Author: Burnham, Andy
Date: 2019-01-01
Publisher: Watkins Media
Rights: Watkins Media Limited 2018

THE OLD STONES OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND

A Field Guide to Megalithic and Other Prehistoric Sites

The Megalithic Portal

Edited by Andy Burnham

THE OLD STONES OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND

This ebook covers the Neolithic and Bronze Age remains of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Dorset. If you’re looking to visit as many iconic megalithic sites in as short a time as possible, then West Penwith, at the very tip of Cornwall, should be high on your list, with its famous holed stone at Mên-an-Tol, the leaning pillar inside the circle of Boscawen-ûn, and much else. But there are many other treasures to find throughout the region. Dartmoor is famous for its stone rows (around 86 of these have been identified), and Exmoor for the challenge of its hard-to-spot “minilithic” settings. Britain’s second-largest stone circle is at Stanton Drew in Somerset, while the 10km (6 mile) long Dorest Cursus is probably Britain’s largest Neolithic site. If you’re visiting Gloucestershire, you may also want to download The Old Stones of Wales ebook as the sites here are very close to South Wales.

The Old Stones of the West of England is part of a series covering the megalithic and other prehistoric sites of Britain and Ireland. The series is published together as The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland, available as a book and an ebook.

Contents

Editor’s Introduction

West of England

Fighting Moorland Enclosure in Penwith
Ian McNeil Cooke

Translating Welsh Place Names
Simon Charlesworth & Stephen Rule

Bancbryn Stone Row
Sandy Gerrard

Under the Supermarket
Andy Burnham

The Stone Rows of Dartmoor
Sandy Gerrard

Healing Stones? The Preseli Bluestones
Julie Kearney

Bringing the Neolithic Back to Life
Martyn Copcutt

Copyright

Editor’s Introduction

Andy Burnham, founder and Editor of the Megalithic Portal

This is the first book written by and for prehistoric site enthusiasts. It is a truly collaborative project – just like the Megalithic Portal website itself – that brings together photographs, site information, theories and expertise from the thousands of people that use and post on the site. Focusing on sites from the Neolithic and Bronze Age, this is the most comprehensive guide ever created to the best ancient places to visit in Britain and Ireland, offering an up-to-date look at the archaeology, including many extraordinary discoveries and theories that have been featured on the pages of the Megalithic Portal over the years, as well as a taster of the more mysterious side of things.

Just as the Portal is a collaborative effort, so no one person’s ideas or theories are given more weight in this book. Instead, we celebrate the advances in archaeological practice, theory, dating and analysis that have taken place in the last 25 years. Geophysics, excavation and dating techniques have progressed in this time. There has also been an increased recognition of the importance of accepting non-academic viewpoints, whether from schoolchildren, community volunteers or some of the more leftfield theorists. Alternative ways of exploring and appreciating sites and wider landscapes – previously the realm of a radical fringe – have filtered into the mainstream. Landscape archaeology has in many cases accepted – if not wholeheartedly embraced – phenomenology and multi-sensory approaches, which anyone can try with an open mind and a bit of practice. Advances in technology offer new ways of experiencing sites, for example through augmented reality that merges GIS (geographical information system) landscape models with 3D reconstructions of structures.

Recently, I've been rereading early 1990s editions of 3rd Stone magazine, styled “for the new antiquarian”, the realm of ley hunters and earth mysteries researchers. Have we moved on in 25 years? Ideas of alignments between sites, of stone shapes matching the landscape, of the importance of colour, sound and experiencing sites in different frames of mind have filtered through to theoretical archaeology, to be discussed openly in papers and at conferences – even if they don’t always get past the gatekeepers of archaeology books and magazines for consumption by the “general public”.

About the Megalithic Portal

The Megalithic Portal is completely independent, with no outside funding save for what we can raise with a bit of advertising on the site, and now through royalties from this book, all of which are being ploughed back into the dayto-day running and further development of the website and our other projects. For the last 10 years we have run as a membership society, similar to any other archaeology society, except with an international reach and outlook. We hold meetings by phone conference and our society members hail from all over Europe, as well as North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and beyond.

Ardlair recumbent stone circle Cows represent one of the biggest challenges faced by the megalith enthusiast!

One of the inspirations for the Megalithic Portal was my own experience, in the 1980s and early 1990s, of reading about sites in books or magazine articles with no accurate location details. Even now, articles and papers often don’t give proper location information. I started compiling links to sites on the early web in 1996. People began to offer their own information and photos, and a collaborative project was born. The Megalithic Portal was formed in 2001 to continue this process. Much of the site’s content has been created by a group of several hundred dedicated volunteers, but there is a huge range in involvement, from those sending in a couple of photos or sites, to people who have contributed more than 10,000 of these.

About this Book

This book is not just made up of my own favourite sites but has been compiled in a collaborative way, just like the Megalithic Portal itself. Contributions in the form of articles, which appear throughout the book, have come in from scores of writers, from archaeologists to alternative theorists to keen site visitors. Many of Britain and Ireland’s top prehistorians have kindly contributed pieces about their research.

I have included opinions from a wide range of people who have original ways to approach ancient sites. While I don’t personally go along with all of the ideas proposed, I feel it’s important to at least give them an airing and let you, the reader, make up your own mind. Sometimes thinking about a problem in a new and creative way can lead to unexpected breakthroughs and we should not be closed minded to different ways of experiencing ancient sites.

The Megalithic Portal photo gallery contains images from several thousand different contributors. Each photo has a voting button allowing visitors to “like” a specific site. This anonymous voting data provided the basis of a longlist for sites to include in the book, from which a team of Megalithic Portal members selected the final list of sites to include for each region. With the voting data in mind, as well as their local knowledge, the team identified the very “best” sites and gave these a star rating. The voting data also provided the basis for most of the Top 10 and 15 lists you will see throughout the book. After all this, we are confident this is the most comprehensive and democratically selected list of prehistoric sites that has ever been put in a book like this, grouped into regions for convenient visiting and browsing.

Site descriptions have been compiled from the available sources, including excavation reports and blogs from all over the various countries and regions. I must here send thanks to the various online national site databases: Canmore (Historic Environment Scotland), PastScape (Historic England), Coflein (Wales), the National Monuments Service Historic Environment Viewer (Republic of Ireland), the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record, and the Manx Museum for their information and help, which has been invaluable. Some of the online entries are quite complex and hard to interpret so I hope our pithy summaries are helpful. Again, these entries have been checked and amended by Megalithic Portal members from all over the UK and Ireland. The vast majority of pictures in the book have been sent in by Megalithic Portal contributors. People have been so generous with their photos, taking time to look through their personal archives. Images have come from members as far afield as New Zealand and Japan. It has been tricky to keep track of exactly how many sites we’ve included – in the spirit of the “countless stones” of folklore, we kept getting different totals. However, I can confidently say we feature over 1,000 sites, with more than 600 with a full profile, plus some 400 “Nearby” listings, covering five countries and not forgetting the Isle of Man!

Each site listing includes an eight-figure Ordnance Survey map reference, and gives the OS paper map sheet the site is found on. For the UK the map sheets are: E – Explorer (orange); OL – Outdoor Leisure (yellow); L – Landranger (pink); and D for the Discoverer maps of Northern Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland, the D is for Discovery Map, whose numbering is shared with the North. For Sat Nav and GPS users we also give latitude and longitude locations for sites.

We have not given full directions to each site as we could fill up a book just with these! The Megalithic Portal (www.megalithic.co.uk) has a page for each of the entries in this book (directly linked from the ebooks), where you will find more information. You can search by site name or by map reference using the box at top left of any Megalithic Portal page. We also have a great app that allows you to search for sites by name or on a map. Each page links to various online map services and satellite images. Look on the web pages for the Nearby Sites list to find the more obscure sites that we couldn’t fit in. You will also find visitor comments and source references at the bottom of each site page. If you know any sources of information we don’t currently list or have any comments about sites featured in this book or on the website, please do submit them.

