58-456: Charnwood Forest is a hilly tract in north-western Leicestershire , England , bounded by Leicester , Loughborough and Coalville . The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland , and significant Precambrian geology. Its elevation is generally 600 feet (180 m)and upwards, the area exceeding this height being about 6,100 acres (25 km). The highest point, Bardon Hill ,
116-497: A further 6 GCR sites, 13 regionally important geological sites (RIGS), five local nature reserves (LNRs), seven Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) nature reserves, and one Woodland Trust woodland. Seventeen sites have open access to the public. Footpaths and bridleways give views and limited access to the other sites listed, and to the rest of the Charnwood Forest landscape. Over half of Charnwood Forest
174-436: A hill). The rounded peaks of hills results from the diffusive movement of soil and regolith covering the hill, a process known as downhill creep . Various names may be used to describe types of hills, based on appearance and method of formation. Many such names originated in one geographical region to describe a type of hill formation particular to that region, though the names are often adopted by geologists and used in
232-656: A mountain is usually defined in the UK and Ireland as any summit at least 2,000 feet or 610 meters high, while the UK government's Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 defined mountainous areas (for the purposes of open access legislation) as areas above 600 meters (1,969 feet). Some definitions include a topographical prominence requirement, typically 100 feet (30.5 m) or 500 feet (152.4 m). In practice, mountains in Scotland are frequently referred to as "hills" no matter what their height, as reflected in names such as
290-466: A mountain. Geographers historically regarded mountains as hills greater than 1,000 feet (304.8 meters) above sea level . In contrast, hillwalkers have tended to regard mountains as peaks 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level. The Oxford English Dictionary also suggests a limit of 2,000 feet (610 m) and Whittow states "Some authorities regard eminences above 600 m (1,969 ft) as mountains, those below being referred to as hills." Today,
348-536: A much smaller force entrenched on the hill top. Battles for the possession of high ground have often resulted in heavy casualties to both sides, such as the 1969 Battle of Hamburger Hill during the Vietnam War , the Battle of Stalingrad and Battle of Peleliu during World War II , and the 1969 Kargil War between India and Pakistan. The Great Wall of China is an enduring example of hilltop fortification. It
406-427: A physical invitation to interact with the environment around you, but there are many voices that oppose the construction of cairns. Concerns have been raised over the construction of needless cairns. Cairns have been noted to hold cultural significance to indigenous people , the construction of inauthentic cairns by visitors can be seen as an appropriation of indigenous traditions. The concerns arise primely over how
464-594: A process which would help shed further light on local history and facilitate their preservation for posterity. Since Neolithic times, the climate of North Africa has become drier. A reminder of the desertification of the area is provided by megalithic remains, which occur in a great variety of forms and in vast numbers in presently arid and uninhabitable wastelands: cairns ( kerkour ), dolmens and circles like Stonehenge , underground cells excavated in rock, barrows topped with huge slabs, and step pyramid -like mounds. The Biblical place name Gilead (mentioned in
522-726: A site with no public access except by special arrangement with the owners. Plants found within the woods include Digitalis purpurea , Dactylorhiza fuchsii , Sorbus torminalis and Vaccinium myrtilus . Abbreviations used in the table: National nature reserve (NNR). Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (B=Biological, G=Geological). Geological Conservation Review (GCR)(I=of International importance). Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS). Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). National Trust (NT). Local nature reserve (LNR). Download coordinates as: 52°42′N 1°15′W / 52.70°N 1.25°W / 52.70; -1.25 Hill A hill
580-469: A stone from the pile. The stones that remained were built into a cairn to honour the dead. Cairns in the region were also put to vital practical use. For example, Dún Aonghasa , an all-stone Iron Age Irish hill fort on Inishmore in the Aran Islands , is still surrounded by small cairns and strategically placed jutting rocks, used collectively as an alternative to defensive earthworks because of
638-399: A stone up from the bottom of a hill to place on a cairn at its top. In such a fashion, cairns would grow ever larger. An old Scottish Gaelic blessing is Cuiridh mi clach air do chàrn , "I'll put a stone on your cairn". In Highland folklore it is recounted that before Highland clans fought in a battle, each man would place a stone in a pile. Those who survived the battle returned and removed
