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Philolithia@bsky.social

@philolithia.bsky.social
4.9K followers 2.9K following 729 posts

Prehistoric landscapes, skyscapes, cosmology, folklore & nature. Meirionnydd #StandingStones PhD researcher Bournemouth Uni. Cymraes dw i. (She/they).

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Philolithia@bsky.social @philolithia.bsky.social · 2h
Further up the valley and never before recorded: a cobweb tree, catching the dew in the early morning light.
Photo of a leafless tree adorned with large cobwebs heavy with dew with the sun’s rays glancing down the mountain behind. A wonder.
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Philolithia@bsky.social @philolithia.bsky.social · 3h
Cloud inversion over the Mawddach or, as my nain would say, it’s the hen wyr - the old man (refering to his beard stretching down the river and out to sea). We never found out who he was…
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pmamtraveller.bsky.social @pmamtraveller.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Beneath the Weeping Canopy By Jeff Stanford
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ΜΑΝΟΣ ΤΡΑΧΙΑΣ™ @trahias.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Lisa Benson (British Artist, born 1958) "Lunar Light", 2019. Linocut Print, 37.5 × 48.5 cm. #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
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Michelle says: Be kind. Always. ❤️ @snarkysillysad.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Great demonstration of the Tyndall effect in a wooded area by the scattering of beams of light by finely suspended particles of fog in the air: #AGoodPlace Source: www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsi...
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𝙹*𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎 🍏 @artmyoldfriend.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Remedios Varo: The Painter of Magic (If you like Surrealism you’ll like this.) ✨
youtube.com
Remedios Varo: The Painter of Magic | Louisiana Channel
YouTube video by Louisiana Channel
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John @maenhir.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Maen Bradwen or Carreg Bica #StandingStoneSunday
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Tor Bridges @bridgesvictoria.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Froggatt Edge Stone Circle, with its one upright menhir, may seem underwhelming at first sight, but is situated in spectacular Peak District scenery with rugged rock cliff faces and views across valleys for miles around. Mine, today. Happy #StandingStoneSunday
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Malcolm Sinclair 💀✍️ @malcolmwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
West Kennet Avenue at Avebury today in the wind and then rain. Timeless as ever 💚 #StandingStoneSunday
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Pete Glastonbury @peteglastonbury.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
West Kennet Avenue stone and Moon #StandingStoneSunday
West Kennet Avenue stone and Moon
#StandingStoneSunday
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Dark Galloway @darkgalloway.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Hole Stone (or Crow Stone) in Galloway. Local tradition says that it was used during marriage ceremomies, by joining hands through the hole. It stands close to the White Cairn and another stone reputedly once accompanied it. #Scotland #History #StandingStoneSunday
Moody black and white photo of a standing stone in a grassy field. The stone is pierced by a hole, about one third of the way from the top. The sky is cloudy but light is breaking to the right.
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Durotriges Dig @durotrigesdig.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
A mini-lith in the Porlock Stone Circle @exmoornp.bsky.social #Somerset Measuring 24m in diameter and containing at least 13 stones, this Early Bronze Age monument can be hard to find with uprights standing only 15 – 80cm tall 📷 Aug 2019 Small but perfectly formed 😍 #StandingStoneSunday
An upright stone from a prehistoric circle in sunlight surrounded by tufts of grass
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Moley𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕄𝕠𝕝𝕖 @moleymole.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Stone row and kistvaen (stone cist) at Lakehead Hill, Bellever Forest, #Dartmoor yesterday for #StandingStoneSunday. (and a bit of early #TombTuesday)
Row of stones leading to a small stone burial chamber in rough grass with tall forestry commission evergreen trees beyond.
