Book review: Hunting The Wild Megalith by Dewi Bowen and Olwyn Pritchard

Aled Singleton

This book is an account of hunting megaliths along a route from St Davids in the west of Wales, and through the hills of southern Wales to end at the Severn Estuary.

The mission had been a longstanding desire of writer Dewi Bowen, which was completed with the help of archaeologist Olwyn Pritchard.

This illustrated 152-page volume provides a wealth of stories about standing stones, such as how and when they were erected and how archaeological practices have changed over time. Above all, we are invited to embrace the history of this part of Wales and the reader is introduced to a great deal of other research and reading.

Mabinogion

The introduction recalls the legend of King Arthur chasing Twrch Trwyth – a wild boar – from Ireland and across the sea to Wales and beyond. Though I was unaware of this story being in the Mabinogion, the word Twrch triggered a memory of negotiating the red-rated Twrch mountain biking route at Cwmcarn, near Newport. I remember the exhilaration of going fast downhill on a dusty summer day, not quite knowing how to let go. In a similar, but less dramatic fashion, Dewi and Olwen stick to a mission pursuing the Twrch.

Early in the book we discover the theory of twentieth century writer and artist David Jones, who proposed that Arthur’s route chasing Twrch Trwyth follows the sites of many megalithic stones. The initial stages of this book consider why tracing these stones may be a useful mission.

The authors embrace the power of imagination to think about how archaeological remains, including those of animals, may help us to understand how Wales has developed over time. For example, we get to think about how the blue stones at Stonehenge – 150 miles away in Wiltshire – may have been moved from Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire.  Along the way we explore interesting stories, such as the Ty-Unos houses which were allowed to stand if they were erected and completed overnight.

Curious notions

Probably the biggest contribution made by this book, especially thanks to the maps and drawings, is to learn about the various stories attached to the arrangement of standing stones – and forms such as burial chambers, cromlech and dolmen.

There are some curious notions, such as stones acting as storage heaters (for sheep!) absorbing the sun in the day and giving out heat at night. I enjoyed the various stories regarding Beds Norris, with links to a local highway robber and a forbidden love affair. Of note, we know more about this stone’s actual age as it was knocked over by a car in 2011, which led to excavations.

Stones and their context

Some of the interesting features of this book are the sometimes mundane reasons, such as the latter accident and road building schemes, which lead to archaeological excavations. I also liked some of the notes about megalithic stones in popular culture, such as the 1975 BBC documentary Earth Magic where local dowser Bill was physically repelled by a stone’s energy.

Some of these anecdotes help to hold the attention of readers who are more interested in the journey – and perhaps the history – than the stones. For more general readers we learn that not all stones are on public ground and that we need to ask for access from land owners.

This book is very specific about certain places, providing directions and grid references for the Ordnance Survey mapping system. People with knowledge of different places are certain to find things that they did not know about that location.

For example, the last thirty pages covers the Usk valley and over Grey Hill in Westwood. This is territory that I have known through my life and the book has added further layers to my already deep psychogeographical knowledge. I am sure that writers such as Arthur Machen (born in Caerleon and who lived from 1863-1947) would have valued this knowledge.

A thirty-year-long adventure

This book is very detailed, including many hand-drawn maps, sketches and full colour illustrations in the middle. Perhaps because the idea first emerged in the late-1960s, and was officially started in 1992, it sometimes lacks the journal-type approach found in the work of W. G. Sebald or Iain Sinclair.

I also think it misses the honesty expressed in Walking Home by poet Simon Armitage as he took on the Pennine Way by foot.

Having said that, there are some thoughtful notes from Dewi which remind us of issues which have affected the countryside of Wales. For example, one dated from 2002 recalls visiting Llangain during the time of foot and mouth crisis. I also like the way that the authors reveal what happens when they get involved in conversations with people that they meet along the way.

Completing the mission

The book ends on Grey Hill and looks over big structures in the landscape leading towards Wiltshire – particularly the modern motorway. The way I read this concluding adventure, it felt that they were saying that following missions like this – chasing the Twrch Trwyth – helps to reveal or imagine the land as it had been in Roman times and before.

Dewi writes that: From direct experience of walking in the ‘trotterprints’ of our mythical boar I felt I had indeed ‘gone walkabout’ and my journeyings were as one with past movement through the landscape, from the retreat of the glaciers to the coming of the railway!

This helps others to identify with the journey described in this book. Other kinds of ‘hunter gatherers’ include geocachers, walkers, and also the mountain bikers – such as I had been in Cwmcarn. I hope others enjoy this book.

Hunting The Wild Megalith by Dewi Bowen and Olwyn Pritchard is available from all good bookshops.