Megalithic Art in the North-west of Britain: The Calderstones, Liverpool

Abstract

The recent discovery of decorated stones in the cruciform Passage Grave of Barclodiad y Gawres, in Anglesey, has made a notable addition to the volume of megalithic mural art known in Britain. The examples of such art described in the present paper increase the number still further. In his discussion of the chamber tombs of England and Wales, Daniel mentions the Calderstones as a possible former burial chamber. At that time (1950), the six Calderstones were arranged in a circle and stood in a small enclosure outside the Menlove Avenue entrance to Calderstones Park, Liverpool (fig. 1). This arrangement was, however, comparatively recent; the original monument was destroyed early in the nineteenth century. The markings were first published in 1864. In 1883, J. R. Allen made measured drawings of the stones, showing the disposition of all the markings known at the time. The same drawings were used by Stewart-Brown in 1911. Allen's drawings recorded only those portions of the stones above ground; examination of the areas then below ground level has revealed a number of new markings.

Analytical Surveys of Stonehenge and its Environs, 2009–2013: Part 2 – the Stones

“…Only the latter has axe-head and dagger carvings (Piggott 1939). A possible dagger or halberd carving exists on a stone at Calderstones, Liverpool, which once formed part of a monument (Forde-Johnston 1957; Nash & Stanford 2009). These parallels, however, have not been identified on Neolithic stone monuments; they are carved into the sides and capstones of cists within barrows.…”

Bryn Celli Ddu Passage Tomb, Anglesey: Alignment, Construction, Date, and Ritual

“…A Carrowkeel ware bowl has also been found 10 km to the north in a pit at Llanbedrgoch (Redknap 1996;identification by A. Sheridan, pers. Further afield is the spiraldecorated stone now in the Church of St Peter, Llanbedr, which may be derived from a passage tomb (Lynch 1992), and the Calderstones, near Liverpool (Forde-Johnston 1957 Kytmannow 2008, 101). To date this example of an Irish pottery style, typically associated with passage tombs, is unique in the Welsh Neolithic.…”

Decorating the Houses of the Dead: Incised and Pecked Motifs in Orkney Chambered Tombs

“…These include the Temple Wood stone circle (Scott 1989 , fig. 12), the passage grave of Barclodiad y Gawres (Lynch 1967) and what may have been the remains of another chambered tomb, the Calderstones (Forde -Johnston 1957).…”