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#1732772428345696-571: A survey conducted, 75 participants out of 144 participants stated that they believe in ovoo ceremonies. However, mining and other industrial operations today threaten the ovoos In Hawaii , cairns, called by the Hawaiian word ahu , are still being built today. Though in other cultures, the cairns were typically used as trail markers and sometimes funerary sites, the ancient Hawaiians also used them as altars or security towers. The Hawaiian people are still building these cairns today, using them as
754-640: A wide area of southern Britain. The forest is an important recreational area with woodland walks, noted for their displays of bluebells in the early spring, rock climbing and hillwalking . Popular places with public access include Bardon Hill , Beacon Hill , Bradgate Park , Swithland Wood , the Outwoods and Stoneywell cottage (National Trust). The area of hills and open land known as Charnwood Forest has no jurisdictional boundary (the Borough of Charnwood covers roughly two thirds of Charnwood Forest, and
812-454: A wider geographical context. These include: Many settlements were originally built on hills, either to avoid floods (particularly if they were near a large body of water), for defense (since they offer a good view of the surrounding land and require would-be attackers to fight uphill), or to avoid densely forested areas. For example, Ancient Rome was built on seven hills , helping to protect it from invaders. Some settlements, particularly in
870-560: Is 912 feet (278 m). On its western flank lies an abandoned coalfield , with Coalville and other former mining villages, now being regenerated and replanted as part of the National Forest . The M1 motorway , between junctions 22 and 23, cuts through Charnwood Forest. The hard stone of Charnwood Forest has been quarried for centuries, and was a source of whetstones and quern-stones . The granite quarries at Bardon Hill , Buddon Hill and Whitwick supply crushed aggregate to
928-436: Is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit , and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains . Hills fall under the category of slope landforms . The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as tall, or as steep as
986-491: Is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound . The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic : càrn [ˈkʰaːrˠn̪ˠ] (plural càirn [ˈkʰaːrˠɲ] ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory , they were raised as markers, as memorials and as burial monuments (some of which contained chambers ). In
1044-482: Is depicted as a possible portal to the realm of fairies . Charnwood Forest covers approx 67 sq mi (170 km) of Leicestershire , split over three local government districts: Charnwood Borough , North West Leicestershire District and Hinckley and Bosworth District. It includes a national nature reserve (NNR), 19 SSSIs (Some subdivided in the list of sites below), 4 Geological Conservation Review (GCR) sites of international geological importance plus
1102-682: Is included within the English National Forest . It is also crossed by two waymarked long distance walking routes—the Leicestershire Round and the Ivanhoe Way. The 45 sites listed here include sites with statutory wildlife or geological designations, plus other sites included in published lists of notable sites. On both the map and table, green denotes a site open to the public, amber denotes a site with limited access or restricted by permit or membership. Red denotes
1160-417: Is known as granite (formerly also called Markfieldite). The central area of the forest has older rocks still. These are sedimentary and are very variable in character, They were formed by material from volcanoes, settling in deep water, and it is in these beds that the fossils are found. Uplifting, tilting and erosion have produced the distinctive jagged exposures found across the highest parts of Charnwood. On
1218-564: Is popular in hilly areas such as the English Peak District and the Scottish Highlands . Many hills are categorized according to relative height or other criteria and feature on lists named after mountaineers, such as Munros (Scotland) and Wainwrights (England). Specific activities such as " peak bagging " (or "Munro bagging") involve climbing hills on these lists with the aim of eventually climbing every hill on
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#17327724283451276-832: Is the inuksuk (plural inuksuit), used by the Inuit and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. The building of cairns for various purposes goes back into prehistory in Eurasia , ranging in size from small rock sculptures to substantial human-made hills of stone (some built on top of larger, natural hills). The latter are often relatively massive Bronze Age or earlier structures which, like kistvaens and dolmens , frequently contain burials; they are comparable to tumuli ( kurgans ), but of stone construction instead of earthworks . Cairn originally could more broadly refer to various types of hills and natural stone piles, but today
1334-474: Is used exclusively of artificial ones. The word cairn derives from Scots cairn (with the same meaning), in turn from Scottish Gaelic càrn , which is essentially the same as the corresponding words in other native Celtic languages of Britain , Ireland and Brittany , including Welsh carn (and carnedd ), Breton karn , Irish carn , and Cornish karn or carn . Cornwall ( Kernow ) itself may actually be named after
