My very first solo show is coming up in September in the fabulous Workers Gallery in Ynyshir in the Rhondda Valley. Check out the details here. I have spent the past few months travelling across South Wales with Rhondda-born archaeologist Dewi Bowen and Swansea film maker Melvyn Williams, hunting the wild megalith, accompanied by my portable drawingContinue reading “Stones On Show”
Tag Archives: Neolithic
Devil’s Bridge
Hunting wild megaliths in West Wales last week, we took a detour to Devil’s Bridge in Ceredigion, near Aberystwyth.It’s an extraordinary gorge – at the top, three separate bridges are stacked on top of one another. The most recent is an iron bridge from 1901, under this is one from 1753 and under that, theContinue reading “Devil’s Bridge”
The Stone In The Wall
Another standing stone on our hunt for the wild megalith. We tracked this one down, along with it’s companion (blogged yesterday) in a wall around a Christian church in Ysbyty Cynfyn near Devil’s Bridge, Ceredigion. It’s looks like it’s a Bronze Age site that has been Christianised. The word Ysbyty is Welsh for Hospital andContinue reading “The Stone In The Wall”
Fish And Chips And A Hot Bath
A full day today hunting the wild megalith across West Wales. For the first time it’s been hot and dry. Two weeks ago we struggled against hail and gales, today I roasted! We headed out towards Aberystwyth on the Trail of the Boar, Y Twrch Trwyth, a route suggested by The Mabinogion. It’s been aContinue reading “Fish And Chips And A Hot Bath”
Copper And Stone
I etched two plates at the recent course at Swansea Print Workshop with Andrew Baldwin of Trefeglwys Print Studio, one aluminium, one copper. I’ve just done a first proof from the copper plate. I used a hardground and the traditional technique of drawing into it with an etching needle than adding aquatint. Andrew demonstrated howContinue reading “Copper And Stone”
Drawing The Environment
The second stone circle at Y Pigwyn on Mynydd Bach Trecastell is a lot more complete than the first, with almost all its stones still in place, although they’re not very big. We took young Nephew with us, he’s a country lad and used to the rough terrain, he found a sheep’s skull, a ram’s horn andContinue reading “Drawing The Environment”
The Mountain’s Challenge
Friday saw another excursion into the bleaker parts of South Wales hunting the wild megalith. The weather forecast predicted sunshine with the occasional shower so I had high hopes for this visit to Mynydd Trecastell / Mynydd Bach to the site called Y Pigwyn which has two Neolithic stone circles and the remains of aContinue reading “The Mountain’s Challenge”
Prison Or Protection?
Across the field from the Clos Teg standing stone there’s another maenhir in the hedge, Y Garreg Goch – the Red Stone, a monument of red standstone. It’s trapped between two fences and until recently was overgrown with ivy. It looked to me like it was imprisoned, but archaeologist Dewi reasonably pointed out that beingContinue reading “Prison Or Protection?”
Top Heavy
Back to hunting wild megaliths across the out-of-the-way places in West Wales today, in intermittent drizzle. Our first call was to the Clos Teg standing stone in a field a bit north of Pontyberem. Clos Teg means beautiful, or fair, close. According to local legends, the stone was placed in its current position by the GodsContinue reading “Top Heavy”
The Speaking Stone
Out drawing megaliths last week and the last Neolithic stone of the day is another in an urban setting, ‘Carreg Hir’ (Long Stone) also called the ‘Penrhiwtyn’ stone in the playground of Cwrt Sart comprehensive school in Briton Ferry, Neath. It’s a magnificent menhir, over 9 feet tall but it has a controversial history withContinue reading “The Speaking Stone”
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