The Megalithic Portal includes a wide range of ancient sites, so I should mention some that we haven’t had space to cover in this book: Iron Age features, such as hill forts, brochs and souterrains; Palaeolithic and Mesolithic find spots and camps; early Christian crosses and other early medieval sites; holy wells and sacred springs; modern stone circles; natural features that may have been revered by or inspired prehistoric people.

As this is a “field guide” we have only included a very few (particularly interesting) sites where there is little or nothing to see on the ground. In fact there are many more lost sites that have been destroyed. The Raunds Area Project in Northamptonshire, for example, found more than 20 vanished mounds, barrows, avenues and causewayed enclosures in the Nene valley, near Wellingborough. We list the ones we know about on the website and welcome photos of the surrounding landscape – even if there are no prehistoric remains still to be seen. Visiting sites that are no longer there, imagining what they were like or how they were used, is true “hardcore” site visiting and for this we salute you!

For reasons of space we have had to limit ourselves to the UK, Isle of Man and Ireland. We haven’t included sites on the Channel Islands, as these have more in common with the sites of France, and that’s something for another day. We did originally look at including parts of continental Europe but felt it would be impossible to do justice to the many thousands of megalithic sites in countries such as Germany, Denmark, France, Spain and Portugal, and in eastern Europe. There are also many ancient sites in the USA and the rest of the Americas. Not forgetting India, China and … why am I trying to list them all? The Portal features sites from 136 countries – including Liechtenstein, which I recently had to add so one of our contributors could post an entry.

SAFETY

Do not rely purely on modern technology for navigation; always carry a backup map and compass. Know your limits and take care around ancient monuments, which can be dangerous places with unseen holes, cliffs and other pitfalls. Take a torch with you and suitable rations if trekking long distances. Wear appropriate footwear and clothing.

In this ebook we have embedded a link in the title of each megalithic site. These lead directly to the relevant pages on the Megalithic Portal web resource, so if you have an Internet connection you can click on these for more information and photos of each site.

How to Get Involved

We have tried to ensure the information in this book is as accurate as possible, but if you find any errors please do let us know so that we can update future editions. We would also love to hear from you on the website. At the Megalithic Portal we aim to be a sounding board for discussion, as well as a repository for accurate and up-to-date information on specific sites and monuments – and all of this requires constant input from our contributors. We strive to be fair to everyone and create an atmosphere where views can be challenged and disagreed with constructively and respectfully. We have, for example, a Sacred Sites and Megalithic Mysteries forum where we encourage discussion of all manner of experiences and theories relating to ancient sites. Just be respectful to others, even if you disagree with their ideas, and you’ll be welcome.

Also on the site is a visit log feature, where you can keep a record of all the ancient sites you have visited, along with your comments and personal ratings as you go. This can be found on the right-hand side of each site entry, along with the link to submit photos of your own.

These days, electronic devices such as smartphones are available to all, and these have changed the way we interact with the outdoors, whether with augmented reality, audio guides, geocaching, Pokémon Go or simply being able to access information while on the move. Academic papers are increasingly put online and even traditional closed journals are getting in on the the act, offering free trial periods or codes to get through their paywalls. Many archaeology site databases are now available online. But better linking of information sources is still badly needed and that’s something that we try to do at the Megalithic Portal. Official site databases could be better at curating links, and projects should plan for the long-term availability of their data. I have lost count of the number of projects that forget to renew their web addresses, while entire online archives disappear as researchers lose funding, move on or just go for a redesign. Keeping knowledge free and available amounts to the “archaeology of the internet”. But to get off my soapbox, it’s amazing that this unprecedented amount of information is available to everyone – it’s there to be made use of. And don’t forget traditional libraries, archives and just getting out there to do your own research.

CODE OF CONDUCT

Much damage is done accidentally by people who mean no harm. Think twice, and don’t do anything which would cause degradation to the monument. For more details on visiting sites, see the Megalithic Portal Charter, linked at the bottom of any page on the website.

• Check access. Exclusions to the “right to roam” include private gardens and cultivated farmland (unless on footpaths or field margins).

• Get permission to visit sites on private land. This is usually granted if asked for politely – many landowners appreciate their sites as much as we do, but repeated unauthorized visits could lead to access being denied to all.

• Don’t climb on the stones or on rock art. o Don’t try to remove lichen or dig near an ancient site.

• Don’t use wax candles or nightlights inside tombs. You can get very effective LED candles that are much cleaner and safer.

• Don’t light fires close to sites. o Do not move, mark or alter the site in any way, even temporarily.

• Don’t hide caches immediately in or around sites or use metal detectors.

• Any artefacts found should be reported to the local museum or via the Portable Antiquities Scheme (finds.org.uk).

• Do not fly drones around ancient sites without permission – for aerial photography try a kite or long pole instead.

• All in all, please be respectful, keep dogs under control and don’t “hog” the monument for your own rituals/purposes if there are others around.

This book is testament to the passion for prehistoric sites held by so many. Everyone can play a part in adding to our knowledge of ancient sites, and anyone can put time into researching, finding, photographing, monitoring and tidying them. I can only imagine what our stone-raising ancestors would have made of people all over the world communicating and rather obsessing over their efforts with seemingly magical writing devices, 5,000 years into the future! It’s a strange but humbling thought.

For a free extra year’s membership of the Megalithic Portal Society (two years for the price of one), go to: www.megalithic.co.uk/double

WEST OF ENGLAND

Top 15 Stone Rows in England

1. Devil’s Arrows (Yorkshire) p.162

2. Merrivale (Devon) p.62

3. Down Tor (Devon) p.60

4. West Kennet Avenue (Wiltshire) p.107

5. Hurston Ridge (Devon) p.65

6. Stalldon (Devon) p.55

7. Nine Maidens (Cornwall) p.42

8. Cosdon Hill (Devon) p.72

9. Shovel Down (Devon) p.69

10. Challacombe (Devon) p.65

11. Stanton Drew (Somerset) p.78

12. Drizzlecombe (Devon) p.59

13. Shap Avenue (Cumbria) p.179

14. Low Bridestones (Yorkshire) p.170

15. Kenidjack Common (Cornwall) p.39

Isles of Scilly

BANT’S CARN

Burial Chamber | Nearest Village: Hugh Town

Map: SV 9099 1230 | Sheets: E101 L203 | Lat: 49.9308N | Long: 6.30747W

A very impressive 10m (33ft) entrance grave (one of some 80 such structures concentrated in Scilly) in a fine hilltop setting above Halangy Down prehistoric settlement. The site now overlooks the sea but in prehistoric times this would have been a valley landscape. A platform with kerbing surrounds a mound containing the stone chamber, which is taller than most entrance graves (up to 1.5m/5ft) and roofed with four huge capstones, the largest 2.5m (8ft) in length. The site was excavated at the turn of the 20th century and little was found, apart from some pottery and four piles of cremated human bones.

Nearby | At SV 9098 1237, 70m (230ft) NNW, is Halangy Down prehistoric settlement, dating back to the Bronze Age and overlaid with Iron Age remains. Between Halangy Down and Bant’s Carn, and on the hill to the northeast, the earthworks of prehistoric field systems can be traced.

INNISIDGEN UPPER Alt Name: The Giant’s Grave
Burial Chamber | Nearest Village: Hugh Town

Map: SV 9218 1265 | Sheets: E101 L203 | Lat: 49.93456N | Long: 6.29121W

A well-preserved Scillonian entrance grave in what is now a breathtaking setting overlooking Crow Sound (sea levels were lower when the site was built), with the earthen banks of a prehistoric field system visible on the nearby hillside. The substantial mound, 9m × 8m (29ft × 26ft) and rising to 1.8m (6ft), is surrounded by the remains of a platform and a kerb of large stones. The inner chamber has five capstones.