1392-577: The Bronze Age , burial cists were sometimes interred into cairns, which would be situated in conspicuous positions, often on the skyline above the village of the deceased. Though most often found in the British Isles, evidence of Bronze Age cists have been found in Mongolia . The stones may have been thought to deter grave robbers and scavengers. Another explanation is that they were to stop
1450-602: The Cuillin Hills and the Torridon Hills . In Wales, the distinction is more a term of land use and appearance and has nothing to do with height. For a while, the US defined a mountain as being 1,000 feet (304.8 m) or more tall. Any similar landform lower than this height was considered a hill. The United States Geological Survey , however, has concluded that these terms do not in fact have technical definitions in
1508-470: The Krajina , they are known as gromila . In Portugal, a cairn is called a moledro . In a legend the moledros are enchanted soldiers, and if one stone is taken from the pile and put under a pillow, in the morning a soldier will appear for a brief moment, then will change back to a stone and magically return to the pile. The cairns that mark the place where someone died or cover the graves alongside
1566-748: The continental United States and Canada, some Indigenous peoples of the Americas have built structures similar to cairns. In some cases, these are general trail markers, and in other cases they mark game-driving "lanes", such as those leading to buffalo jumps . Peoples from some of the Indigenous cultures of arctic North America (i.e. northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland ) have built carefully constructed stone sculptures called inuksuit and inunnguat , which serve as landmarks and directional markers. The oldest of these structures are very old and pre-date contact with Europeans . They are iconic of
1624-743: The karst landscape's lack of soil. In February 2020, ancient cairns dated back to 4,500 year-old used to bury the leaders or chieftains of neolithic tribes people were revealed in the Cwmcelyn in Blaenau Gwent by the Aberystruth Archaeological Society. In Scandinavia , cairns have been used for centuries as trail and sea marks, among other purposes, the most notable being the Three-Country Cairn . In Iceland , cairns were often used as markers along
1682-415: The modern era , cairns are often raised as landmarks, especially to mark the summits of mountains. Cairns are also used as trail markers . They vary in size from small stone markers to entire artificial hills, and in complexity from loose conical rock piles to elaborate megalithic structures. Cairns may be painted or otherwise decorated, whether for increased visibility or for religious reasons. A variant
1740-505: The tree line . Examples can be seen in the lava fields of Volcanoes National Park to mark several hikes. Placed at regular intervals, a series of cairns can be used to indicate a path across stony or barren terrain, even across glaciers . In Acadia National Park , in Maine , the trails are marked by a special type of cairn instituted in the 1890s by Waldron Bates and dubbed Bates cairns. Coastal cairns called sea marks are also common in
1798-596: The 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill (which was actually fought on Breed's Hill ) in the American War of Independence ; and Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill in the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg , the turning point of the American Civil War . The Battle of San Juan Hill in the 1898 Spanish–American War won the Americans control of Santiago de Cuba but only after suffering from heavy casualties inflicted by
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1856-528: The Middle East, are located on artificial hills consisting of debris (particularly mudbricks ) that has accumulated over many generations. Such a location is known as a " tell ". In Northern Europe , many ancient monuments are sited in heaps. Some of these are defensive structures (such as the hillforts of the Iron Age ), but others appear to have hardly any significance. In Britain, many churches at
1914-467: The Old Testament books of Genesis , Numbers , Judges and elsewhere) means literally 'a heap of testimony (or evidence)' as does its Aramaic translation Yegar Sahaduta . In modern Hebrew, gal-'ed ( גל-עד ) is the actual word for "cairn". In Genesis 31 the cairn of Gilead was set up as a border demarcation between Jacob and his father-in-law Laban at their last meeting. Starting in
1972-693: The US. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia defined "hill" as an upland with a relative height of up to 200 m (660 ft). A hillock is a small hill. Other words include knoll and (in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England) its variant, knowe. Artificial hills may be referred to by a variety of technical names, including mound and tumulus . Hills may form through geomorphic phenomena : faulting , erosion of larger landforms such as mountains and movement and deposition of sediment by glaciers (notably moraines and drumlins or by erosion exposing solid rock which then weathers down into
