Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Category: Ancient Sites

Ancient Sites / Early Christianity / King Arthur / Legends

Glastonbury Abbey, Arthur’s Grave

This is a reproduction of the cross said to have been found in Arthur’s grave at Glastonbury Abbey. The actual grave seems to have been a very early burial but the Arthur link is tenuous. The actual cross disappeared many years ago and the only depiction is from a drawing by William Camden in 1607, from which this picture has been redrawn.

Ancient Sites / Legends / Stone Circles

Mitchell’s Fold

Fourteen stones remain of this circle which probably numbered about thirty when it was built around 2000-1400BC. It sits on the ridge of Stapeley Hill, in view of the Stiperstones and the Welsh border. The circle is 27 metres in diameter and is 330 metres above sea level.

Ancient Sites / Giants / Legends

The Wrekin

This impressive hill sits in the middle of a rolling landscape and at 1,334 feet is an impressive landmark for miles around. The hill is crowned with the remains of an Iron age Hill fort and it is said that a beacon fire was lit on its summit during the Spanish Armada.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Legends

Scutchamer Knob (Cwichelmslaewe)

Within a small woodland adjacent to the ancient Ridgeway path, where it crosses the parish of East Hendred, stands Scutchamer Knob. It is a raised earth mound and legend has it, that it is the burial mound of the Saxon king Cwichelm.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Featured Sites / Legends / Pantheons

Wayland’s Smithy

Wayland’s Smithy is one of the most impressive and atmospheric Neolithic burial chambers in Britain. Somehow this ancient grave became associated with Wayland, the Saxon god of metalworking, from whom it takes its name.

History

Ancient Sites / Folklore / Stone Circles

The Rollright Stones

The Rollright Stones are an early Bronze Age stone circle consisting of around 70 weathered stones, the ring is 100 feet in diameter and none of the stones are over 4 feet in height.

Ancient Sites / Chalk Hill Figures / Dragons / Featured Sites / Folklore / King Arthur / Legends

Uffington White Horse and Dragon Hill

The White Horse of Uffington is one of the most impressive sites close to the ancient Ridgeway path, which traverses the steep chalk downs brooding over the Vale of the White Horse. Other sites include Dragon Hill, The Manger and Uffington Castle, which have been the subject of legend and folklore for over a thousand years.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds

Kit’s Coty House

Dating from between dated to between 4300 and 3000 BC, Kit’s Coty House (or Kit’s Coty) is all that remains of a Neolithic chambered long barrow on Blue Bell Hill.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Devil / Legends

The Longstone at Mottistone

This impressive standing stone and its smaller recumbent companion, are believed to be all that is left of a chambered long barrow from the Neolithic period, the remaining stones once being part of the tomb entrance.  

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds

The Five Barrows

This Bronze Age barrow cemetery consists of eight barrows, despite what the name of the site suggests. It is thought that the barrows were constructed over a long period of time perhaps as much as 500 years, suggesting the site may have been seen as a special place, reserved for the important members of the community.