Nearby | At SV 9211 1272, 100m (328ft) WNW of Innisidgen Upper, is another entrance grave: Innisidgen Lower. Its mound takes in natural rocky features and a kerb survives in places, as well as two capstones.

“It truly is a wonderful place. The wind blows through the trees creating an eerie hush, only broken by the sound of waves lapping the shore.” Tony (Enkidu41)

Cornwall

MERRY MAIDENS Alt Names: Rosemodress Circle, Boleigh Circle, Dans Maen
Stone Circle | Nearest Village: St Buryan/Trewoofe

Map: SW 4327 2450 | Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.06507N | Long: 5.58875W

Seen from the gate at the bottom of their field, the Merry Maidens look really splendid up on the skyline. All the stones in this elegant 24m (78ft) circle are around 1.2m (4ft) high and evenly spaced, apart from a large gap to the east that suggests a possible solar alignment. This is one of several 19-stone rings on the Lands End peninsula, although it seems the 19th stone was inserted in a second gap during the 19th century. There are lots of large stones in the hedge surrounding the circle, and in the next field, but it is hard to say if any are connected to the site, or perhaps to a second circle that was recorded by antiquarian William Borlase in the 18th century and apparently destroyed in the 19th century. As at many stone circles, a legend tells of careless girls turned to stone when, dancing past midnight at a wedding one Saturday night, they inadvertently broke the Sabbath (the Cornish name Dans Maen means “stone dance”). It’s said the musicians who had been playing for them ran off as the St Buryan clock began to strike 12, but only got a little way before meeting the same fate as the dancers. This is one of Cornwall’s best-known sites and easy to access (it’s just off the B3315, where there is a convenient bus stop) and may be busy – try to get there early in the morning in summer.

GUN RITH Alt Name: The Fiddler
Standing Stone | Nearest Village: St Buryan

Map: SW 4294 2447 Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.06466N | Long: 5.59333W

The fiddler from the Merry Maidens’ ill-fated party is to be found in a hedge in a field close to Tregiffian burial chamber. The stone has fallen several times in recent years; in 2003 it was restored in its former position but with its base set in concrete. William Copeland Borlase (the great-great-grandson of William Borlase) excavated here in 1871 and found a sandstone pebble, flattened on one side, which he conjectured had been used as a whetstone.

MAP

TREGIFFIAN Alt Name: Cruk Tregyffian
Chambered Tomb | Nearest Village: St Buryan/Trewoofe

Map: SW 4304 2443 | Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.06434N | Long: 5.59191W

Although on the mainland, this is a Scillonian type entrance grave, with a walled and roofed passage leading into a formerly circular mound (the northwest part of the mound was destroyed by the building of the road). Excavations have unearthed ashes and bone fragments. Four large capstones can be seen, and one of the portal slabs (a concrete replica – the original is in the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro) is strikingly decorated with 25 deep cup-marks. From here, it is possible to see over to the Merry Maidens and also to Gun Rith.

THE PIPERS

Standing Stones | Nearest Village: St Buryan/Trewoofe

Map: SW 4351 2479 | Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.064778N | Long: 5.58559W

In legend, the Pipers are two unfortunate musicians who were petrified as they fled the Merry Maidens’ Sabbath-breaking dance. The tallest of Cornwall’s remaining standing stones, the pair are in neighbouring fields more than 90m (295ft) apart. The southwest stone is 4.6m (15ft) tall; the northeast stone, which leans at quite an angle, is 4.1m (13ft 5in).

CARN GLUZE Alt Name: Ballowall Barrow
Chambered Tomb | Nearest Village: St Just

Map: SW 3552 3125 | Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.12225N | Long: 5.70148W

Hidden for many years beneath mine waste, Carn Gluze was excavated in the late 19th century by William Copeland Borlase, apparently drawn here by miners’ tales of mysterious lights and dancing fairies. This is an unusual multiphase site, perhaps originally an entrance grave that was later incorporated into a much larger and more complex structure, and further complicated by the inauthentic 19th-century restoration. Inside the barrow, within two concentric rings of walls, Borlase found five stone cists, some containing Bronze Age pottery and cremations. With imagination, the dramatic appearance of the original site can be visualized, its huge mound in a spectacular cliff-edge location.

BOSCAWEN-ÛN Alt Name: Nine Maidens

Stone Circle |Nearest Village: St Buryan | Map: SW 4122 2736

Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.08985N | Long: 5.61927W

Set in its own hedged enclosure amid the gorse and bracken, the secluded stone circle of Boscawen-ûn evokes a feeling of tranquillity in many visitors. It is famous for surrounding a central pillar that leans at a dramatic angle, giving the site something of the appearance of a sundial. Excavation in the 1860s found that this 2.5m (8ft) stone had been deliberately set up at an angle. As at some other sites in the region (such as Tregeseal, see opposite), there are 19 stones in the circle; it has been theorized that this number may reference the 18.6-year cycle of the moon’s wanderings across the sky. The stones at Boscawen-ûn are all granite except for one of quartz, which Aubrey Burl suggested may have been used as a backsight in observing the May Day sunrise. The stones of the circle vary in height but are all positioned with smoother sides facing inward, and are evenly spaced except for a larger gap in the west, which is too small for a missing stone and may indicate a solar alignment (there is a similar feature at the nearby Merry Maidens circle, see page 36).

In 1986 Ian McNeil Cooke discovered carvings of two axes in the northeast face of the central pillar. Tom Goskar, who recently used photogrammetry to create a 3D model of the carvings, believes the axes might actually represent a pair of feet, as seen on the anthropomorphic stones of Brittany and Guernsey. He also discovered a pair of circular features similar to those identified as breasts on some Breton monuments, and suggests this might indicate the reuse of a Breton-style decorated stone at Boscawen-ûn.

Nearby | At SW 4148 2763, in a field 374m (1,227ft) northwest of the circle, is the 2.6m (8½ft) Boscawen-ûn Field standing stone, with the Boscawen-ûn Hedge stone at SW 4173 2772, 265m (870ft) further east, in the hedge lining the signed track to Boscawenoon Farm.

“I should keep this a secret! The best time to visit Boscawen-ûn is on a quiet May evening when bluebells are still carpeting the circle. Something to hang on to while we endure the bleak days of winter.” Angie Lake

TREGESEAL Alt Names: Dancing Stones, Nine Maidens
Stone Circle | Nearest Village: St Just

Map: SW 3866 3237 | Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.1337N | Long: 5.65841W

A heavily restored circle in an atmospheric setting on the edge of moorland climbing to Carn Kenidjack, which here is a very distinctive feature on the skyline. There were once two or even three circles at Tregeseal lying next to each other on an east–west alignment, of which this 19-stone circle would have been the easternmost. Little trace remains of the other circles: the western or possibly central circle was cleared for agriculture in 1961, and sightings of cropmarks are the only indication of the third circle. Land management is controversial, as at some other Penwith sites (see page 41), as grazing cattle have loosened and dislodged stones and can discourage visitors. This circle is sometimes known as the Dancing Stones, referring to the common legend of maidens petrified when they broke the Sabbath.

Nearby | At SW 3901 3262, some 430m (1,410ft) ENE of the circle, are the Kenidjack Common holed stones. There are five stones here, one of them fallen and broken, with another stone to the northwest of the group. Follow the path from Tregeseal E stone circle, keeping to the lower path at each junction. The path passes a couple of tumuli, one of which is said to have a cist within it, the other the possible remains of a stone chamber.