2030-545: The area. Many of the craggy rocks of Charnwood Forest are of volcanic origin and are very old, dating back through 600 million years to Precambrian times. It was the site of the first-ever recorded discovery of Charnia masoni , the earliest-known large, complex fossilised species on record, recovered from a quarry near the Charnwood village of Woodhouse Eaves . It was discovered separately in 1956 & 1957 by local schoolchildren Tina Negus and Roger Mason , although it
2088-407: The ashes of a Buddhist saint or lama . A traditional and often decorated, heap-formed cairn called an ovoo is made in Mongolia . It primarily serves religious purposes, and finds use in both Tengriist and Buddhist ceremonies. Ovoos were also often used as landmarks and meeting points in traditional nomadic Mongolian culture . Traditional ceremonies still take place at ovoos today, and in
2146-465: The cairns that dot its landscape, such as Cornwall's highest point, Brown Willy Summit Cairn , a 5 m (16 ft) high and 24 m (79 ft) diameter mound atop Brown Willy hill in Bodmin Moor , an area with many ancient cairns. Burial cairns and other megaliths are the subject of a variety of legends and folklore throughout Britain and Ireland. In Scotland , it is traditional to carry
2204-418: The city's fog and civil engineering projects today famous as tourist attractions such as the cable cars and Lombard Street . Hills provide important advantages to an army that controls their heights, giving them an elevated view and firing position and forcing an opposing army to charge uphill to attack a fort or other position. They may also conceal forces behind them, allowing a force to lie in wait on
2262-510: The crest of a hill, using that crest for cover, and firing on unsuspecting attackers as they broach the hilltop. As a result, conventional military strategies often demand possession of high ground. Because of their strategic and tactical values, hills have been the site of many notable battles, such as the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC and the first recorded military conflict in Scotland, the Battle of Mons Graupius in AD 83. Modern era conflicts include
2320-452: The dead from rising . There remains a Jewish tradition of placing small stones on a person's grave as a token of respect, known as visitation stones , though this is generally to relate the longevity of stone to the eternal nature of the soul and is not usually done in a cairn fashion. Stupas in India and Tibet probably started out in a similar fashion, although they now generally contain
2378-483: The derivation, meaning a tool used to grind grain and other materials by hand. The area was a source of stone for these tools, called quern-stones . Archeological evidence has shown that the area was inhabited as far back as the Neolithic period, approximately 4,000–2,000 BC. Beacon Hill is the site of a Bronze Age hill fort, dating from between 600 BC and 43 AD. This forms one of the last surviving visible features in
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2436-513: The eastern half of the borough is not part of the forest). Furthermore, despite its name, Charnwood was never a royal forest , and was never subject to forest law . So although it is an ancient and well-established locality, it has only recently been officially defined, by the Natural England National Character Area (NCA) process, which takes a somewhat wider definition than many previous attempts to define
2494-551: The eastern side, a much more recent series of rocks are found. Again igneous diorites, that formed deep underground, but these are Ordovician , from a mere 450 million years ago. These are extensively quarried in the areas near Mountsorrel . The earliest form of the name Charnwood is probably derived from cerne woda , from the Celtic carn , meaning cairn , and the Old English wudu , meaning wood. Some sources give cwern as
2552-589: The focal points for ceremonies honoring their ancestors and spirituality. In South Korea , cairns are quite prevalent, often found along roadsides and trails, up on mountain peaks, and adjacent to Buddhist temples. Hikers frequently add stones to existing cairns trying to get just one more on top of the pile, to bring good luck. This tradition has its roots in the worship of San-shin, or Mountain Spirit, so often still revered in Korean culture. Throughout what today are
2610-495: The forest for use in agriculture. Quorn was established between 1086 and 1153, and all the land up to Woodhouse had been deforested by 1228. There were comparatively few major changes in land use in the post Medieval period, until the demand for timber and charcoal for the early Industrial Revolution contributed to a further loss of woodland. By the end of the 18th century, most of the woodland had disappeared leaving large areas of moorland and pasture. In 1957, Charnwood Forest
2668-411: The intent of visitors creating cairns disrespects traditional practices and attempts at land preservation. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory asks visitors to say “no” to rock piles after a surge in the creation of cairns by visitors. The construction of these rock formations comes at the cost of important geological features that visitors pry rocks off of. The practice is viewed as an act of graffiti on
