H ow to Read Prehistoric Monuments is divided into two basic parts. First there is an A–Z section. I have included this in order to cut through the jargon that inevitably attracts itself to a subject as potentially complex as prehistoric archaeology. All the major words associated with prehistoric structures located in the British Isles are mentioned in the A–Z and you will also find examples in each case of where such structures can be found.
This first section of the book is very important, not least because you will know what you are looking at when you find yourself at any prehistoric structure or site across our islands. Jargon is inevitable in any scientific study and some of the words used to describe collections of stones, tombs, enclosures or whatever can seem extremely confusing at first. If you are in Cornwall, England, you might happen upon a ‘fougou’. You probably won’t have the slightest idea what a fougou might be, and it probably won’t help if you then learn that fougou is just a local name for a ‘souterrain’. That’s where the A–Z comes in, because there you will discover that fougou or souterrain are simply names for artificial caves. You will quickly learn, if you have not done so already, that experts such as archaeologists need to use long and confusing names for all manner of simple things. We can forgive them for doing so, because they are opening up the world of the past to us in a way that has never been possible before.
I have tried, where appropriate, to include examples of sites in all parts of the British Isles, but there are times when this will not be the case. A fougou can only be found in Cornwall, whereas a ‘broch’ is a peculiarly Scottish structure.
In the A–Z section you will also find words that do not describe ‘sites’ specifically but names or words associated with our prehistoric past that I think you may find useful.
Not all prehistoric sites across our islands are especially easy to find, in fact the majority are not. For this reason, whenever I have mentioned a particular site I have given a longitude and latitude position for it. Not only will this allow you to find the site in question on a detailed local map, but if you have such a device you could also feed these co-ordinates into a GPS satellite navigation system. These little hand-held gadgets (not to be confused with the ones that are generally meant for use in cars) are becoming more and more popular with walkers; they are now relatively inexpensive and are a real boon when pin-pointing a very small site – for example, an isolated rock containing prehistoric art. However, there is another reason for including longitude and latitude of the sites mentioned in the book and that relates to the use of Google Earth.
If there are any readers who are not already familiar with Google Earth, let me explain that it is a computer program, which at the time of publication of this book is free to download. It allows the user to look, in most cases in great detail, at aerial photographs of almost anywhere on the surface of the Earth. It is easy to use and, in addition to being able to find a location by its name, it is possible to look at a specific spot using its exact longitude and latitude, which are shown at the bottom of the screen.
Google Earth is a godsend to anyone who is trying to understand our ancient past. Part of the problem with many archaeological sites is that they have been badly eroded by the passing of so many centuries, and of course some of them have also been disturbed by people. Nevertheless, if any particular site is fairly large – or even in many cases if it isn’t – no amount of disturbance will hide it from the prying eyes of the cameras in the sky. If you want to get an appreciation of what any particular monument or site actually looks like – which is often difficult on the ground, Google Earth will invariably show you, and it can be a mind-blowing experience. If you have Google Earth, next time you are at your computer, open the program and type ‘Old Oswestry’ into the ‘Fly to’ box. The program will now automatically take you to the part of the English–Welsh border where Old Oswestry hill fort is located. Now zoom in to the label for Old Oswestry and you will see an impressive Iron Age hill fort in all its staggering detail. Although nothing beats actually being there, Google Earth offers you the chance to see a full and extensive prehistoric site in a way that would be quite impossible from ground level.
Google Earth also shows up ‘parch marks’ or ‘crop marks’ (both of which you will find described in the A–Z section) which are basically the ‘ghosts’ of prehistoric and even more recent sites on the landscape that have disappeared altogether when viewed at ground level. All in all, Google Earth is a valuable tool and its presence has led to the discovery of many ancient sites that were previously unrecognized. And of course for our purposes it means you can always look at any particular site before you set off to see it at first hand. For long, dark, cold winter days, Google Earth can be a good friend, leading you to discover all sorts of fascinating places and to look at so many of the locations mentioned in this book.
The computer can also be of use to you in other ways. There are many good internet sites these days that deal specifically with our prehistoric past. Two of the best are ‘The Modern Antiquarian’ and ‘The Megalithic Portal’. Not only will these offer you information about specific locations and prehistoric sites, but many contain comments placed there by other visitors to sites. It is always fascinating to learn what other people think and you could pick up hints and tips about accessing places or finding the most difficult ones amidst what can sometimes seem to be a confusing landscape. If you are visiting a particular area of the British Isles, these sites will offer you a county-by-county breakdown of the sites you can see there – far more than could ever be included in one book.
To make life a little easier I have included at the end of the book a list of sites cross-referenced for specific counties. It could be that you are planning a trip to a specific area of the British Isles and that you want to know what prehistoric sites are available there. If so, look at the list of counties and find the ones to which you will be travelling. There you will see page numbers connecting you to sites mentioned in the book.
A slight word of warning is necessary before you set off with your haversack and sandwiches. Many of the prehistoric structures and locations in the British Isles – even quite a few mentioned in this book – are to be found in very remote locations. This is inevitable because the more isolated a site is, the better the chance that it has avoided development or too much interference from people. Scrambling up precipitous slopes or across wind-blown hills isn’t appropriate for everyone, and to get to some of the most lonely examples of our prehistoric past you will need to be fairly fit.
The same rules apply as would be appropriate for anyone setting out into the countryside for a long walk. Be prepared, have foul-weather gear with you and let someone know where you are going before you set off. But if you are getting somewhat long in the tooth, or are not as fit as you would wish to be, don’t panic, because there are also many fascinating places that can be approached by car and which are easier to negotiate. If you are in doubt, do a little surfing on the internet, because in almost every case you can learn from other people’s experiences.
It is sometimes especially rewarding, particularly when one starts out on the road to becoming a ‘prehistoric nut’, to go and see some of the sites that have been reconstructed. After all, walking amongst the roundhouses of an Iron Age village will demonstrate not only what one actually looked like but also offer an insight into the way people lived back then. A good friend of mine, who will remain nameless, recently described some prehistoric sites as being little more than ‘grassy hills’ and of course that is what many of them look like these days. But with a picture of the reality ‘as it was’ in your mind, you will make more sense of what you are looking at and it will become all the more fascinating.
The second section of the book is dedicated to specific locations that I have found fascinating and which, I hope, are amongst the best and most interesting prehistoric sites available. In most cases, these are also amongst the most famous examples of our prehistoric past, but not always, because there are some amazing locations up and down these islands that are hardly known at all but which are extremely important. There are even some that should rank as ‘world-class treasures’ but which are not being protected in any way and I hope that once you have seen some of these you, like me, will try to bring gentle pressure to bear on the relevant authorities to give these sites the attention and TLC they rightfully deserve.
It goes without saying that we should not interfere in any way with prehistoric sites but rather enjoy them and then leave them for others to discover. Treasure hunters of the past did incalculable damage to our understanding of our ancient heritage, a trend which sadly continues into the present. Once the ground of any site has been disturbed by those who are not trained to understand context and stratification, the damage can never be repaired and a mountain of knowledge could be lost.
Countless numbers of people have trodden the fields and hills of the lovely British Isles before we came along. What they left behind is part of their legacy to us. There is a good chance that many of us carry the same genes as the people who erected Stonehenge or who carved the portal stones at Newgrange, so, in a sense, when we visit some of the remarkable prehistoric sites of the British Isles, we are simply going home.
Happy hunting.