MAP

CHÛN QUOIT

Portal Dolmen | Nearest Village: Madron

Map: SW 4022 3396 | Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.14865N | Long: 5.63771W

A perfectly preserved and charming portal dolmen with a somewhat mushroom-like appearance, its round, domed capstone (with a cup-mark on top) extending over an enclosed chamber. High on Chûn Downs, within 300m (985ft) of Chûn Castle Iron Age hill fort, the site offers spectacular views down to the sea. In 2013 the Chûn Downs area was re-registered as common land following a campaign by Save Penwith Moors (see page 41).

MÊN-AN-TOL Alt Name: Crick Stone
Holed Stone |Nearest Village: Madron

Map: SW 4265 3494 | Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.15851N | Long: 5.60443W

Famously picturesque. The Cornish name means “stone with the hole”, and the hole may be natural. As well as the uprights, there are six fallen stones here, some buried. The westernmost stone has been moved into line with the others at some point since 1815. William Borlase’s 1749 plan suggests the stones formed part of an arc, perhaps of a circle, although it’s unclear whether the holed stone was part of this or another structure. Being passed or crawling through the hole was once held to cure childhood rickets and tuberculosis, as well as aiding fertility, rheumatism or spinal problems in adults. There are also stories of a fairy guardian with the power to heal the sick. Recent changes in land management here have been very controversial (see opposite).

Nearby | At SW 4269 3530, 362m (1,187ft) north of Mên-an-Tol, is the 2m (6½ft) Mên Scryfa (“inscribed stone”), which may date to the Bronze Age but was carved in the 5th–8th century AD with RIALOBRANI CUNOVALI FILI – “Royal Raven Son of the Glorious Prince”. Over 1m (3ft 3in) of its length may be buried. At SW 4268 3592, 620m (less than ½ mile) north of Mên Scryfa, is the Carn Galver round barrow. At SW 4273 3600, incorporating one of the main tors of Carn Galver, are linear arrangements of large stones thought to be a Neolithic enclosure.

BOSKEDNAN Alt Name: Nine Maidens
Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Madron

Map: SW 4342 3513 | Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.16055N | Long: 5.5938W

The Boskednan stones stand on wild moorland, with the distinctive mound of Carn Galver a dominating feature on the horizon to the northwest and the Ding Dong mine a dramatic sight to the south. Boggy trackways lead here from Boskednan Farm and from Mên-an-Tol. The circle was restored a few years ago and there are now 11 stones, three of which are fallen, but there were once at least 19 – perhaps 22 or 23 – stones here, positioned with their smoothest sides facing inward. The stones average about 1.2m (4ft) in height apart from two taller ones in the northwest that would both have reached about 2m (6½ft) – one of which is now broken. SSE of the circle are the remains of a round cairn, a rocky mound around 10m (33ft) in diameter and 1.2m (4ft) high.

Nearby | At SW 4327 3531, 234m (768ft) northwest of Boskednan stone circle, and just off one of the footpaths coming from the direction of Mên-an-Tol and Mên Scryfa, is Boskednan northern kerbed cairn. This is one of several cairns in the area, with part of its retaining circle still visible.

MULFRA QUOIT

Portal Dolmen | Nearest Village: Mulfra

Map: SW 4518 3536 | Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.16337N | Long: 5.56936W

This portal dolmen is not as well preserved as Chûn Quoit but its impressive hilltop setting, with views down to the coast and St Michael’s Mount, make it well worth the climb. Having lost one of its four supporting uprights, the capstone has slipped from the top of the monument and now leans against the chamber walls. Nearby are traces of a round barrow about 12m (39ft) across.

Nearby | At SW 4688 3802, up on the moors 3.2km (2 miles) northeast of Mulfra Quoit, is Zennor Quoit, which was nearly dismantled in 1861 to build a cow shed (the posts can still be seen). Its capstone has slipped and now leans on other stones. Unusually for a quoit, it has an impressive façade that forms an antechamber. Most easily approached via Higher Kerrowe and Mill Downs.

Fighting Moorland Enclosure in Penwith

Ian McNeil Cooke, Co-ordinator, Save Penwith Moors 2008–2018

Save Penwith Moors (SPM) was set up in July 2008 by six local residents concerned about government plans to enclose – for the first time ever – large areas of heathland in the Land’s End peninsula with barbed-wire fencing, gates and cattle grids. This stockproofing of previously unfettered moorland – the iconic heartland of West Penwith – took place under “conservation grazing” agreements intended to benefit plants and wildlife.

As we feared would happen, cattlerubbing at Tregeseal circle destabilized stones a dozen times over several years. The cattle also failed to trample down the bracken as intended. At Mên-an-Tol, cattle churned up an unsightly mess of deep mud and dung. There was public uproar after SPM complaints, but the cattle are still there. Carnyorth Common, where cattle continue to graze, is almost totally a Scheduled Ancient Monument with remnants of numerous prehistoric field systems and settlements.

As well as publicizing what was going on, SPM has forced a number of gates and cattle grids to be removed as well as preventing enclosure of several areas of heathland. Our campaign to re-register areas of formerly open-access moor as common land has resulted in the protection of nearly 500ha (1,236 acres) of moorland. These include areas with important archaeological sites, such as Chûn Downs, containing Chûn Quoit and Chûn Castle, as well as Carnyorth Common, site of Tregeseal circle and other features. We continue to campaign for the removal of stockproofing at Carn Galva, Mên-an-Tol, Lanyon Quoit and parts of Watch Croft. Find out more at: www.savepenwithmoors.com

LANYON QUOIT Portal Dolmen

Nearest Village: Madron | Map: SW 4298 3369
Sheets: E102 L203 | Lat: 50.14743N | Long: 5.59898W

A capstone on three uprights makes for an iconic if somewhat inauthentic structure, sited conveniently close to the road. Antiquarian drawings show that it used to be possible to ride a horse beneath the capstone, but the stones collapsed during a storm in 1815 and were re-erected in 1824 at a reduced height, with three uprights instead of four. Large stones at the southern end of a mutilated barrow may indicate cists or other structures.

Nearby | At SW 4281 3437, 700m (½ mile) NNW of Lanyon Quoit, is Bosiliack Bronze Age settlement. At least 12 hut circles were found here.

MAP

CARWYNNEN QUOIT Alt Names: The Giant’s Quoit, Pendarves Quoit, Devil’s Frying Pan, Giant’s Frying Pan
| Portal Dolmen |Nearest Village: Troon

Map: SW 6501 3721 | Sheets: E104 L203 | Lat: 50.18818N | Long: 5.29335W

Reduced to rubble by an earth tremor in 1967, Carwynnen Quoit was excavated and restored to its former glory in 2014 by the late Pip Richards and the Sustainable Trust. It is now an impressive sight, the huge capstone balanced on three uprights. Finds from the excavation included flint arrowheads and a greenstone pestle.

NINE MAIDENS

Stone Row | Nearest Village: St Columb Major

Map: SW 9366 6759 | Sheets: E106 L200 | Lat: 50.47117N | Long: 4.90967W

The Nine Maidens stand in an evenly spaced row in a field beside the busy A39, southwest of Wadebridge. The nine stones are of unworked local grey slate veined with quartz, some stones are only stumps while the tallest is 2m (6½ft). A further stone known as the Fiddler stands on a ridge to the northeast 678m (2,224ft) along the same alignment. Richard Carew, in his Survey of Cornwall (1602), noted that the stones were then known as the Sisters. The fields and hedges around here are littered with large stones, and there could once have been many more in this row.

