A Happy New Year

Double Copes

Last year with a training group I used double copes for the first time .On the site there were no animals and the owners were planning to raise the wall in the future. It worked very well and I was pleased to try something new after so many years following the standard system.

A Most Unusual Cairn

During one of the great festivals of stone in Canada . The younger folk there had fun building with butter nut squashes while the rest of us were using rocks. Several members of the Landman family participated in the construction of this Cairn, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the weekend.

Amazing Photo.

This was posted by Peter Adams Monsanto in Portugal. It looks unreal but if true it is fantastic.

A Great Idea

This climbing structure was set up in our local park last summer. The children have had great pleasure from going up and down these cast rocks. The surface below is quite spongy so takes any falls without danger. It seems to me that real rocks could be used in this way , the cost would probably be much less. The height is about 2 meters and does require foot holds.

Lovely Work.

Expert Canadian Waller Reid Snow built this wall along with the paved pathway.

Restored Tower Base in Sharjah

This photo of a restored Tower Base was taken by archaeologist Michele Ziolkowski when visiting Sharjah Emirate. The building was at the Wadi il-Hilu and dates from the Umm an-Nar period. ( Bronze Age 2600- 2000 BC. )

Pictish Stone Carving

Thsi shows detail of an ancient standing stone at Fowlis Wester near Crieff. The original is now inside the church along with a patch of McBean tartan which was carried to the moon by Al Bean.one of the American moon walkers. What a contrast beyween the 8th century symbol and the Moon landing.

A before and after of a repair I did in the South of Italy earlier this year. Quite irregular rocks but I love the colours.

Dry stone Bird Feeder.

This attractive construction was built by Canadian waller Sean Donnelly. It is now featured in a local gallery. The song birds will be missing it but I am glad that the publ;ic is able to appreciate such fine work.
To see more of his creations go to www.throughstonemasonry.ca

Walling in Majorca

This shot shows the great skill required to build retaining walls in the Majorcan style. Despite the very irregular shapes of rock they are fitted together in a way which allows a completely level top surface. Thanks to  Espacio Piedra Seca Lithica  for sending the photo.

Andy Loudon Arch

This fine Gothic arch is enhanced by the pattern on the gate. A very satisfying combination of materials and skills.

Dry Stone Exhibit

This demonstration of dry stone walling was built by Andy Loudon and team. The floral design was created by Andy's wife. A great combination

Early Form of Trullo

This dry stone hut shows how the early Trulli were constructed in the South East corner of Italy.This type of building was later transformed into substantial houses in Pulgia . Many of the farms had a series of these dry stone buildings cleverly joined together to accommodate whole  familes and their animals in winter. Mortared versions came later and in modern times many newcomers are buying them and converting them into very comfortable homes.

Watchdog

This fine Sculpture was looking after the activities at the recent Festival of Stone at St. Marthe in Canada.

Stoneage Wheelbarrow

This brilliant construction was created by Canadian Master in Dry Stone John Shaw-Rimmington.

A Lovely Stone Table

I saw this feature in the garden where I was staying for part of my recent visit to Canada. It was built by Colin Shaw-Rimmington who is a well respected Toronto Chef. He is not a mason but I believe he managed to combine beauty with function in a way which many of our professional wallers find difficult to achieve.

Pictish ring Marks

The later Pictish markings were Cup and Ring incisions. Again the significance of these is not understood . They are found in many parts of the Celtic world , this one in Argyll near Lochgilphead is thought to be around 3000 years old.

Stone seat

This surprisingly comfortable looking chair was posted by Lili Mrzek.

Progress at Milton Eonan

These photos show the results of two restoration sessions at one of the oldest settlements in Glen Lyon in Scotland. Volunteers spent their weekends creating a beautiful area enclosed by dry stone walls with turf coping. Lovely to see this activity in an area where the first known records date back to the 8th century!
I posted the earlier work on 22 June this year.

Pictish Stones

This standing stone near Lochgilphead in Scotland has a large number of Pictish cup marks . The markings like these were early signs on rocks (at least 3000 years ago) which are not understood by modern archaeologists. Some believe they are maps of good ground or springs, others that they have religious significance.

