Stone Circles, Oval Settings and Henges in South-west Wales and Beyond

Abstract

Topographical and geophysical surveys carried out in August 2002 at three monuments in the Preseli Hills of Pembrokeshire are reported: Bedd Arthur, Gors Fawr and Meini Gwyr. Previously unrecorded features were revealed at all three sites, most spectacularly at Meini Gwyr which, from the evidence of geophysical survey, appears to be a multi-phase monument that includes a double pit-circle, hengi-form monument and embanked enclosure with an internal stone circle. Comparisons are made with plans prepared by Flinders Petrie in 1926, published here for the first time. A viewshed analysis of the surveyed sites and others of similar kind in the area allows an appreciation of landscape setting and intervisibility. It is suggested that the stone circles are sited in relation to upland stone sources. All the monuments considered here are compared with contemporary structures recorded elsewhere in the British Isles. It is concluded that while the stone circles and oval setting fit comfortably within a distribution pattern that extends across most of the British Isles, the later phases of Meini Gwyr at least belong to a more localized tradition of monument building focused on the Irish Sea region.

Houses of the Holy: Architecture and Meaning in the Structure of Stonehenge, Wiltshire, UK

“…Non-domestic oval monuments were also built in the coastlands of northwestern Europe at this time (Darvill and Wainwright 2003), including stone examples at Bedd Arthur, Pembrokeshire (Darvill and Wainwright 2003, 13-18; Through these changes in the arrangement of bluestones, the central area of Stonehenge was maintained as a house of the holy through cultural change and shifting architectural preferences, in much the same way that two 4-posters within circles were probably replaced by an oval structure in Area III at Greenbogs, Aberdeenshire, although the exact stratigraphic relationships and succession of structures is slightly unclear (Noble, Greig, and Millican 2012, 142).…”

Leonardo García Sanjuán, Chris Scarre and David W. Wheatley, eds. Exploring Time and Matter in Prehistoric Monuments: Absolute Chronology and Rare Rocks in European Megaliths (Proceedings of the 2nd European Megalithic Studies Group Meeting, Seville, Spain, November 2008, Menga: Journal of Andalusian Prehistory Monograph No. 1, Seville: Andalusian Government, 2011, 387pp., many illustrations including colour plates, hbk and CD, ISBN 978-9959-083-7)

“…Dentro del área general de Preseli, existen monumentos líticos del Neolítico como el dolmen "de portal" de Pentre Ifan, que data de principios del IV milenio ANE, y la tumba de corredor Bedd yr Afanc, que posiblemente también haya sido construida en esa época Darvill y Wainwright, 2003. Otro yacimiento, que data de mediados del IV milenio ANE, es el recinto de Banc Du (Darvill et al, 2005: 22;Darvill y Wainwright, 2009: 4).…”

“…Otro yacimiento, que data de mediados del IV milenio ANE, es el recinto de Banc Du (Darvill et al, 2005: 22;Darvill y Wainwright, 2009: 4). Los seis círculos de piedra podrían pertenecer al Neolítico reciente, pero podrían haber sido construidos durante la Edad de Bronce; en el único que se ha excavado se han descubierto unos pocos fragmentos de cerámica del Bronce Medio (Darvill y Wainwright, 2003). Otros yacimientos prehistóricos incluyen menhires y piedras con cazoletas, algunos en los alrededores de manantiales.…”

Excavations at a Multi-period Site at Greenbogs, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and the Four-post Timber Architecture Tradition of Late Neolithic Britain and Ireland

“…Likewise the further characterisation of the cropmark evidence from Scotland and beyond may well reveal many more Late Neolithic timber structures of this form. It will also be useful in future years to explore the longevity of this structural form, the Greenbogs four-post structures, for example, have parallels with late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC four-post stone circles that are particularly abundant in the Aberdeenshire region and the oval structure C at Greenbogs also has wider parallels in both timber and stone (Burl 1988;Darvill & Wainwright 2003). The links between the timber sites and the later monumental and probably funerary four-post stone circle sites will be an important avenue of future research.…”

“…In Scotland, specifically, there are fewer excavated sites of similar size and character to Greenbogs (eg, Barclay 1996;2003; Brophy in press) (larger timber circle sites generally interpreted as monuments are outlined below). Potential parallels include four-post structures with Grooved Ware associations found at Beckton Farm, Dumfries & Galloway (Pollard 1997) (Fig.…”