2726-687: The landscape known to the Coritani , the tribe who occupied most of the East Midlands area at the time of the Roman Conquest. According to Domesday Book , there was only one settlement in Charnwood Forest in 1086, at Charley whose name would appear to come from the same root, with the suffix -ley denoting open land, rather than forest. In the 200 years after the Norman conquest , newly created settlements took major areas of land out of
2784-603: The landscape of the park. The US National Park Service has a set of rules regarding public interaction with cairns found within the boundaries of the park. Falling within the rules set by the Leave No Trace rule, the Park Service has three rules: This guideline is made with the intent of preventing needless cairns created by visitors and preventing the destruction of important trail-marking cairns. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from
2842-520: The list. Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event in the West Country of England which involves rolling a wheel of cheese down a hill. Contestants stand at the top and chase the wheel of cheese to the bottom. The winner, the one who catches the cheese, gets to keep the wheel of cheese as a prize. Cross country running courses may include hills which can add diversity and challenge to those courses. Cairn A cairn
2900-558: The northern latitudes, especially in the island-strewn waters of Scandinavia and eastern Canada. They are placed along shores and on islands and islets. Usually painted white for improved offshore visibility, they serve as navigation aids . In Sweden, they are called kummel , in Finland kummeli , in Norway varde , and are indicated in navigation charts and maintained as part of the nautical marking system. Cairns can be seen as
2958-427: The numerous single-file roads or paths that crisscrossed the island; many of these ancient cairns are still standing, although the paths have disappeared. In Norse Greenland , cairns were used as a hunting implement, a game-driving "lane", used to direct reindeer towards a game jump . In the mythology of ancient Greece, cairns were associated with Hermes , the god of overland travel. According to one legend, Hermes
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#17327724283453016-660: The region (an inuksuk even features on the flag of the Canadian far-northeastern territory, Nunavut ). Cairns have been used throughout what is now Latin America , since pre-Columbian times, to mark trails. Even today, in the Andes of South America , the Quechuan peoples build cairns as part of their spiritual and religious traditions. Cairns can be used to mark hiking trails, especially in mountain regions at or above
3074-556: The roads where in the past people were buried are called Fiéis de Deus . The same name given to the stones was given to the dead whose identity was unknown. Cairns ( taalo ) are a common feature at El Ayo , Haylan , Qa'ableh , Qombo'ul , Heis , Salweyn and Gelweita , among other places. Somaliland in general is home to a lot of such historical settlements and archaeological sites wherein are found numerous ancient ruins and buildings, many of obscure origins. However, many of these old structures have yet to be properly explored,
3132-500: The tops of hills are thought to have been built on the sites of earlier pagan holy places. The Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. has followed this tradition and was built on the highest hill in that city. Some cities' hills are culturally significant in their foundation, defense, and history. In addition to Rome, hills have played a prominent role in the history of San Francisco , with its hills being central to
3190-465: Was Mason who received the credit (thus masoni ). Since this find in Charnwood Forest, Precambrian fossils have been discovered across the world. Along the western edge of Charnwood Forest the rocks are mainly Precambrian igneous diorites . These formed from molten lava deep within the sedimentary rocks, cooling slowly to produce hard, blocky rock with large crystals. This is extensively quarried for roadstone around Groby , Markfield and Whitwick , and
3248-469: Was built on hilltops to help defend against invaders from the north, such as Mongols . Hillwalking is a British English term for a form of hiking which involves the ascent of hills. The activity is usually distinguished from mountaineering as it does not involve ropes or technically difficult rock climbing , although the terms mountain and hill are often used interchangeably in Britain. Hillwalking
3306-495: Was considered for designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), but the designation was not made due to the construction of the M1 motorway through the area. The area was the inspiration for "Charnwood Poems", a collection of poems by the author, playwright and poet Albert Francis Cross (1863–1940). It is also the setting for the speculative fiction novel Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce (2012), in which it
3364-455: Was put on trial by Hera for slaying her favorite servant, the monster Argus . All of the other gods acted as a jury, and as a way of declaring their verdict they were given pebbles, and told to throw them at whichever person they deemed to be in the right, Hermes or Hera. Hermes argued so skillfully that he ended up buried under a heap of pebbles, and this was the first cairn. In Croatia , in areas of ancient Dalmatia , such as Herzegovina and
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