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All My Stories
All My Stories
Pentre Ifan & the Preseli Bluestones: Exploring Wales’ Ancient Dolmens, Myth & the Bluestones of Stonehenge.
Explore Pentre Ifan, the iconic Neolithic portal tomb of the Preseli Hills. Thought to date to around 3500 BC, its massive capstone stands poised above three upright stones, overlooking the landscape where Stonehenge’s bluestones began their journey.
Nov 1313 min read
Between Worlds: Samhain, Halloween, and the Shadow of the Sun.
As autumn’s light fades, At the Gates of Winter explores the ancient roots of Samhain and Halloween — from the stone circles of Avebury and Grange to Ireland’s sacred mounds where the sun once set between worlds. Discover how Neolithic alignments, Celtic fire festivals, and modern traditions still mark our timeless dialogue between darkness and renewal.
Oct 3110 min read
Discovering Gors Fawr Stone Circle and My Find of a New Ancient Polissoir Stone
Explore the sacred landscape of the Preseli Hills — birthplace of Stonehenge’s bluestones and home to the enigmatic Gors Fawr stone circle. Join Dr Alexander Peach as he revisits this ancient site after twenty years to uncover new insights into its alignments, mythology, and a hidden polissoir stone. Discover how craft, cosmology, and landscape converged in Neolithic Wales to shape one of Britain’s most profound ceremonial landscapes.
Oct 2615 min read
Stones on the Move: The Ritual Pathways of Avebury’s Three Stone Avenues.
Avebury is not just about the stones, but also about movement through them. From the Avebury henge three great avenues once led outward: West Kennet to the Sanctuary, Beckhampton into watery lowlands, Silbury toward Europe’s largest Neolithic mound. These paths shaped sight lines, ritual, and myth — a choreography of stone and story that still carries us through the landscape. Join me in exploring the archaeology and stories of these mysterious processional routes.
Oct 614 min read
Exploring Anglesey’s Neolithic Secrets: The Sun Stone and Other Faces at Bryn Celli Ddu
Explore Anglesey’s Neolithic secrets at Bryn Celli Ddu, the Sun Stone, and other stone faces. Discover how solstice alignments, quartz-veined monoliths, and carved pebbles reveal the spiritual, mythic, and cosmological world of Neolithic builders. Journey through sacred landscapes where archaeology meets intuition, uncovering the hidden symbolism and animist practices that shaped ancient Anglesey.
Sep 712 min read
Bryn Celli Ddu Solstice 2025 Part 5: Unearthing the Bear Shaped Capstone at Lligwy Neolithic Burial Chamber in the Sacred Landscape of Anglesey.
Unearthing the Bear of Lligwy: A Neolithic Discovery in Anglesey
At Lligwy burial chamber on the island of Anglesey, Wales, a striking new observation has been made: the great capstone that crowns this Neolithic tomb bears the unmistakable outline of a bear. First recorded by researcher and writer Alexander Peach, this discovery adds a fresh dimension to our understanding of Neolithic symbolism and ritual life.
Aug 3013 min read
Unearthing the Ancient: Sacred Blueschist and Quartz the Geological and Mythic Heart of Bryn Celli Ddu Anglesey.
Bryn Celli Ddu, the celebrated Neolithic passage tomb on Anglesey, is more than just a prehistoric monument. It is a carefully constructed temple where stone, light, and story converge. In this exploration of the site’s geology and mythic significance, we focus on a remarkable material rarely discussed in detail—quartz-veined blueschist, a stone found only in a narrow band across Anglesey and central to the sacred design of Bryn Celli Ddu.
The Neolithic builders chose this ra
Aug 238 min read
Has a Lost Stone Circle Been Found at Bryn Celli Ddu? Exciting New Discoveries in Wales
A new excavation just beyond Bryn Celli Ddu has revealed tantalising evidence of a lost stone circle. Join me on the ridge at Tyddyn Bach, where archaeologists uncovered a buried monolith and a possible ring ditch — findings that may reshape our understanding of Anglesey’s sacred landscape. In this post, I document the dig, explore the myths, and reflect on how ancient imagination still echoes in stone.
Jul 1519 min read
Stone, Sun, and Spirit: My Summer Solstice Journey to Bryn Celli Ddu
Experience the 2025 summer solstice at Bryn Celli Ddu, Anglesey’s most iconic Neolithic tomb. In this richly illustrated post, Alexander Peach returns to witness the sunrise light enter the chamber, illuminating a quartz-veined stone and casting an axe-shaped beam. Explore the sacred landscape, solar alignments, and new archaeological insights into the Gorsedd, Sun Stone, and Tyddyn Bach. A powerful blend of myth, history, and first-hand observation.