Strange Experiences at Ancient Sites

Rune, Admin on the Megalithic Portal

In contemporary western society, people who report experiencing anything at all unusual at ancient sites or elsewhere are often derided, although other cultures have greater respect for “otherworldly” experiences. Much depends on your approach to a site. If you barge in looking for photo opportunities, you aren’t likely to have much in the way of spiritual experiences. However, if you deliberately shift your consciousness by approaching a site as a sacred space, asking permission to enter and abiding by the answer, you are more likely to experience something special. Your intuition and perception will be heightened while your rational brain will be quieted, which is essential for any out-of-the-ordinary experience. Feeling ready for something unusual to happen doesn’t guarantee that it will, but if it does then you are more likely to experience it fully. Be respectful. According to several accounts, a certain site in Ireland will deter disrespectful visitors by making them slip, trip or fall.

When you walk into a stone circle, you may notice an immediate change in ambience. This might manifest as a feeling of pure peace or perhaps as a change in temperature. Maybe the wind that had seemed biting now loses its chill, although the stones are too low to provide physical shelter. Some people have found that each site seems to have a boundary or boundaries around it, which manifest as three rings or bands. At the Ring of Brodgar, for example, you can feel a change in atmosphere at each band (at the top of the ditch, at the bottom of the ditch and at the top of the inner bank).

You can dowse for the bands or simply try experiencing them.

One experience that really stands out for me took place at Duloe, an absolutely enchanting stone circle, with its blocks of white quartzite. I was suffering from a fair bit of pain in my hips as I walked or rather hobbled into the circle. I was near the centre, just taking in the atmosphere, when I heard three short sounds, one after the other. I have no idea what they were – certainly not traffic noise, nor any sound I could place. Immediately after, the pain disappeared and I was overjoyed to be able to walk normally and really enjoy my time in the circle.

If a place gives you the creeps, or you feel that it is “evil”, heed your instincts and go home. You are in the wrong frame of mind to connect with the site.

People report many different sensations from touching standing stones, ranging from pleasant tingles to electric shocks. They might identify warm spots, bands of different sensations, or even a pulse or a heartbeat in the stone. Some have been literally thrown off their feet through contact with a megalith, while others have experienced a flood of insight and knowledge akin to a sudden information download. Some people develop a real affinity with a site and are drawn to return to it again and again over the years. Of course, just because one person has had an experience, does not guarantee that anyone else can replicate it.

As a start, try leaning against a stone supporting yourself with just your head (be careful) or a hand. What happens?

ROUGH TOR

Megalithic Complex | Nearest Village: Camelford

Map: SX 1449 8080 | Sheets: E109 L200 | Lat: 50.59736N | Long: 4.62257W

On the summit of Rough Tor is a Neolithic tor enclosure built between two outcrops, with two lines of stone walling visible on the west and hut circles inside the enclosure. Rough Tor is a distinctive landmark within a complex prehistoric landscape, with the Bronze Age hut circles, enclosures and field systems to the northwest and on its southern slopes. Cairns and other burial monuments are scattered across the moorland and the stone circles of Fernacre, Stannon and Louden are close by, with Fernacre only 200m (656ft) away.

ROUGH TOR LONG CAIRN

At SX 1430 8172, on the northern slopes of Rough Tor, is this huge stone cairn, 500m (1,640ft) long and 5–8m (16–26ft) wide, apparently aligned with the summit of the tor. Excavation showed that the structure is made up of two retaining walls of larger stones, infilled with rubble. Other stones buttress the walls. Alongside the cairn there is evidence of a stone “pavement”. It was found the turf had been stripped from the site before the cairn was built, perhaps as a form of ritual cleansing of the land.

Nearby | At SX 1492 8131, 742m (just under ½ mile) ESE, is Showery Tor ring cairn, at the summit. A large, well-defined ring of stones surrounds a beautifully (and naturally) balanced pile of slabs.

The Rough Tor Triangle: A theory

Roy Goutté, author, amateur archaeologist and founding member of TimeSeekers

Nestling neatly in the shadow of Rough Tor on Bodmin is the stone circle of Fernacre. Just 2km (under 1¼ mile) to the west is Stannon circle, and 800m (½ mile) to the southeast of Stannon is the third in this triangle of large Cornish circles – Louden. All three were probably built in the late Neolithic, although a lack of accurate dating evidence in some Cornish circles is a problem. Within their settings they all feature a single, large, triangular upright made of granite. It is these iconic Cornish tri-stones and their possible meaning and connection to Rough Tor that I would like to concentrate on. The three circles have so much in common, and are so close together, that it doesn’t take much to figure out that they are likely to be contemporaneous, and possibly erected by the same people.

All are big by Cornish standards, made up of a large number of small stones. Stannon has around 70 in an irregular ring of straight sections, but originally there may have been 80 or more. Fernacre also has a large number of stones in its setting; Louden has fewer at 52, confirmed by our TimeSeekers volunteer clearance group in 2015. All three circles have been labelled as “ceremonial” in certain quarters, but I visualize ceremonial circles as displaying magnificent uprights in their settings, with a true look of grandeur. But that is not the case here. It almost seems that the builders used any size stone they could get their hands on. This suggests to me that each circle was a part of a larger design.

What is the meaning of the large tri-stones in these three settings? It was only when I was photographing the tri-stone of Louden circle with Rough Tor in the background, that their similarity in shape dawned on me. To my amazement, I witnessed the same at Stannon, and this made me wonder if the builders had replicated Rough Tor as best they could with a single tri-stone in their ring settings.

So, we have three large, irregular, similarly sized stone circles with similarly sized stones, all with a prominent tri-stone and all in close proximity. It would be easy to suggest that if the people of their time revered Rough Tor, then the tri-stones may have been chosen and placed in the circles as a focus of ceremonies.

Lines drawn between the three circles create a triangle that seems to mirror Rough Tor exactly

Where the tri-stones are positioned within each circle could also tell a speculative but interesting tale. Remarkably, the tri-stone of the circle to the east (Fernacre) is positioned due east in the setting, and the tri-stone of the circle to the west (Stannon) is positioned due west in the setting. To complete the set, the tri-stone of Louden, the southernmost circle, is due south in its setting. Why would all three circles have their individual tri-stones on the side of the triangle they themselves form in the landscape? Draw a direct line between those three circles and note that they form a scalene triangle (no equal sides) which “by chance” (?) just happens to be a mirror image of Rough Tor! So, is this, then, the intention of the designers, rather than the building of individual circles? Are the circles demarcation points where boundaries joined and possibly ceremonies took place – or is that just speculation on my part? On a map it can be seen that most signs of prehistoric activity in the area – cairns, hut circles and field systems – lie within this triangle formed by the three stone circles.

The tri-stone of Louden circle, with Rough Tor visible behind

MAP

FERNACRE

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: St Breward

Map: SX 1447 7998 | Sheets: E109 L200 | Lat: 50.58999N | Long: 4.62245W

Fernacre stands on desolate, boggy moorland, with Rough Tor rising dramatically up to the north, Brown Willy to the east and Garrow Tor to the south. It is a very large circle, in keeping with others in the region, of c. 70 stones, 39 of which still stand. The circle is somewhat flattened, around 46 × 44m (151 × 144ft). The granite stones are sunk into the peat and would have been more impressive when first erected. Access is much easier since the building of a private track from Middle Moor Cross to Fernacre Farm. The circle is just north of the track, due south of Rough Tor peak. Park at the sign and walk to the circle.

“Close to the circle the road seems to veer off. Rather than walk around, I decided to walk directly to the stones across the moor. This turned out to be a bad idea. The moor suddenly felt like a magic carpet and gave way under my feet leaving me waist deep in a bog. Quite a scary experience!” Lee Price

STANNON

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: St Breward

Map: SX 1257 8002 | Sheets: E109 L200 | Lat: 50.58974N | Long: 4.64928W

On a sloping site on open moorland, just south of Stannon china clay works (now a landscaped reservoir) and visible from the track, Stannon is a large (41.5m/136ft diameter), unevenly spaced circle with 77 remaining stones of local granite. Of these, 47 still stand. The stones are unusually small, none more than 1m (3ft 3in) in height, and in some parts of the circle are placed very close together. As with most circles on this part of Bodmin, the largest stone is triangular in shape.

