Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Category: Burial Mounds

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Devil / Folklore / Giants / Legends

The Six Hills, Stevenage

The six hills which occupy prominence in the town are tumuli or Round Barrows dating from the Bronze Age. According to legend the hills are spade fulls of earth taken from Whomerly wood and thrown at the town by a giant (or the Devil) intent on destruction. His last shot went well off mark and knocked the steeple off Gravely Church two miles away.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds

Hambledon Hill

Originally the hill served as the site of a Middle Neolithic Causeway Camp, such as the one at Windmill Hill in Avebury. The camp was enclosed by causeway ditches to the Eastern end of the hillside, perhaps protected by wooden palisades, evidence suggests the camp was attacked by archers in an inter tribal skirmish.

Ancient Sites / Apparitions / Burial Mounds / Hauntings

Bottlebush Down

A horseman garbed in Bronze Age attire has been seen on Bottlebush Down. He disappears into a long barrow from the site of a cursus on the B3081. Many witnesses including respected Archaeologists have seen the spirit. Bottlebush Down seems to have been important to early man and is littered with his remains.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Fairies / Folklore

Bincombe Down

Bronze Age barrows on the down are known as the music barrows, and are traditionally thought to be home of the fairy folk. According to folklore it was possible to hear the fairy revelry if you placed your ear to the barrows at midday.

Directions:
A public footpath runs near the down reached from the South West Coast Path.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds

Knowlton Henges

The area around Knowlton formed a major ritual site in the Neolithic period, the main focus being three Neolithic henge earthworks. Two have long since been ploughed and weathered away, but one remains with the ruin of a twelfth century Norman church at its centre, probably some form of controlling pagan sites by the early church.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Giants / Legends

Spinsters Rock

Spinsters Rock is a burial cairn dating to the early Bronze Age. The structure was re-erected in the 1862 after collapsing earlier in the year.

According to folklore the rocks where erected by a group of three spinsters who where on a journey to deliver some wool. Obviously these three women where seen as giants having the strength to carry such a heavy burden.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Giants / King Arthur / Legends

Eamont Bridge and Arthur’s Round Table

Two prehistoric henge monuments have become known as Arthur’s Round Table, a common theme in folklore were ancient structures become romanticised into legendary sites.  A cave near Eamont Bridge called giants cave is associated with two legendary giants called Tarquin and Isir.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Devil / Legends

Veryan

Five circular thatched houses, within the village are supposed to have been designed to ensure that the Devil cannot hide in any corners. Each house is topped with a cross, a further deterrent to the Devil. In actuality they were built by the Reverend Jeremiah Trist for his daughters. The houses are now in private ownership.

Ancient Sites / Apparitions / Burial Mounds / Hauntings / Legends

Rillaton Mound

A legend associated with this mound was reflected by archaeological findings during excavation. A druid priest was said to haunt the mound, he would offer travellers a drink from a golden cup filled with a magical brew, which could not be drained.