Prehistoric England A-Z (C-M)

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See also: Ancient Scotland | Wales

Carn Brea Location map Carn Brea, Cornwall A Neolithic hilltop settlement dating from about 3700BC. The site was used for thousands of years; as excavations turned up Neolithic remains, Bronze Age axes, golden Celtic coins, Roman coins, and later artifacts. Carn Brea, Near Redruth, Cornwall, England, Location: off B3297 Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Castlerigg Keswick, Cumbria Stone circle in a magnificent meadow setting. Not as large, or as well known as Stonehenge, but sit here as the sun goes down and try not to feel awed. Castlerigg was one of the first stone circles built in Britain, dating from about 3000 BC. The circle actually isn't (isn't a circle, that is), with one side flattened and a large gap between two huge stones on the north side, which suggests an entrance of some sort. There is a small rectangle of stones within the circle, an unusual feature in stone circles. There is also a small mound inside the circle, which suggests a burial place. Keswick, Cumbria, England Location: off A66, just east of Keswick Website: Castlerigg English Heritage Photo Credit: David Ross and Britain Express Details of Castlerigg - Photos of Castlerigg Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Cerne Abbas Giant Cerne Abbas, Dorset A 200 foot high figure of a man bearing a club, incised into the chalk of the hillside. The giant has been variously identified as Roman, Celtic, and Iron Age. His obvious, um, physical endowments have made him the source of fertility practices over the centuries; it is said that if an infertile woman spends the night within the figure, she will then be able to bear a child. Cerne Abbas, Near Dorchester, Dorset, England Location: viewpoint on A352 Website: Cerne Abbas Giant Photo Credit: David Ross and Britain Express Details of Cerne Abbas Giant Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Chysauster Ancient Village Location map Gulval, Cornwall Chysauster was an Iron Age village inhabited from about 100 BC to sometime in the 3rd century AD. It was probably built by members of the Dumnonii tribe of Cornish Britons. The village is composed of eight courtyard houses, laid out in two rows of four. Outside the main grouping of houses is another stone house, and there are the remains of several outlying buildings in the surrounding fields. Gulval, Cornwall, England, TR20 8XA Location: 2½ m NW Gulval, off B3311 Website: Chysauster Ancient Village Phone: 07831 757 934 English Heritage Photo Credit: David Ross Details of Chysauster Ancient Village Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Dyrham Camp Hillfort Hinton, Gloucestershire Otherwise known as Hinton Hillfort this Iron Age fortification is the traditional site of the Battle of Dyrham in 577AD. In this battle, according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, the Saxons led by "Cuthwine and Ceawlin fought against the Britons and slew three kings, Coinmail, Condidan and Farimail at the place which is called Dyrham; and they captured three cities, Gloucester, Cirencester and Bath". Though the site of the battle is not known, what is very clear is the spectacular location of the hillfort, with wonderful views towards Wales. The best place to view the hillfort is from the National Trust property of Dyrham Park. Beside the hillfort are remnants of medieval strip lychets, also best seen from Dyrham Park. Hinton, Gloucestershire, England Location: Just off the A46 Photo Credit: David Ross Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Grimes Graves Thetford, Norfolk Grimes Graves is one of the most fascinating Neolithic sites in Britain. Despite its name, it is not a grave, or burial place, but a flint mine worked between about 2200 and 2500 BC. Located in open heath country near Thetford Forest, Grimes Graves consists of over 350 hollows in the ground marking the location of the former mine shafts. Some of the shafts are sunk as deep as 30 feet below the surface - a remarkable accomplishment when you consider that the Neolithic miners used antlers for picks and animal shoulder-blades for shovels. On one of the antler picks found at Grimes Graves archaeologists found a miner's fingerprint - still intact after 4000 years! The mines here produced weapons and tools distributed as far away as Scotland. Thetford, Norfolk, England Location: 7 miles NW of Thetford, off A134 Website: Grimes Graves Phone: 01842 810 656 English Heritage Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Grimspound Challacombe, Devon An impressive Bronze Age settlement of on Dartmoor. Grimspound featured in the Sherlock Holmes story, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'. Challacombe, Moretonhampstead, Devon, England Location: 6 miles SW of Moretonhampstead off the B3212 Website: Grimspound English Heritage Details of Grimspound Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Hob Hurst's House Baslow, Derbyshire Hob Hurst's House is a prehistoric burial chamber, unusual in that it is recangular in shape, roughly 8 x 7.5 m and 1 m high. Baslow, Derbyshire, England Location: Accessible via an unclassified road from the B5057, 5 miles Baslow, 9 miles W of Chesterfield Website: Hob Hurst's House Phone: 01629 816 200 English Heritage Details of Hob Hurst's House Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

King Arthur's Round Table Penrith, Cumbria A much altered henge complex, only a few hundred yards from the larger and more intact Mayburgh Henge. Penrith, Cumbria, England Location: 1 mile s of Penrith on the west side of the A66 English Heritage Photo Credit: David Ross and Britain Express Details of King Arthur's Round Table Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Lanyon Quoit Madron, Cornwall The quoit consists of one large stone supported upon three standing stones. It is likely the remains of a long barrow, or chambered tomb. Madron, Cornwall, England Location: Off a minor road 2 miles NW of Madron Photo Credit: David Ross and Britain Express Details of Lanyon Quoit Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Long Meg and Her Daughters Little Salkeld, Cumbria Bronze Age stone circle in a lovely setting. Little Salkeld, Near Penrith, Cumbria, England Location: just NE of Little Salkeld, 2 miles N of Langwathby, off the A686 Photo Credit: David Ross and Britain Express Details of Long Meg and Her Daughters Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Maiden Castle Dorchester, Dorset The largest and most famous pre-Roman fortress in Britain. The site is nearly 100 acres in size, with banks as high as 80 feet enclosing a hill-top site of some 45 acres. It was inhabited as early as the Bronze Age, but most of the visible ramparts were erected in the 1st century BC. In 43 AD the Romans besieged the "castle". The defenders huge store of some 40,000 sling stones proved useless against the Roman's leather shields, and the site fell to the invaders. A mass grave of defenders who died in the assault was found in 1937 near the eastern entrance. A site worth seeing. Dorchester, Dorset, England Location: 1 mile SW of Dorchester, off A354 Website: Maiden Castle English Heritage Photo Credit: David Ross and Britain Express Details of Maiden Castle Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Mayburgh Henge Penrith, Cumbria A large Neolithic Henge with a solitary standing stone in the middle. Penrith, Cumbria, England Location: 1 mile s of Penrith off the A66, then signposted from B5320 English Heritage Photo Credit: David Ross and Britain Express Details of Mayburgh Henge Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Men an Tol Madron, Cornwall An intriguing monument consisting of two upright stones standing on either side of a round stone with a hole through the middle. Madron, Cornwall, England Location: Off the minor road between Madron and Morvah Photo Credit: David Ross and Britain Express Details of Men an Tol Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

Merry Maidens Lamorna, Cornwall A circle of 19 small stones in a field near Lamorna, on the Lands End to Newlyn road. This is probably the best preserved of all the stone circles in Cornwall, and it is, unusually, believed to be complete and unaltered. Lamorna, Cornwall, England Location: On the B3315, 3/4 mile west of Lamorna Photo Credit: David Ross and Britain Express Details of Merry Maidens Accommodation: nearest hotels - nearest Self catering

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