Nearby | At SX 1321 7950, on the track that runs southwest from Fernacre and 823m (½ mile) ESE of Stannon circle, is Louden stone circle. Thanks to clearance by the TimeSeekers group, about 40 stones are visible of the 52 they found. Five are still standing, including the large tri-stone.

KING ARTHUR’S HALL

Rectangular Stone Enclosure | Nearest Village: St Breward

Map: SX 1297 7764 | Sheets: E109 L200 | Lat: 50.56849N | Long: 4.64244W

Many prehistoric sites are associated locally with King Arthur, but this must be the most unusual. This mysterious and unique enclosure resembles a rectangular henge, its banks surrounding a marshy interior. There’s an internal kerb of 56 visible stones, some taller than the bank and looking like chairs, giving the site its name. Clearance work revealed a retaining wall and a granite paved area, and suggested there might have originally been around 140 uprights. Various suggestions for the site’s purpose include use as a mortuary enclosure, or as a reservoir.

KING ARTHUR’S DOWNS Alt Names: Emblance Down NW, Leaze NW Stone Circles | Nearest Village: St Breward

Map: SX 1347 7751 | Sheets: E109 L200 | Lat: 50.56748N | Long: 4.63532W

Follow the track eastward from King Arthur’s Hall for about 500m (1,640ft) to find the remains of two adjacent, and very ruinous, circles. King Arthur’s Downs NW (so called, although it is actually on Emblance Downs) is in better condition, about 23m (75ft) in diameter, with eight stones remaining of which six are still standing, including two triangular-shaped stones. Two more fallen, perhaps displaced stones are to be found in the centre of the circle. There may have been 15 stones in the circle originally. It’s pretty wet here and the stones are often surrounded by large pools of water. The circle is sometimes described as “recently discovered” but was mentioned as early as 1860.

Just a few metres ESE, King Arthur’s Downs SE (at SX 1349 7750) is a similar size but even more badly damaged. Four stones remain standing, while four others have fallen. Those closest to the wall are the most obvious.

LEAZE

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: St Breward

Map: SX 1367 7729 | Sheets: E109 L200 | Lat: 50.56557N Long: 4.63239W

Some 300m (985ft) southeast from the King Arthur’s Downs circles is a ruinous stone circle on private land. The site is bisected by a wall and 10 of the original 28 stones are still standing, with six fallen. The small stones (average height of 1.1m/3½ft) are strikingly regular and pillar-like.

STRIPPLE STONES

Stone Circle & Henge | Nearest Village: Blisland

Map: SX 1435 7521 | Sheets: E109 L200 | Lat: 50.5471N | Long: 4.62176W

On private land on the southeast flank of Hawk’s Tor are the remains of an interesting circle and henge that in 2015 was partially restored with the help of Roy Goutté. A field boundary wall that ran through the site was removed, a buried fallen stone was exposed and three stones were re-erected, bringing the total number of stones standing to seven out of the 16 that survive from the original 28. The 44.8m (147ft) stone circle is set within a 68.3m (224ft) henge that has a 4.6m (15ft) gap, possibly an entrance, at the WSW. It has been speculated that the 3.7m (12ft) fallen stone within the circle was used as a backsight from which an observer, guided by three semi-circular bulges on the edges of the henge, would have viewed the major northern moonrise at the NNE, the equinoctial sunrise at the east, and May Day sunset at the WNW.

Nearby | At SX 1311 7501, 1.3km (just over ½ mile) west, are the Trippet Stones. Of an original 26 or 28, eight still stand in the 33m (108ft) circle, with five fallen. The stones are bigger than is usual in Cornwall, with the tallest 1.6m (5ft 3in). The name “Trippet” may refer to the delicate footwork of a dancer, indicating that here too merrymakers were turned to stone for breaking the Sabbath.

LESKERNICK

Megalithic Complex | Nearest Village: Altarnun

Map: SX 1871 7980 | Sheets: E109 L201 | Lat: 50.58971N | Long: 4.56252W

There’s plenty to see at Leskernick, on the saddle of land between Leskernick Hill and Beacon Hill. This beautiful setting on the eastern edge of Bodmin Moor is home to two stone circles, a long stone row and a large cairn, as well as settlements with numerous hut circles and enclosures on Leskernick Hill itself, which is enclosed by the region’s highest and most iconic hills.

LESKERNICK 1 (SE)

This 30m (98ft) circle (at SX 1882 7964) was discovered in 1973. Its 20 remaining stones, which include a triangular one to the west, are mostly over 1.2m (4ft) long and are all fallen. There are stumps of seven further stones. The volunteer group led by Roy Goutté has uncovered buried stones, including the broken remains of a central stone and a possible cist.

LESKERNICK 2 (NW)

First recorded in 1983 by Peter Herring, and cleared in 2016 by the TimeSeekers volunteers, the 21m (70ft) circle 368m (1,207ft) northwest of Leskernick I (at SX 1858 7992) has 23 stones. Some of the stones uncovered during the clearance were so deeply buried they had to be covered up again so as not to be a hazard for walkers and animals. It has been suggested that the stones, which are noticeably smaller than in the southeast circle (only four stones are more than 1.2m/4ft here) may have been erected to draw attention to the large, almost central “whale-backed” stone, which may or may not have once stood erect itself.

LESKERNICK STONE ROW

Another recently cleared site, the row of 56 stones runs west–east from close to a cairn situated between the two Leskernick stone circles (at SX 1870 7986). The row has been recorded as 317m (1,040ft) in length, with 0.2m (8in) tall stones spaced at 4.5m (15ft) intervals. There’s a stone setting or terminal at the western end, and the row appears to point directly at Brown Willy, Cornwall’s highest hill, looking splendid on the horizon. During clearance work it was suggested that there are in fact two rows here, on slightly different alignments, with the tinners’ gully (a relic of mining activity) dividing them. Stones 19 and 20 (counting from the west) are a twinned pair, and at the eastern end of the row, Roy Goutté’s group discovered a possible cist.

LESKERNICK HILL SETTLEMENT

The remains of many huts and enclosures, as well as cairns and cists, survive on the southern flank of Leskernick Hill (around SX 1835 8000). In the late 1990s a project by University College London studied the area in detail, one of the first to apply cognitive archaeological ideas to a prehistoric landscape, in addition to traditional excavation and survey. The site was recently used in an experiment in multisensory archaeology and augmented reality, in which Stuart Eve created a GIS (geographic information system) model of the hill augmented with reconstructions of Bronze Age houses sized to fit the remains on the ground. Viewing the site on a screen with houses in position gave participants a new perspective on the settlement, which according to the report really “brought the landscape to life”.

Nearby | At SX 2025 8073, about 1.6km (1 mile) ENE of the Leskernick circles, is Westmoorgate stone circle, north of the farm of the same name. Identified by Peter Herring in 2004, it has seven remaining stones in the southeastern arc. All are fallen but the line of the arc is obvious.

“The views from the top of Leskernick Hill are unbelievable. This is a special place with the most wonderful, mainly Bronze Age settlement on the hill itself.” Roy Goutté

MAP

NINE STONES

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Altarnun

Map: SX 2361 7814 | Sheets: E109 L201 | Lat: 50.57629N | Long: 4.49258W

Charming and unusually small (just 15m/49ft) for the area, the circle was restored in 1889. It’s out on the open moor and livestock damage is a problem here, cows using the stones for scratching posts. The nine stones are granite; the central stone is probably a parish boundary stone, but could be original to the circle and moved to its present position. There may have been another stone in the large gap to the north.

