STONE BOTHERING

Craig Rhos-y-Felin is a bluestone outcrop on the north side of the Preseli Mountains. Evidence suggests that this site was used as a quarry during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, around 4000 to 5000 years ago. Craig Rhos-y-Felin is known for being one of the sites where some of the bluestones that form Stonehenge's inner horseshoe were quarried. But in fact, just one of these bluestones pillars were quarried here. The other site is known as Carn Goedog and it's where the majority of the bluestones were quarried. Bluestone outcrops are formed of natural vertical pillars. These pillars can easily be extract off the rock face by opening up the vertical joints between each pillar. It's believed that the Neolithic people needed only to insert wedges into the joints between the pillars and then lower each pillar to the foot of the outcrop. Craig Rhos-y-Felin is located near Crymych in Pembrokeshire, Wales. © All rights reserved

Carn Enoch is an ancient settlement on Dinas Mountain. It comprises rock outcrops and a possible ring cairn or hut circle. It's amusing walking around the rock outcrops and finding some interesting formations. A closer look reveals man-made cuts that appear to be very precise. But the most interesting sight is the rock with tally marks. The origin of these marks are a bit of a mystery. Nobody really knows what they mean. Some people suggested that they could be a lunar calendar. Others believe that the grooves were created by shaping and polishing stone axes in the Neolithic period. But there is also an interesting theory told to us by a local. Legend has it that when the ancient pilgrims walked past the stone on their way across the pilgrim path, they marked the stone to let other pilgrims know that they have passed that point. This was their way of communication. Carn Enoch is located near Fishguard in Wales. © All rights reserved

Silbury Hill is one of the largest prehistoric human-made mounds in the world. It's believed to have been built between 2470 and 2350 BC. Its original purpose is unknown. The mound is composed mainly of chalk and clay and it stands about 30 metres high. The mound we see today was not constructed in a single campaign, but enlarged over several generations. The mound was excavated in 1776 by Edward Drax, who directed a group of miners to dig a vertical shaft from the summit to the centre of the mound. Edward Drax expected to find a central burial chamber, but he didn't find anything. The mound was excavated again in 1849. This time, a horizontal tunnel was dug into the mound. Again, no central burial chamber was found. Between 1968 and 1970, another tunnel was excavated. This investigation led to the conclusion that Silbury Hill had three different phases of construction. The tunnels were never backfilled which contributed to the opening of a crater on the summit and the collapsi

Avebury is a village in the county of Wiltshire in England known for containing a significant number of ancient monuments. The most famous monument is the Avebury Stone Circle. Avebury Stone Circle is the world's largest stone circle, comprising of other monuments within it, including a cove and two stone circles. The stone circle is located inside the henge that encircles part of Avebury village. Some stones at Avebury have names and these names are based on the stories that are related to the stones. Most of the stones are part of the stone circles. But two of them form a stone setting that is believed to be older than the stone circles. DEVIL'S CHAIR This stone got its name from a naturally formed seat on one side of the stone. Directly above the seat is a hole known as "chimney". Legend has it that if you run around the stone anti-clockwise, you will summon the Devil. RING STONE The Ring Stone is a broken piece of stone once smashed by an enraged church minister.

The Cerrig Duon Complex consists of a stone circle, stone rows, a standing stone and an arrangement of stones. These monuments date back to the Bronze Age period (between 2500 - 800 BC) and probably were part of a ceremonial site. The stone circle comprises 20 stones that rise to no more than 0.6m in height. There are two stone rows nearby the stone circle but it can be very difficult to see them because of their size. The Maen Mawr Standing Stone is the largest stone of the complex. This stone aligns with other two small stones. Some people suggest that Maen Mawr acts like the gnomon of a sundial, projecting a shadow that aligns with the small stones on midsummer day. The Compass Stones are an arrangement of stones not very far from the stone circle. The high points of the stones are aligned to the cardinal points. Some people believe that this could have been a cairn. The Cerrig Duon Complex is located in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. © All rights reserved