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Fiona Robertson @stonelands.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Duddo Stones: five strange megaliths on a hilltop in Northumberland. Sometimes they even sing. #StandingStoneSunday
Deep folds of stonesViews far and wide
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Patrick McCormack @patrick-mcc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Glorious Godwin. For the cover of 'Remains of Elmet' and 'Elmet', responding to Ted Hughes' poems. #faygodwin #tedhughes #elmet
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Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Some of the standing stones of the Callanish III Stone Circle (Cnoc Fillibhir Bheagon) on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides - one of many wonderful megalithic structures in the area. 📸 My own. #StandingStoneSunday #Callanish #Prehistory #Archaeology
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hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It's not just menhirs that enjoy continuing veneration. Many glacial erratics are on the routes of modern lithic pilgrims and assorted stone botherers. The deposited rocks serve to anchor folklore whether it's tales of Old Clip's anvil or boulders thrown by giants. – Dr. M. Benn
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missinglinkage.bsky.social @missinglinkage.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
David Frazer is an Australian artist. "The Tangled Wood," 2018 wood engraving
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Philolithia@bsky.social @philolithia.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
After sunset looking up the Afon Mawddach river listening to oystercatchers in the wind.
Photo of billowing grey clouds catching the last pink sunset flecks over an estuary of rippling grey water and windswept sandbanks surrounded by forested slopes slipping away into the distance.
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Jack O’ Lantern 🎃 @muninnherself.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Went to Swinside. Such a beautiful place, even if there was a big old bull in the field. #dailymegalith
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Philolithia@bsky.social @philolithia.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Bronze Age bracelet found by metal detectorist near Llanuwchllyn in North Wales www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Gwynedd man finds 3,000-year-old Bronze Age gold bracelet
Having only ever found a silver coin while metal detecting, Idris Thomas was shocked to strike gold.
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elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Friend shared this video of a man unveiling the library he hid when he fled Damascus in 2011. It’s incredible
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Durham University @durham.ac.uk · 29/06/2026
Did Bronze Age sailors connect communities across Europe? A new study led by our Department of Archaeology links ancient boat carvings across north-west Iberia and Scandinavia, pointing to extensive Bronze Age seafaring networks. Find out more 👉 bit.ly/4v5cZSF
Image of ancient rock carving with black and white scale bar beneath
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Crisp @crisp91.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Bronze Age rock carvings of boats in Spain and Portugal have been analyzed with 3D imaging, revealing striking similarities to Scandinavian carvings. The findings suggest long-distance maritime trade, shared technology, and cultural connections across Europe more than 3,000 years ago.
archaeology.org
News - Bronze Age Boat Artwork Analyzed - Archaeology Magazine
DURHAM, ENGLAND—Researchers led by Marta Díaz-Guardamino of Durham University created 3D models of rock art […]
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Marta Diaz-Guardamino @martaguardamino.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
journals.plos.org
Boats on the rocks: Late prehistoric nautical iconography and landscape, from Northwest Iberia to Scandinavia
This paper offers a comparative analysis of prehistoric rock art boat depictions found across northwest Iberia and southern Scandinavia. We apply advanced digital documentation techniques, including h...
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Tom Booth @boothicus.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
🏺 www.nature.com/articles/s41... Some really lovely tidbits of information in this new paper on the genetics of people buried in monuments in southwestern Britain. Paper itself emphasis the reuse of Early Neolithic funerary monuments for burial by incoming Beaker-using groups, around a thousand...
nature.com
Diachronic reuse of Neolithic burial monuments by Bronze Age newcomers in Southwestern Britain - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Diachronic reuse of Neolithic burial monuments by Bronze Age newcomers in Southwestern Britain
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Dr Susan Greaney @suegreaney.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
This looks a fantastic session - monuments people, get those paper proposals in soon!
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Marta Diaz-Guardamino @martaguardamino.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Happy to be presenting the first results of the #MegalithicOrigins project at the Archaeological Conference of the #Algarve Museum Network, #Portugal. We will share our research into the dating of two remarkable #StandingStones: Aspadrantas and Quinta da Queimada (regist. in comments). #Megaliths
Marta Díaz-Guardamino conducting sampling for lumenescence dating at the base of the Aspadrantas standing stone.