Nearby | Just over 1km (0.6 miles) west of the Nine Stones, on a saddle to the west of Fox Tor, is East Moor stone row. Around 550m (1,800ft) long, it runs NNE to SSW (from SX 2237 7785 to SX 2257 7822), the stones mostly fallen. A large blocking stone stands some distance beyond the final stone at the southwest end.

THE HURLERS

Megalithic Complex | Nearest Village: Minions

Map: SX 2583 7140 | Sheets: E109 L201 | Lat: 50.5164N | Long: 4.4581W

Of this unusual group of circles William Camden wrote in 1587: “The neighbouring inhabitants term them Hurlers, as being by devout and godly error persuaded that they had been men sometime transformed into stones, for profaning the Lord’s Day with hurling the ball.” The three circles of shaped granite stones lie very close together on a northeast–southwest line, their smooth faces positioned inward. The recent Reading the Hurlers project discovered a large fallen stone that it’s speculated may once have marked the start of a processional avenue to the Hurlers.

NORTHERN CIRCLE

A 34.7m (114ft) circle, with 15 stones remaining. Excavation has revealed the holes for 10 more stones, which are indicated by markers. In 2013 the Mapping the Sun project uncovered what was described as a “quartz causeway”, an area of paving between this and the central circle, which had last been viewed during excavation in the 1930s.

“Heavy mists rolling in make for an otherworldly experience. Unnerving to watch the stone circles dart in and out of the fog.” Merry Gordon

CENTRAL CIRCLE

This is the largest of the circles, measuring 42 × 40.5m (137ft × 133ft). There are 14 stones standing and 14 markers to indicate where others stood. The stones in the central circle were hammered smooth, with chips from this activity found spread across the interior of the circle. The axis of this and the northern circle aligns northeast with Rillaton Barrow (see below).

SOUTHERN CIRCLE

This is the smallest circle, at 32m (105ft) across, with nine stones remaining, of which seven are fallen. Its axis aligns with a cairn to the southwest.

THE PIPERS

This fine pair, petrified for playing music rather than sport, can be found 97.5m (320ft) WSW of the central circle (at SX 2571 7135), 2.1m (7ft) apart. One is 1.7m (5ft 5in) tall, the other 1.4m (4ft 9in).

RILLATON BARROW

Chambered Cairn | Nearest Village: Minions

Map: SX 2602 7191 | Sheets: E109 L201 | Lat: 50.52104N | Long: 4.45567W

At 35m (115ft) in diameter and 3m (10ft) high, this is the largest round barrow on Bodmin Moor, and the only one left of the four originally found here. It was in the cist here (rebuilt c. 1900) that the spectacular Rillaton gold cup was found in 1837, still intact thanks to having been protected within a ceramic vessel. (There’s a legend that the priceless cup disappeared for some years, eventually re-emerging in George V’s private collection, having been used for a time to store his collar studs! It is now in the British Museum.) The remains of a skeleton were also found, as well as other grave goods including an urn, a bronze knife and some glass beads. The entrance to the chamber is halfway up the eastern side of the mound (it has been suggested that this wasn’t the primary burial) and the capstone can be clearly seen resting on the side slabs.

STOWE’S POUND

Prehistoric Settlement | Nearest Village: Minions

Map: SX 2578 7247 | Sheets: E109 L201 | Lat: 50.526N | Long: 4.45931W

There are two enclosures at Stowe’s Pound, the southern, higher enclosure intersecting with a larger enclosure on lower ground to the north. The smaller, southern enclosure is said to have been used in medieval times as an animal pound, hence the name. This enclosure is bounded by a wall that links natural rock formations on the summit; this wall rises in height to 4.5m (14ft 7in), and can be as much as 4m (13ft) wide. Within the enclosure are some flat, turf-covered areas but few signs of occupation. The wall around the larger enclosure is lower, up to 1.5m (5ft) high, and there are up to 14 entrances. Around 110 hut circles have been identified within this northern enclosure, as well as 19 platforms cut into the ground.

Nearby | At SX 2554 7055, just off the main road 800m (½ mile) southwest of Minions, is the Longstone, otherwise known as Long Tom. A cross has been carved on the head of this 2.8m (9ft) stone.

“What a fantastic stone Long Tom is: slender and covered in some beautiful lichens.” Martyn Copcutt

Under the Supermarket

Andy Burnham, founder and Editor of the Megalithic Portal

The remains of a prehistoric causewayed enclosure, now known as the Truro Eastern District Centre Neolithic Enclosure, were discovered in 2012 during building work on a future shopping and housing development. Initial findings suggest an early Neolithic date, with later activity including the deposition of late Neolithic grooved ware in pits. The finds included a stunning piece of Neolithic art, a slate disc carved with a chequerboard pattern on one side and lozenges with arrowhead decoration on the other.

This site was the first Neolithic causewayed enclosure to be found west of the Dorset– Devon border. There’s nothing to see on the ground, as the site is now beneath a Waitrose supermarket. The slate disc is kept at the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro.

MAP

TRETHEVY QUOIT Alt Name: Giant’s House
Portal Dolmen | Nearest Village: St Cleer

Map: SX 2593 6881 | Sheets: E109 L201 | Lat: 50.49316N | Long: 4.45549W

The impressive bulk and spectacular profile of this 2.8m (9ft) portal tomb make it one of Cornwall’s best-known sites. Five massive uprights (one fallen inward) on a mound are topped by a huge capstone that has slipped from position and now leans at a dramatic angle. Interestingly, there is a small hole in the eastern corner of the capstone; it’s speculated this might have been used for observing the heavens. One of the uprights protrudes, perhaps to create an antechamber at the front of the monument alongside another stone that has since been lost. “Trethevy” is Cornish for “place of the graves”. John Norden recorded it in 1584: “a little howse raysed of mightie stones, standing on a little hill within a fielde”.

DULOE

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Duloe

Map: SX 2358 5831 | Sheets: E107 L201 | Lat: 50.39812N | Long: 4.48364W

Cornwall’s smallest stone circle, a lovely oval ring of eight large stones (the tallest 2.6m/8½ft), all of white quartz. One of the stones is fallen and broken. A Bronze Age urn with a horseshoe handle containing human bones was found here in the 19th century. A geophysical survey undertaken in 2013 and 2016 by the Southeast Kernow Archaeology Survey revealed several features within the circle strongly suggesting the existence of a cist. If confirmed, while cists have been found within stone circles in other parts of the country (notably Cumbria), this would be the first example in Cornwall. A previously unrecorded outer ditch was also discovered as well as small circular anomalies that may be evidence for cremations.

“The most wonderful place, all white quartz – exquisite.” Hamish

Devon

BUTTERDON HILL

Stone Row | Nearest Village: Harford

Map: SX 6562 5962 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.421025N | Long: 3.892994W

This stone row some 2km (1¼ miles) long runs roughly north–south and links Piles Hill with Butterdon Hill, where it passes close to a large cairn. A path tracks the route of the row, mostly keeping to its western side. As is usual with the longer rows, the stones are in general relatively small – and many are well buried in undergrowth. Some of the larger stones were added as late as the 1800s.

PILES HILL

Stone Rows | Nearest Village: Harford

Map: SX 6588 6111 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.43448N | Long: 3.88987W

An avenue of stones (large ones for Dartmoor), running for almost 1km (0.6 miles) east–west over the ridge of Piles Hill. Great fun can be had tracing the line of the stones, which are now mostly fallen and buried with just their tops showing or visible as a bump in the ground.

Nearby | At SX 6605 6085, 310m (1,017ft) east of Piles Hill runs the Glasscombe Corner row, which is a double row in part. At the northeast end is a damaged cairn circle, with no stones left standing.