Somerset is a county in Southwest England well known for its prehistoric landscape. The stunning landscape is composed of rolling hills, large flat expanses of land and an extensive coastline. Here we list six prehistoric sites that are worth a visit. CHEDDAR GORGE Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge formed by meltwater floods during the periglacial periods which have occurred over the last 1.2 million years. The gorge is almost 400 feet deep and three miles long. This is England's largest gorge and it consists of crags, pinnacles and caves. The most popular caves known as Gough's Cave and Cox's Cave, were produced by the activity of an underground river called Cheddar Yeo River which emerges in the lower part of Gough's Cave. The caves contain stalagmites and stalactites which can be visited by the general public. Cheddar Gorge is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest known as Cheddar Complex. The gorge is also known for the discovery of Britain's oldest com

Sarsen stones are sedimentary rocks mostly made up of quartz sand cemented by silica. The stones are found mostly across England, being Wiltshire the county with the largest amount of these stones. It's believed that they were moved to the area through glacial action during the ice age, around 5 to 10 million years ago. Sarsen stones were used in the construction of ancient monument such as Stonehenge and Avebury Stone Circles. But they can also be found scattered naturally across fields. In this post we list 5 places with large amounts of sarsen stones that can be visited in the county of Wiltshire. PIGGLEDENE Piggledene is probably the most famous site of its kind, containing a large amount of sarsen stones scattered across a field. This site is a remnant of a much larger landscape of sandstone periglacial deposits. Many of the stones have been removed in the past to provide building materials in the area. It's possible to see where the stones were worked, split and cut. It&#

The archaeological site of "Todos Santos" was discovered in 1972 during the excavations for the construction of a house. It consists of a complex of stone buildings constructed in different periods of time by different cultures: the indigenous Canari, the Incas and the Spanish conquistadors. The structure with limestone walls was constructed by the Canaris between 750 AD and 1463 AD for the purpose of housing. The Inca wall with trapezoidal niches and lintels was built between 1463 AD and 1533 AD for military purposes. A system of aqueducts was also unearthed. The stone mills were built by the Spanish conquistadors between 1533 AD and 1822 AD for the purpose of grains productions. They also built an aqueduct to provide water for the mills. It's unclear if these different cultures interacted with each other at some point in history. The site of Ruinas de Todos Santos is located in the city of Cuenca in Ecuador. © All rights reserved

Somerset is a rural county in South West England, offering a wide range of prehistoric landscapes in addition to impressive ancient sites. The county has a long history of settlement and is known to have been settled from Palaeolithic times. It's steeped in history and folklore, making it the perfect place to explore England's past. Here is a list of the top ancient sites in this amazing county. GLASTONBURY TOR Glastonbury Tor is certainly one of the most iconic ancient sites in England. It's a hill with a 14th century tower on its top which is all that remains of St. Michael's Church. Glastonbury Tor is a conical hill that rises 158m above the Avalon Marshes. Its peculiar shape is due to a combination of the unusual geology and the distinctive terraces surrounding the hill. The top of the hill is formed from a succession of rocks assigned to the Bridport Sand Formation. These rocks sit upon clay and limestones deposited during the early Jurassic Period. Read more about

Glastonbury Tor is certainly one of the most iconic ancient sites in England. It's a hill with a 14th century tower on its top which is all that remains of St. Michael's Church. Glastonbury Tor is a conical hill that rises 158m above the Avalon Marshes. Its peculiar shape is due to a combination of the unusual geology and the distinctive terraces surrounding the hill. The top of the hill is formed from a succession of rocks assigned to the Bridport Sand Formation. These rocks sit upon clay and limestones deposited during the early Jurassic Period. Geologists haven't found a plausible explanation on how the Tor has survived the erosion of the land around it, but it's believed that a nearby natural spring known as Chalice Well could have helped to prevent it. Chalice Well is an ancient spring nestled at the foot of the Glastonbury Tor. The spring flows from the ground and contains high levels of iron, which colours the water red . This water could have hardened an area of