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Marta Diaz-Guardamino @martaguardamino.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Paper alert!! We used OSL dating to establish the age of the foundation of the mound supporting two monumental #StandingStones at Hagbard's Galge in southern #Sweden. Dating to 1400-1200 BCE, the mound appears to be slightly older than previously thought...🙂
cambridge.org
Hagbard’s Gallows in context: dating a Bronze Age monument in south-western Sweden | Antiquity | Cambridge Core
Hagbard’s Gallows in context: dating a Bronze Age monument in south-western Sweden
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Marta Diaz-Guardamino @martaguardamino.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
The wonderful Aspadrantes menhir, Algarve, #Portugal. A standing stone with many secrets, and a case study of our Megalithic Origins Leverhulme Trust-funded project. #StandingStoneSunday (Photo: my own)
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The Wild Hunt News @thewildhunt.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Deep inside Spain’s Cova Dones, archaeologists have uncovered evidence of an organized Roman-era cult involving women, ritual offerings, and a mysterious goddess whose worshippers knew her simply by a powerful title: Domina, “the Lady.” wildhunt.org/2026/09/the-... #pagan #witchcraft #archaeology
wildhunt.org
The Lady in the Cave: Archaeologists Reveal a Sanctuary to an Unknown Goddess - Europe, News, Religion, TWH Features, Uncovering the Past, World
Witchcraft & Pagan News - Deep inside Spain’s Cova Dones, archaeologists have uncovered evidence of an organized Roman-era cult involving women, ritual offerings, and a mysterious goddess whose worshi...
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MFCarter @mfcarter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"Perhaps 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 loves having you there. It misses you when you are away and in its secret way rejoices when you return." ~ John O’Donohue It was pure magic in the September woods this Sunday evening. Truly good for the soul. 💙 📸 MFCarter
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Forest Archaic Collective @forestcollectiv.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
#StandingStoneSunday & the stone row(s) of Disa Ting in the south of Sweden 🇸🇪 See more from the megalithic sites of Sweden here >>> www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULlj...
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jessstilllife.bsky.social @jessstilllife.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
The sun sets over the southern stone row at Merrivale, Dartmoor. Dating from the early Bronze Age, at over 260 metres this double stone row has a burial cairn in the middle and is part of a large, imposing ceremonial site and settlement #StandingStoneSunday #Dartmoor
Golden light, a triangular blocking stone in the foreground and a double row of stones stretching into the distance and the sunset
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Ben Potts @benjaminsteven.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
After the University of York's exciting new paper this week, it had to be a Devil's Arrow for #StandingStoneSunday. This is just half of the southernmost stone, the second tallest in the UK at nearly 7 metres. #Prehistory #Archaeology #Yorkshire #Devil'sArrows #ThornboroughArchaeologyGroup
The upper half, in detail of a large, pointy millstone grit standing stone, heavily lined and grooved. It is a mottled green, grey and black colour and surrounded by trees.
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Philolithia@bsky.social @philolithia.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
High tide and low cloud with birdsong - two sides of the iron bridge this morning
Photo of a very still expanse of blue water reflecting the sky with clouds. Only the grassy tops of the marsh hags are visible in the middle distance.  In the far distance forested hillsides ruse up to mist-covered mountains with blue sky above.Photo of the sun rising out of white clouds and ascending into a blue sky. Below, forested hillsides look down on a couple of sheep grazing on the green grassy banks of the river mirroring the sky again.
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Mark Walters @mark-walters.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Some black and white views from the Berwyn mountains today
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Kenny Brophy @urbanprehistorian.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Here’s an old #UrbanPrehistory blog post of mine from 8 years ago about a Neolithic chambered cairn in the shadow of a nuclear power station. theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com/2018/05/29/p...
theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com
Post-atomic megalith
Dounreay nuclear power plant Cnoc na h-Uiseig chambered cairn Clachar megalith tripartite entangled                    powerless   an inventory of atomic performance splitting atoms transcendi…
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Jim Leary @jimleary.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Here’s an article in The Conversation theconversation.com/taller-than-...
theconversation.com
Taller than Stonehenge: the mysterious Devil’s Arrows yield their secrets in new research
The people who put up these giant stones did not choose the nearest possible source.
