STONE BOTHERING

Cerro La Virgen in Huanchaco is one of those places that quietly holds entire chapters of history without asking for attention. Most travellers pass through Trujillo on their way to Chan Chan or the temples of the Moche . Few realise that a hill just above the coastline carries its own story of power, pilgrimage and connection between two of the greatest civilizations of pre Hispanic Peru. This hilltop sanctuary stood as a spiritual watchtower between land and sea, and today it remains one of the most intriguing lesser known archaeological sites you can visit in northern Peru. Cerro La Virgen sits between the Pacific Ocean and the Moche Valley, an area that has been cultivated for thousands of years. From its summit you can see the fishing town of Huanchaco and further inland the wide fertile valley where the Moche and later the Chimu built their kingdoms. It is no surprise that ancient people chose this hill as a sacred sanctuary. Any place with views like this calls for ceremony, obs...

Pampa La Cruz has become one of the most unsettling archaeological sites in Peru. Over the last several years it has revealed a story that is both gripping and deeply tragic. Hidden just beneath the soil are the remains of hundreds of children who were sacrificed in ceremonies. The discoveries have forced archaeologists to rethink everything we believed about the Chimú and their ritual world. Archaeologists working here have uncovered the remains of more than three hundred children in large ceremonial mounds. Many were buried with care, surrounded by pottery, textiles, small ornaments and the remains of young llamas. Radiocarbon dating shows that these sacrifices took place over at least four centuries. The oldest burials date to about the eleventh century and the newest belong to the early years of the sixteenth century, shortly before the arrival of the Spanish. It is not just the number of graves that is astonishing. It is the consistency of the rituals. Many of the children show a ...

Cornwall has a talent for surprises. You can be walking through hills and quiet villages when suddenly a single great boulder appears as if placed there by a giant’s hand. Bowl Rock near Trencrom Hill is exactly that kind of place. It looks simple at first glance yet the more time you spend with it the more fascinating it becomes. Locals will happily tell you that Bowl Rock was once a bowling ball belonging to the giants of Trencrom. The story is wonderfully absurd and that is exactly why it endures. Trencrom Hill has long been associated with tales of giant rivalries and noisy competitions played across the landscape. According to the old whispers these giants would roll stones up and down the hillsides for sport and Bowl Rock was one of the favourites. The National Trust even leans into the legend with a small plaque that nods to the tale and adds a touch of fun to the visit. When you stand beside Bowl Rock the story becomes strangely believable. The boulder is rounded almost perfect...

Wiltshire has a way of surprising you even when you think you already know it. Ancient trackways loop across its high chalk ridges. Lone ash trees lean into the wind. Fields roll away into the White Horse Valley like a gentle green sea. And then there are the stones. Some celebrated. Some forgotten. Some so quiet and humble that you could walk right past them without ever realising. The Hackpen Hill Standing Stone is one of those quiet ones. This solitary sarsen sits on the slope below the Ridgeway, just a short distance from the White Horse Way. It looks simple at first glance. A single pale stone rising from the grass. But this little survivor carries an atmosphere that is hard to explain. The Hackpen Hill Standing Stone is a sarsen. These hard blocks of ancient sandstone once littered the region. Most people know sarsens from Stonehenge and Avebury, but they also appear on lonely hillsides and tucked into hedgerows, often hinting at some long forgotten purpose. This particular stone...

There are places in Cornwall where the past does not feel distant or buried beneath the soil. It stands before you in the quiet lines of stone walls. It settles into the cool air of underground spaces. It lingers in the shape of the land as if every dip and rise remembers who once walked there. Carn Euny is one of those places. Carn Euny is more than ruins. It is one of the best preserved ancient villages in Britain and one of the most atmospheric places you can explore if you care about old stones, half forgotten stories, and the sense of standing where countless generations once lived. This is a place that rewards wandering and rewards imagination. But beyond its atmosphere, Carn Euny is also archaeologically fascinating. It has a long history of occupation, and its features paint a rich picture of prehistoric and Romano British life in Cornwall. The crown jewel of the site is the fogou, an underground stone passage that still provokes debate and curiosity today. Carn Euny lies near ...

There are places in Britain where time feels different, as if the past still lingers in the air. Trethevy Quoit is one of those places. Set among the countryside of St Cleer on the southern edge of Bodmin Moor, this Neolithic chambered monument has watched over the land for nearly six thousand years. It is not grand in the way that Stonehenge is grand and it is not vast like the circles of Avebury , but it has a presence that rivals any of them. It is a monument that feels alive. Trethevy Quoit is often called a portal dolmen, a burial chamber, a place of ancient ceremony, or even a gate between worlds. It is perhaps all of these things and perhaps something else entirely. What survives today is a structure so well preserved that you can almost imagine the builders stepping back to admire their work. Its capstone rises like a jagged fin of stone, leaning dramatically on upright slabs. It looks frozen mid movement, as though the whole thing were part of some slow geological performance...

Few places in England carry the subtle magic of Wiltshire. Everyone knows Stonehenge . Many know the Ridgeway’s barrows and the White Horses carved into the chalk. But between Bath and the hills that rise above Box is a small village with a secret that reaches deeper into the past than anyone living there remembers. Kingsdown appears peaceful, almost ordinary, yet scattered through its gardens, woods, and roadside verges is a mystery that refuses to stay buried. This is the story of the Kingsdown stones. These are not random boulders or decorative landscaping. These are menhirs. Heavy, ancient, wide bodied stones that once stood upright. Some rise abruptly from the edge of the road. Others lie half sunk into private lawns. A few sit deep inside Kingsdown Woods piled in a jumble that suggests something far more deliberate than chance. Their presence has whispered to locals for generations. But the truth is that even in archaeology circles, Kingsdown remains an under-explored enigma....