Land's End is a headland located at the westernmost point of Cornwall. It's very popular with tourists because of its unique location and beautiful scenery. The headland consists of rugged cliffs, rock arches, sea stacks and off-shore rocky islets. Land's End was formed around 270 million years ago and it's composed of two varieties of granite. Granite is an igneous rock, which means they are resistant to weathering and usually have steep cliff faces. The beautiful rocky coastal scenery is the result of a mass of boiling granite that forced its way through the overlying softer rocks to the surface. Discoveries found on-site prove that people have been traveling to and living at Land's End since the Mesolithic Period. These prehistoric settlers were probably attracted by the metal ores found across Cornwall. Many legends surround Land's End. One of them is the legend of Lyonesse. The Longships are a group of off-shore rocky islets situated over 1 mile west of Lan

Pen Y Beacon Stone Circle is a stone circle in the Black Mountains. The circle is composed of one standing stone and three recumbent stones. In the past it was believed that these stones were the remains of a cairn but this theory is no longer accepted. Pen Y Beacon Stone Circle is located at the foot of Hay Bluff Hill, beside a car park near the village of Llanthony in Wales. © All rights reserved

Hound Tor consist of a heavily weathered granite outcrop and it's one of the most famous attractions in Dartmoor National Park. Being on the top of a hill, the views from Hound Tor are fantastic. According to a local legend the unusual rock formations were created when a pack of hounds were turned to stones by witches. Not very far from the rock formations, lies a deserted medieval village known as Hundatora. The settlement consist of a cluster of stone longhouses which were built in the 13th century on land that was originally farmed in the Bronze Age. There are a number of older remains of human occupation nearby. Outlines of medieval fields can be seen from the top of the tor.  Hound Tor is easily accessible from the car park on the B3387 near the village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor in England. © All rights reserved

La Santisima Trinidad de Parana is a former Jesuit colony established by the missionaries in Paraguay in the 18th century. This mission along with others in South America were built as self-contained societies that existed to integrate the indigenous population with the Christian faith. The Jesuit Missions of Paraguay are considered some of the most impressive creations of the religious work of the Jesuits. La Santisima Trinidad de Parana is considered the biggest of all the missions. It has the biggest built temple with an altar carved from a single piece of stone. The large stone church was built around 1745 and it's the most spectacular testimony of the stone construction technology of this period. La Santisima Trinidad de Parana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it's probably one of the least visited sites in the world. The ruins of this spectacular colony are located in the district of Trinidad in the Itapua Department of Paraguay. © All rights reserved

Machu Picchu is the most famous Inca site in Peru. It's located in the Peruvian Andes on a 2,430 meter mountain ridge, between the two mountains known as Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu. Despite the location, the Incas managed to construct a mesmerizing citadel with locally available materials such as limestone and granite. Machu Picchu was built over earthquake faults which suggests that large amounts of fractured stones were readily available for the construction of the citadel. The stones were cut precisely and wedged close together in jigsaw like patterns to prevent the buildings to fall apart during the earthquakes. More than 600 terraces were built to prevent landslides and erosion. They were layered with stone chips, sand, dirt and topsoil to absorb water and prevent it from running down the mountain. The Incas never used wheels to transport the heavy stones, many of them weighing more than 50 pounds. probably due to the steep terrain and dense vegetation. Machu Picchu is a U

Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles. It' s part of a set of Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial sites that formed a large sacred landscape. They include West Kennet Avenue, Adam and Eve Stones, West Kennet Long Barrow, among others. It's believed that the Avebury complex was constructed between 2850 BC and 2200 BC. The henge survives as a huge circular bank and ditch. Within the henge is the largest megalithic stone circle in Britain which in turn encloses two small stone circles. The Avebury monument is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it's situated around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, England. © All rights reserved