Dry Stone village in UAE

 This house is in a village called Wamm. Located in the mountains west of Dibba, Fujairah. It is a traditional stone village in the northern mountains of Fujairah Emirate. Most of the houses are actually semi-subterranean. They used local stone and mud. Some structures were built using dry-stone masonry.

The photo was taken by archaeologist Michele Ziolkowski.

Bridge in Sydney

This bridge in the Botanic gardens in Sydney Australia was built with convict labour. It is said to be the first bridge of its kind in modern Australia.

Making the best of a dreadful tragedy

This is Leanach farm house. It was close to  the centre of the battle on Culloden moor, a defeat which led to the destruction of the clan system in the Highlands of Scotland.

Burial mounds in Argyll Scotland

The first photo shows a long shot of the chambered Cairn at Temple Wood near Lochgilphead. In the centre of the circle of standing stones is a tomb which was excavated in victorian times. This site around 4000 years old was completely covered by peat until this was removed for agriculture at the end of the 19th century.

Monarch Butterfly

Here you are one of the many butterflies that landed on the new bridge. Photo by John Shaw-Rimmington.

Monarch Bridge

Thsi lovely bridge was built near Alderville Ontario Canada. Many monarch butterflies landed on the stonework during construction, hence the name. It was completed in three weeks by John Shaw-Rimmington,Danny Woodword and Mark Lewis from the group Dry Stone Walling across Canada.

Artistic Walling

I came across these interesting examples of creative walling near Kenmore in Scotland. I didnt find out who had done it but I really like the work.

Jubilee Cairn at Balmoral

This Cairn was built by Willian Crooks Cassidy and myself during the summer of 2012. Almost 17 feet high it was unveiled by The Queen on the 8th August. Around 200 people attended the ceremony , when they were thanked by Her Majesty for contributing to the construction. They were Warrant holders from Scotland and current and past employees at Balmoral.

The plaque was engraved by Gillian Forbes of Perth . The round flat grinding stone was donated by Duncan Haddow , while the white granite crown was found on the Balmoral estate.

Glen Elg

Here I am apparently holding up what remains of the Scottish Broch in Glen Elg. Thanks to Dieter Schneider for the photo.

Men-an-Tol

This photo of the  megalithic feature in Cornwall UK was copied to me by Grigor  Fingerov.I think it is spectacular.

Magic circle

This circle of rocks put together by Paul Volker is quite unusual. It is difficult to understand why it holds in place without mortar. This is one of the great attractions of dry stone creations.

Bridge in Slovenia.

This amazing bridge was photographed by Natasha Coc when walking with her dogs in Slovenia.It is very similar to some of the very ancient Pack-horse bridges in Scotland which also had no parapet. Nowadays , health and safety would not allow this in a public place but its shows how sensible travelling people were in the past.

Jason Hoffman

This is a build by Jason in Alva Glen Scotland . Done in very tricky conditions.

Using Massive rocks

This photo was taken near Aberfeldy in Scotland. A large machine has been used to create a very substantial retaining wall for a farm road. Clever stuff.

Before and after in a Mud Hole

The same section of wall showing how to deal with a problem of drainage by creating a small gap to allow water to flow into a cundy below the road in Royal Deeside, Scotland. It worked well after more heavy rain.

Jubilee Rock in Ballater

This inscribed piece of Deeside Granite and the rocks around were gathered by the people of Ballater and the estates close to Balmoral to commemorate Queen Elizabeths's Diamond Jubilee.

Another piece of work by Danny Woodword.

I really like this wee flower set into the recess in the wall.Makes a great photo.

Comfortable curve

A delightful set of steps on the by Danny Woodward.

Old Buildings

This is all that is left of an ancient dry stone house in Glen Artney Perthshire Scotland. It would appear that the farm was rebuilt in a more sheltered site behind me in the photo. This in turn has been deserted but the signs were that the more recent mortared house had been abandoned around the 1940s.