Early British trackways, moats, mounds, camps, and sitesWatkins, Alfred
History
Early British trackways, moats, mounds, camps, and sites
Watkins, Alfred
Great Britain -- Antiquities; Leys -- Great Britain; Megalithic monuments -- Great Britain; Mounds -- Great Britain
FRONTISPIECE. Top. Castle Tomen, Radnor Forest, 1,250 feet
above the sea, and is supposed to be the Cruger Castle of the
Itinerary of Giraldus. Background. A glade on a ley. Bottom. The
Four Stones, New Radnor, the easterly pair lined up for sighting
over.
PLATE I. PRIMARY PEAK. Titterstone Clee Hill, and Park Hall,
Bitterley.
PLATE II. MOUNDS. 1, Tre-fedw, Pandy. The Skirrid, a primary
peak, in distance. 2, Didley. With homestead alongside.
PLATE III. MOUND and MOAT. 1, Houghton Mound. 2, Lemore Moat.
Note how slight is the dividing line between this type of mound
and a moat.
PLATE IV. THREE-POINT PROOFS. 1 (a telephotograph), Hereford
Cathedral and Pen-y-Beacon. Here the camera stood on a known ley
in gateway near top of Hafod Hill, and the line runs through
pond at foot (marked by sheet of paper), tower of Cathedral, and
the 20 mile distant mountain point or bluff. Another ley is seen
crossing the meadow in a straight line just where “the lowing
herd winds slowly o’er the lea.” 2, Tre-fedw Mound (see Plate
II.), shown at top of sighting line down present road to ancient
Monnow ford (alongside present bridge) at Llanvihangel Mill.
PLATE V. SIGHTING CUTTINGS (all telephotographs). 1, Notch with
earthwork at Trewyn Camp above Pandy (Black Mountains). 2,
Cutting through top of ridge at Marstow, a bridge now spans it,
and the sighting line down to a ford on the Garron is indicated.
The road beyond the cutting is on the ley. 3, Black Darren,
Longtown (Black Mountains). This is taken from the Tan House,
Longtown, and only 100 yards to right or left the notch begins
to lessen and then disappear.
PLATE VI. CAUSEWAYS. 1, Through pond near Ten Houses (now Priory
Terrace), Holmer. Note the unmistakable direction, confirmed on
map. 2, Through the River Monnow, behind Tan House, Longtown. A
piece of fine engineering, the below-stream edge of large stones
embedded in grouting or concrete. This ley is over the notch in
Plate V.
PLATE VII. CAUSEWAYS. 1, Over a ford of Olchon Brook, Longtown.
2, Ingestone, Ross. Through the “fold” and straight to the
centre of the pond against the house. I cannot assign a period
to any of these.
PLATE VIII. LEYS DISPLAYED. 1, Rhiw (mountain track) south of
Llanthony Abbey, Mon. This is sighted for Balmawr on the ridge,
and shows that where possible even mountain side tracks were
kept straight. Taken in evening light and shows (on left) the
triple tracks down which it is surmised the tile stones for
roofing the Abbey to have been slid from the quarry on the top.
2, Stones at base of ancient Wye-side causeway at Bartonsham
(formerly Bassam) Farm, Hereford City. The stones continue in a
“wash-out” in bed of river to right, and the ley is sighted over
tumps at Hoggs Mount and Holmer Lane. Note on bank to right the
mark-stone for the ford (see Plate IX.).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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