Jul 615 min read
The Rollright Stones: Sacred Site and Megalithic Mystery in the Heart of England
Discovering the Rollright Stones: Ritual, Myth, and Memory on the Cotswold Ridge
Nestled on the windswept boundary of Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, the Rollright Stones form one of Britain's most evocative prehistoric landscapes—a sacred triad of monuments steeped in mystery, myth, and millennia-old memory. In this richly detailed blog post, we explore the King’s Men stone circle, the solitary King Stone, and the ancient dolmen known as the Whispering Knights.
Jun 2411 min read
Unveiling Gunung Padang: Indonesia’s Ancient Stepped Pyramid and Sacred Sundanese Marvel
Nestled in the volcanic highlands of West Java, Indonesia, Gunung Padang is one of Southeast Asia's most fascinating archaeological sites. Rising 885 metres above sea level atop an extinct volcano, it is at the center of an acrimonious archaeological debate about hidden subterranean chambers and over its contested dates of construction, some as old as 27,000 to 14,000 years ago. Gunung Padang weaves together geology, culture, spirituality and controversy into an amazing story
May 2722 min read
Unveiling the Cosmic Mysteries of Bryn Celli Ddu: Explore the Celestial Secrets of the Neolithic Solstice Sun
Exploration of Ancient astronomy at Bryn Celli Ddu, Anglesey, Wales, UK
Apr 431 min read
Stone, Sky, River and Mountain The Sacred Geography of Bryn Celli Ddu: Part Three.
Blueschist Rock in Central Chamber: Photo by Author The Sacred Heart of Anglesey Part Three: The Sanctified Rocks, Mountains and River at...
Mar 1019 min read
Bryn Celli Ddu: Unearthing the Sacred Heart of Neolithic Anglesey Part 2:
Was the connection between builders and the ancestors facilitated by rituals bound to the sun, moon, and the flickering interplay of firelit shadows? We will consider how this place's optical and acoustic properties may have deepened these experiences of communion.
Mar 39 min read
Rivers of the Soul: The Sacred Springs and Waterways of Neolithic and Bronze Age Europe
For Neolithic societies, water was not merely functional; it was spiritual. Rivers and springs were gateways; places of ritual and worship.
Jan 1226 min read
Poems of the Winter Solstice: Reflections on Renewal, Ancient Rituals, and the Spirit of the Season
Welcome to Stone Temple Gardening where we dig deep to cultivate new understandings of our past. Today is January 1st of 2025 and I wish...
Jan 110 min read
Solstice Rites and Winter Lights: Myth and Magic From Stonehenge to Today.
The Winter Solstice, that fleeting hinge of the year when the night stretches longest and the sun lingers, pale and frail in its winter repose, has long captivated human imagination. Across ancient cultures, this moment marked a profound threshold—a time when the dominance of darkness gave way to rituals of hope, renewal, and the promise of light’s return. These sacred and celebratory traditions offer a glimpse into humanity’s enduring dialogue with the cosmos: between the ea
Dec 21, 202425 min read
Her Dreams Are Carved in Crystal: The Thirteen Moons of Callanish and the Sacred Echoes of the Sleeping Goddess
A New Theory of the Callainish Stones as a sacred landscape figure connected to the worship of the Moon Goddess.
Dec 9, 202420 min read
Shapes of the Sacred: How Neolithic Long Barrows Evolved from Earthly Anchors Into Cosmic Circles
Knowth Passage Grave Ireland Have you ever felt the silent pull of ancient stones? Have you asked yourself what it means to walk through...
Nov 11, 202414 min read
Beyond Stonehenge: Uncovering the Forgotten World of Neolithic Henges and Their Cosmic Connections
Henge Rising Introduction A henge is a type of prehistoric earthwork structure from the Neolithic and early Bronze Age, dating back...
Nov 4, 202412 min read
Whats this all about then?
Hi! I'm Dr Peach!
Welcome to my Blog!
Since a teenager, I have been intensely interested in the mysteries of the ancient past and the spectacular monuments of lost civilisations left behind. From the famous sites like the Pyramids and Stonehenge, through to obscure standing stones and bramble hidden burial chambers, the magic of enigmatic prehistoric sites has fascinated me, and I have visited, photographed and researched many during my life. Although an historian by training, my fascination with prehistoric archaeology predates my academic career. Now semi-retired I have the time to indulge in my first love, and as I’m not an archaeologist I’m free to speculate and explore the more esoteric side of these monuments without criticism from within my discipline! I hope to share my knowledge, experience and understandings gained from this lifelong preoccupation of mine to all of you through Stone Temple Gardening Blog.
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