Caves, Barrows and Cairns mentioned in the ‘Ramble’.
Caves
- Wookey hole clearly VERY different from when I went there as a child! Other Cheddar caves are definately available!
- Kent’s Cavern. It is a very long time since I visited this cave system either. The Ailwee caves on the Burren are worth a visit, or were as I remember them.
- Jenolan Cave systems. These caves in NSW, Australia, I will not forget.
Barrows and Cairns in the UK
- West Kennet Long Barrow
- Avebury Circle
- Weyland Smithy
- The Grey Cairns of Campster, Caithness
- Maeshowe, Orkney This is an excellent and highly informative resource.
- Scara Brae Orkney (also Orkneyology.com, as above)
- The Ness of Brodgar, Orkney The full story of the amazing 20 year project.
- A fascinating paper on the placement of white quartz stones at sites in Scotland and Ireland.
Brú na Bóinne and the Boyne Valley complex
- Excavation and restoration of the Brú na Bóinne
- Mythical Ireland: New Light on the Ancient Past. Anthony Murphy’s inspring and informative platform covering the Boyne Valley complex and many other sites and relevant topics.
Irish megalithic sites
- Carrowmore
- Carrowkeel or explore Anthony Murphy’s vivid description of Carrowkeel
- The Moytura ridge this page includes a useful map of moytura connected sites in the area.
- Also a very interesting paper by Marion A. Dowd on The use of caves for funerary and ritual practices in Neolithic Ireland
Sheemore and Sheebeg
- Tales of Sheebeg The podcast Isolde and I recorded back in 2012 covers the 1931 excavation
- Notes on the 1931 excavation
- The Reynolds of Lough Scurl
The Keshcarrigan bowl
The bronze bowl, c. 100 CE. was found at Keshcarrigan in the stretch of water between Lough Scur and Lough Marrive, Leitrim. It was probably a drinking cup: The rim is decorated with a zigzag in false relief produced by hammering/ The cast handle is in the form of a duck-like bird. The eye sockets probably held red enamel. It is likely to be an import from south-west England.
The Kiltubrid Shield
This wooden shield is probably nest of its type to be found in Europe. It was found in a bog just north of Loch Scur in 1863 and is carved out of one piece of alder wood. c. 500 BCE – 400 CE