September 2016 saw the complete excavation (and subsequent re-burying) of the largest piece of Neolithic rock art in Britain – the Cochno Stone – by archaeologists from Glasgow University. This was the much-anticipated follow-up to 2015’s preliminary test dig to … Continue reading Re:covering Cochno
Much in the news this week has been the suggestion, reported in The Scotsman, that one of Glasgow’s hidden archaeological treasures might be revealed for the first time in 50 years. The Cochno Stone is widely regarded as the finest example of Neolithic rock art in Europe. With its numerous cup-and-ring markings, spirals, footprints and other symbols, it was believed by maverick archaeologist Ludovic McLellan Mann to represent nothing less than a star map created by the Neolithic peoples inhabiting the area. He felt strongly that it was connected with the nearby ‘mortuary site’ at Knapper’s Farm (now lost under … Continue reading Cochno – revealed?
I have covered this before, but a recent change in the Google Maps API rendered my previous post on Harry Bell’s ‘Glasgow Network of Aligned Sites’ and ‘Forgotten Footsteps’ inoperative. After a bit of searching, I found an alternative maps plug-in that seems to work; however to make things easier it seems wise to make a separate post about Harry’s 1977 book Forgotten Footsteps, a work which now seems to have completely disappeared from the internet, apart from a couple of references on the Wayback Machine. Harry died in 2o01, and from what I can gather his descendants are not … Continue reading Forgotten Footsteps
Following the success of her interactive BAFTA award-winning web project on The Devil’s Plantation, and the subsequent IOS app, film-maker May Miles Thomas created a 93-minute film of the project earlier this year, cutting together her 60+ short clips of evocative black and white imagery and 800+ music and sound segments into a coherent whole, skilfully woven together with paired narratives from Kate Dickie and Gary Lewis telling the story of Mary Ross’s wanderings and Harry Bells’ research into the Glasgow Network of Aligned Sites. “In the 1980s archaeologist Harry Bell came to believe that Glasgow – a city built … Continue reading The Devil’s Plantation – the movie!
The Belinus Line is a long-distance alignment, similar to the Michael Line, running the length of the UK from the Isle of Wight up to Inverhope on the north coast of Scotland, passing through Winchester, Birmingham, Manchester, Carlisle, Dunfermline, Pitlochry and Lairg on the way. Like the Michael Line, it has twin male and female serpentine energy currents weaving around the straight line and connecting many ancient sites. Gary Biltcliffe has been researching this alignment for around 20 years now, and his book documenting his odyssey is almost completed. Have a look at his website for more information. Gary and … Continue reading Dowsing Belinus
I spent a few hours this afternoon revisiting my Google Earth placemark of the Glasgow Network of Aligned Sites. When I originally started plotting Harry Bell’s sites I had a lot of difficulty due to the low resolution photo coverage in Google Earth at the time. This resulted in a degree of confusion, particularly in the Castlemilk and Carmunnock areas, where sites were misplaced and a couple of alignments omitted completely as I just couldn’t pin things down accurately enough. However, the photographic coverage has improved immensely in the last year or two, and so I managed to resolve my … Continue reading The De’il’s Plantin – reloaded