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Jim Leary @jimleary.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
In case the Royal Society link didn’t work: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspa/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Deliberate prehistoric sourcing of the Devil's Arrows, Britain's tallest stone row
Abstract. How prehistoric societies selected and transported megaliths remains poorly understood because the geological sources of many monuments are unres
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Jim Leary @jimleary.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It’s wonderful to see our research finally out. It shows that the amazing Devil’s Arrows in Boroughbridge, Yorkshire were transported 18km from Brimham Rocks (not Plumpton!) to the site. royalsocietypublishing.org/rspa/article/4…
Two tall tapering megaliths forming the Devil’s Arrows. A massive grey megalith with blue sky behind. One of the more squat megaliths with a sunburst behind it. A photo of two of the Devil’s Arrows.
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Rachel Pope @prehistorian.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Gah, except former PhD student, the very brilliant Dr Alan Williams, sent me his latest on European Bronze Age Cu sources which is (as ever) a must-read: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
journals.plos.org
Tracing Europe-Wide Copper and Bronze flow in the Dutch Late Neolithic to the Early Iron Age
The study of the production, movement, processing and consumption of copper and bronze objects in the European Bronze Age (c. 2500–800 BC) reveals the underlying mobility and interconnectedness of Bro...
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Philolithia@bsky.social @philolithia.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Clouds slowly starting to flow down the river as high tide turns at the iron bridge this evening
Photo of different blues making up the reflecting mirror of a still river caught between the rusty balustrade of an iron bridge, a grey stone bank opposite and a lighter blue sky with grey puffy clouds above.
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Forest Archaic Collective @forestcollectiv.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
#HillfortsWednesday & this weekend, the 3RD ATTEMPT in 3 years, this time without impenetrable fog or lashing rain *finally* got some shots of Foel Fenlli 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 chuffing huge too! See more Hillforts of Wales in our chat with the wonderful @drtobydriver.bsky.social >>> www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvyY...
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Lauren Fraser @walkyouhome.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Happy #StandingStoneSunday! Pencraig standing stone (and North Berwick Law)
A field that has been harvested recently, with a tall thin standing stone in it. On the horizon, a volcanic plug. A cloudy sky with some blue. Early autumn vibes.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Any politician calling to leave the ECHR is lying about what that will achieve. It won’t solve any problem or improve our lives It will make us worse off and remove our rights. Just like Brexit. The ECHR belongs to us all. It’s not theirs to take. Please sign www.europeanmovement.co.uk/echr-petition
europeanmovement.co.uk
Act now to protect the UK's place in the ECHR
Sign the European Movement UK's petition now if you agree: Britain must remain in the ECHR
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Tony O @tony-o.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Lia Fáil (Stone of Destiny), Hill of Tara, Meath, Ireland Folklore- brought to Ireland by the mythical race the Tuatha Dé Danann - Inauguration stone for the High Kings of Ireland #StandingStoneSunday #Stunday #IrishArchaeology #Archaeology #Megalithic #ClassicMono #Art #BlueSky #EastCoastKin #Tara
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Jim Leary @jimleary.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
For #StandingStoneSunday, I present the High and Low Bridestones on the exposed limestone pavement of Sleight's Moor, North York Moors, near the village of Grosmont. Neolithic or Bronze Age, they are a highly complex set of megalithic alignments and circles but poorly understood.
A leaning, grey megalith surrounded by purple heather.More squat, grey stones in a line alongside purple heather. Another image of the grey stones surrounded by moorland.
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AnnieSAnderson @anniescottarch.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Beacharr #kintyre proud and free #StandingStoneSunday
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Oscar Lozada @oz-of-the-ancients.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Something we don't talk about much - these stones are maybe 2 billion years old! They're Lewisian Gneiss, a local rock laid down in the Precambrian, before complex life evolved! Puts the 5000-year stone circle into perspective! 📍Callanish stones, Scotland 📸 Me🏺 #StandingStoneSunday #archaeology
A large standing stone on the right with geological layers clearly visible in vertical lines, set in green grass in front of moorland
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