The Old Stones Of Wales

There are many hundreds of fascinating prehistoric sites in Wales, in some of the most beautiful locations in Britain, from mountaintop settings, such as at Bryn Cader Faner, to headlands with all-round sea views, as at Coetan Arthur, or on truly remote moorland, as at Bannau Sir Gaer. The road links between North and South Wales are not that great, so it's probably best to choose one or the other as a destination unless you are up for a lot of motoring. In North Wales, Anglesey has a particularly dense concentration of megalithic sites, with many in Gwynedd and Conwy to visit on the way. South Wales stretches from Monmouthshire to Pembrokeshire, where there is the biggest and best variety of sites, including the iconic Pentre Ifan with its capstone apparently delicately floating over its three massive uprights. The Old Stones of Wales is part of a series covering the megalithic and other prehistoric sites of Britain and Ireland. The series is published together as The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland, available as a book and an ebook.

Winner of Current Archaeology’s Book of the Year Discover the iconic standing stones and prehistoric sites of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland—this comprehensive, coffee table travel guide features over 750 must-see destinations, with maps and color photographs The ultimate insiders’ guide, The Old Stones gives unparalleled insight into where to find prehistoric sites and how to understand them, by drawing on the knowledge, expertise and passion of the archaeologists, theorists, photographers and stones aficionados who contribute to the world’s biggest megalithic website—the Megalithic Portal. Including over 30 maps and site plans and hundreds of color photographs, it also contains scores of articles by a wide range of contributors—from archaeologists and archaeoastronomers to dowsers and geomancers—that will change the way you see these amazing survivals from our distant past. Locate over 1,000 of Britain and Ireland’s most atmospheric prehistoric places, from recently discovered moorland circles to standing stones hidden in housing estates. Discover which sites could align with celestial bodies or horizon landmarks. Explore acoustic, color, and shadow theory to get inside the minds of the Neolithic and Bronze Age people who created these extraordinary places. Find out which sites have the most spectacular views, which are the best for getting away from it all and which have been immortalized in music. And don't forget to visit the Megalithic Portal website and get involved by posting your discoveries online. All royalties from this book go to support the running of the Megalithic Portal: www.megalithic.com.

This ebook covers the Neolithic and Bronze Age remains of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Dorset. If you’re looking to visit as many iconic megalithic sites in as short a time as possible, then West Penwith, at the very tip of Cornwall, should be high on your list, with its famous holed stone at Mên-an-Tol, the leaning pillar inside the circle of Boscawen-ûn, and much else. But there are many other treasures to find throughout the region. Dartmoor is famous for its stone rows (around 86 of these have been identified), and Exmoor for the challenge of its hard-to-spot “minilithic” settings. Britain’s second-largest stone circle is at Stanton Drew in Somerset, while the 10km (6 mile) long Dorest Cursus is probably Britain’s largest Neolithic site. If you’re visiting Gloucestershire, you may also want to download The Old Stones of Wales ebook as the sites here are very close to South Wales. The Old Stones of the West of England is part of a series covering the megalithic and other prehistoric sites of Britain and Ireland. The series is published together as The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland, available as a book and an ebook.

The ancient standing stones, stone circles and burial chambers of Wales - remarkable feats of construction that are surrounded by legend.

The Largest Stone Monument In Britain Before Hadrian's Wall? 'Really?', you say. 'Come on, that can't be true.' Well, let's double down on that because this book will also tell you how Stonehenge began as a Welsh monument almost a millennium before Stonehenge, as we know it, was built. Despite that, it's not a 'wacky' book. It's heavily researched, fairly heavy on footnotes, and careful to distinguish factual evidence from wishful thinking, although, inevitably, there is much supposition. By the end of the book, though, you might just be saying 'Well, I never thought I'd say this, but I think you may be right. Who knew?' Who indeed!

Until the BBC dedicated an hour long programme to it in early 2021, few knew that some stones on a peaty moorland in Pembrokeshire were once the largest stone circle in Britain, and they were the exact stones transported to create the 'original' Stonehenge. Similarly, until recently a peaty moorland site in Carmarthenshire had been designated as merely one of nearly 700 Iron Age forts in Wales. Now research has concluded that it is not only several thousand years older, but was once a major Neolithic religious centre, and, indeed, is the largest ancient stone monument in Britain. This book compellingly makes the case in a heavily researched, but lightly written, style that encourages the reader to draw their own conclusions.

This ebook covers both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It could easily have been filled with sites from the Republic’s southwest alone, the counties of Cork and Kerry being famed for their wedge tombs and their stone circles (often in absolutely beautiful locations) that include Drombeg, Derreenataggart, Ardgroom, Shronebirrane, Uragh and many others. Otherwise, visitors tend to head for the cluster of sites around Newgrange (Co. Meath) to the east. That there were once even more prehistoric monuments in this rich farmland was revealed in the sweltering summer of 2018, when the parched earth showed up previously undetected sites as cropmarks. Also included in this ebook are many lesser-known but wonderful sites from the north and east of Ireland, such as the vast megalithic complexes of Beaghmore, Carrowmore and Carrowkeel. Each of these will take a whole day to explore fully, so allow plenty of time. The Old Stones of Ireland is part of a series covering the megalithic and other prehistoric sites of Britain and Ireland. The series is published together as The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland, available as a book and an ebook.