and still being a major site.


Though back then it wasn't the arse end of nowhere, the waters allowed much faster travel than the land and it was perfectly placed for a trading hub covering Scotland, possibly Ireland and I believe Scandanavia. They've also found artefacts from it around the Stonehenge area.

Think Doggerland must have got a look in to before it went under.

The book I bought while I was there and I think subsequent research on then Ness of Brodgar (IIRC) supports some notion of it being the centre of a culture that spread south to inspire the henge builders and so forth.

 

[ska invita]

Though back then it wasn't the arse end of nowhere, the waters allowed much faster travel than the land and it was perfectly placed for a trading hub covering Scotland, possibly Ireland and I believe Scandanavia. They've also found artefacts from it around the Stonehenge area.

Also I've read it was a lot warmer and less sudden on these isles 6000 years ago

 

[Artaxerxes]

The book I bought while I was there and I think subsequent research on then Ness of Brodgar (IIRC) supports some notion of it being the centre of a culture that spread south to inspire the henge builders and so forth.

Something about the Atlantic coastline certainly really fucking ticked the boxes for building weird shit.

 

[Flavour]

You know what else is up there :

Derinkuyu underground city - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

and various other similar sites in turkey - mindblowing

 

[JimW]

You know what else is up there :

Derinkuyu underground city - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

and various other similar sites in turkey - mindblowing

Yes, was thinking of those early Anatolian cities too when I was going on about ordinary houses, would love to visit.

 

[brogdale]

Thanks for all the nice things you've said about my thread, everyone. I figured if I started it, it would spur me on to seeing some more stuff around my way.

Been running a year now and it's seen me crawling through underground tunnels, savaged me with barbed wire, given me one unpleasant interaction with a farmer but many more very pleasant ones, killed two pairs of boots. I've made two really good friends because of it. I think at the last count it had taken me to 45-ish sites.

Still updating it. This was a couple of weeks ago:

Followed

Some great pics.
Inspired me to dig out my truly mega collection of pics from last year's Breton megalith odyssey...to be continued...

 

[ska invita]

Something about the Atlantic coastline certainly really fucking ticked the boxes for building weird shit.

My understanding of the atlantic coast connection is that in the Bronze Age (3000BC onwards), there was a big market/need for Tin and Copper to make Bronze weapons with - Cornwall and Wales were the place to go to get it (tin in Cornwall and copper in Wales) and so plenty of continental celts would make a b-line there as a result, bringing with them their fancy menhir-ways and so forth...

It does seem to be that these megalith traditions came first from Turkey across into Iberia and also somehow cross fertilised into Norther France, and it was particularly the Celts from now France and Spain/Portugal that brought it to these islands....

 

[Lucy Fur]

You know what else is up there :

Derinkuyu underground city - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

and various other similar sites in turkey - mindblowing

I've been lucky enough to visit this and it is truly bloody awesome!

 

[ska invita]

anyone ever been to SW Ireland? Looks like its Stone Circle Central down there....

 

[pogofish]

As well as Croydon, I vaguely remember reading somewhere that a considerable amount of archaeology got bulldozed with little if any investigation as part of the Heathrow land-grab - potentially the largest ancient site ever discovered in that part of England?

 

[brogdale]

As well as Croydon, I vaguely remember reading somewhere that a considerable amount of archaeology got bulldozed with little if any investigation as part of the Heathrow land-grab - potentially the largest ancient site ever discovered in that part of England?

With no need for airports any more...perhaps the archaeologists will get the land back?

 

[kebabking]

With no need for airports any more...perhaps the archaeologists will get the land back?

The CAA/NATS have a big radar site up in Shropshire on Clee Hill - which is also a huge Iron age hill fort with a bronze age burial mound/cairn - it's done now and there's no point crying over spilt milk - but one of the original radars has been demolished for over a decade. It has however just been left as a great brick/concrete scar on the hill like an old bomb site. It really gets on my tits...

 

[Dan U]

Thanks to brogdale for the heads up about this thread

I have learnt my kids have regularly run down a barrow on reigate heath, near our old house and we now cycle past another one regularly in Earlswood. Can't wait to tell my son!

 

[mx wcfc]

Avebury's ace ska invita - I'd be very surprised if you didn't love it. The main bit with the pub in the middle is just one bit of a massive, sprawling prehistoric landscape. I've barely seen any of it but really enjoyed the couple of days I had up there a few years back.

yep, ska invita , Avebury is well worth a visit. Better than Stonehenge, as you can get up close to the Stones - cheaper too! If you do get out there, West Kennet Long Barrow and Silbury Hill are close by and worth a diversion.

 

[ska invita]

anyone ever been to SW Ireland? Looks like its Stone Circle Central down there....

View attachment 225635

Clicking on those red dots seems almost all the circles are these mini 5 stone jobs, with all the stones really close together

 

[Artaxerxes]

We went to Cork last year, lovely place and yeah can't move for circles and tombs. Have a map of the wild Atlantic way and it's just full of them despite the small scale.

 

[mx wcfc]

If you are going to Ireland and want prehistory, don't miss Newgrange and the other sites in that area. It's east, rather than west Ireland, though. I went many years ago, but it and another nearby site are really impressive.

 

[ska invita]

Re Stonehenge we stopped by last summer, doing the free version. Parked in Larkhill and walked down the Drove, a track that leads right up to the henge, youre a couple of meters further away than ticket holders but can't say I felt I was missing out on anything.

Along the Drove were a few travellers parked up in veichles. Got talking to one group of nutters, and it turned out the guy I was chatting to had made this film about Wally Hope who was instrumental in starting the Stonehenge free festival, and about the festival in general. Low budget production but some great footage and stories in there.

This guy I was taking to was Dean Phillips who was there at the first festival and seems to still be camped up on the Drove up to stonehenge to this day selling copies!

Everyone's Wally (2015) - IMDb

He was also saying that the Drove is under threat, can't remember from who, but without it it would totally privatise access to the henge.

Anyhow, was there on a beautiful sunny day at the end of August, gorgeous sunset, and once again it was one of those moments where the stones were totally secondary to overall landscape and position.. can see the whole scene really clearly in my memory. Beautiful moment.

 

[CNT36]

Care to expand a little...maybe?

Really big pyramids in Egypt.

 

[Lucy Fur]

Really big pyramids in Egypt.

This is a rather lovely, informative and supportive thread, so maybe take that rapier wit of yours over to UK politics or something and see how well it serves you.