STALLDON Alt Names: Stalldown, The Cornwood Maidens
Stone Row | Nearest Village: Cornwood

Map: SX 6323 6248 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.44617N | Long: 3.92766W

A truly impressive stone row containing 119 identified stones that follow a sinuously curving path over Stalldon Barrow hill for 859m (just over ½ mile). The stones are large for a Dartmoor row, with most over 1m (3ft 3in) and the tallest 2.3m (7ft 5in) high. The four biggest stones – the Cornwood maidens – can be seen for miles, appearing in the distance like walkers striding over the hilltop. The row was partly restored in the late 19th century; at the southern ends the slabs still lie on the ground. Apart from the circular cairn beside the row near the top of the hill, there are several other cairns to be seen, a couple still with their central cists. There are superb views from the hilltop cairn circle, and the row is all the more spectacular at sunset.

Nearby | At SX 6366 6228, some 470m (1,541ft) ESE of Stalldon Row and up on the top of Stalldown Barrow, is the large Hillson’s House cairn, which has been used over the years as a shelter.

“Wild moorland stretches off to the north, while to the south, way below, is a patchwork of fields and then the beautiful blue sea. Plymouth Sound, with its ships, can be seen to the southwest.” Martyn Copcutt

UPPER ERME

Stone Row | Nearest Village: Cornwood | Map: SX 6352 6447
Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.46413N | Long: 3.9243W

This is the longest ancient stone row in Britain, and possibly the world. At 3,386m (just over 2 miles), it stretches from Kiss-in-the-Ring stone circle up to a cairn near the top of Green Hill, crossing the river twice. Thanks to its remote location, about 1,000 stones have survived, which is likely to be around half the original number. As with most Dartmoor stone rows, the stones are rather small (about 0.5m/1½ft above the modern turf), and it can be hard to see them in summer when the vegetation is at its most exuberant. A path and darker grass by the stones show the direction of the alignment. The site is very exposed and the moor is almost featureless out here: avoid in bad weather.

KISS-IN-THE-RING Alt Names: Upper Erme Stone Circle, Stall Moor
Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Cornwood

Map: SX 6351 6444 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.46386N | Long: 3.92443W

At the southern end of Upper Erme stone row, Kiss-in-the-Ring stone circle is a long desolate walk from anywhere. It’s well worth the effort, though. The tallest stone in this 16–17m (52ft 6in–56ft) circle is 1.5m (5ft 3in) high and most are less than 1m (3ft 2in) tall. There are 26 stones, but, as at all the best circles, it’s hard to count them and you may come up with a different result! The stones are unevenly spaced, with more on the western side, but none is thought to be missing. There’s a low barrow in the centre. The views south over the Erme valley are lovely, and the four large stones (the Cornwood Maidens) at the northern end of Stalldon row can clearly be seen, as can the Upper Erme row.

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TROWLESWORTHY

Megalithic Complex | Nearest Village: Shaugh Prior

Map: SX 5765 6398 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.4576N | Long: 4.00744W

On the lower slopes of Trowlesworthy Tor, above the boggy land around the Blacka Brook, are a number of rows and cairns. To the north of the features described below, the remains of a large settlement can be seen, with several big enclosures walled with large slabs, and hut circles (remains on higher ground are in the best condition).

TROWLESWORTHY EAST ROW

The eastern of the two rows is a splendid double avenue that winds its way diagonally across the hillside for 127m (416ft) from SX 5762 6383. Most of the original stones still remain, and are generally larger than is typical for Dartmoor avenues. A couple of leats cut through the avenue, the higher one now dry and largely filled in, but the lower still very wide, which makes following the line of the stones quite tricky.

THE PULPIT

This 6.7m (22ft) circle stands at the northern end of the double row (at SX 5765 6398), all eight stones still upright. The tallest stone is positioned where the avenue joins the circle.

TROWLESWORTHY WEST ROW

The western, single row runs 82m (269ft) downhill from its cairn and circle (at SX 5755 6398). There are 44 stones remaining out of perhaps 50 originals. The row curves toward the south before terminating at a 1.3m (4ft 2in) high triangular block. Unusually, some of the stones are set across the line of the row, rather than along it. The earthwork visible a few metres from the southern end of the row has been confused with a barrow but is actually a pillow mound, created to farm rabbits and not prehistoric. At its eastern end is a 7m (23ft) round cairn, surrounded by a ring of stones.

BRISWORTHY

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Shaugh Prior

Map: SX 5646 6549 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.47161N | Long: 4.0241W

An attractive restored 24.7m (81ft) circle, with 24 stones surviving of an original 42. The stones increase in height from the south to the north, with the tallest being 1.1m (3ft 8in) high, and the flat sides of the stones face inward. A bank is visible around the northeastern quadrant of the circle and LIDAR imagery has shown this to extend around almost the entire circle. Visitors to the site have commented on various features that make this circle an unusual one, such as the broad stones, the bank and the hillside position.

RINGMOOR DOWN

Megalithic Complex | Nearest Village: Shaugh Prior

Map: SX 5640 6580 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.47438N | Long: 4.02506W

On the open moor of Ringmoor Down, to the north of Brisworthy, an impressive collection of ancient sites are to be found. These include Ringmoor Down circle and row, and several cairns and settlements.

RINGMOOR DOWN CAIRN CIRCLE

At SX 5633 6581, 345m (1,132ft) uphill northwest of Brisworthy stone circle, is the inauthentically restored Ringmoor Down cairn circle. Some of its 11 stones are not original (it’s said to have had five). Despite their diminutive height (1m/3ft 3in or less), the position of the circle in its tremendous setting at the top of the moor means it’s visible against the skyline. There is a cairn in the centre of the circle.

RINGMOOR STONE ROW

The stone row was apparently also subject to an ill-advised restoration in 1909 and as a result little is known as to its original length or format. It’s currently 369m (1,210ft) long, heading north from the circle, in some places a single row and sometimes a double. None of the southern stones was standing prior to the restoration, all having been affected by medieval ploughing.

CAIRNS

The remains of several cairns are nearby, the most impressive of which is Ringmoor Down Cairn 2, a 5m (16ft) cairn found at SX 5659 6576, 264m (866ft) east of Ringmoor Down circle. It has an intact rectangular cist and the large coverstone is still partly in place.

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DRIZZLECOMBE

Megalithic Complex | Nearest Village: Sheepstor

Map: SX 5921 6702 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.48603N | Long: 3.98595W

Wild ponies may be your only companions at this fantastically varied complex, acclaimed by some as the best on Dartmoor. The site includes three long stone rows and over 20 cairns, dramatically sited on moorland rising to Higher Hartor Tor. Each of the rows leads up to a cairn and, at the other end, down to a terminal pillar. Row 1 is a single row at either end but a double row for almost a third of its 150m (492ft) length. At SX 5899 6694, some 100m (328ft) northwest of Row 1’s terminal stone, is Stone 4. This is possibly a terminal stone for a fourth row that was never built, although it is only 1m (3ft 3in) tall, so may have been part of another structure, possibly a stone circle. On higher ground, the remains of Bronze Age enclosures and hut circles can be found. The picture right shows Row 1 with its terminal stone. In the distance the terminal stones of the other two rows are visible.

GIANT’S BASIN

At SX 5920 6695, to the southeast of Rows 2 and 3, is the Giant’s Basin, a massive, damaged cairn measuring 22m (71ft) across and 3m (10ft) high. It has been reduced from its original height by 1m (3ft 3in) or more. Several smaller cairns can be found around the perimeter and in the surrounding area.

BONE STONE

The characterful stone closing Row 2 is named – for obvious reasons – the Bone Stone. At 4.3m (14ft), this is the tallest standing stone on Dartmoor – and some say by far the finest in the west of England! The carvings on the northeastern face, resembling Chinese characters, were apparently put there by students in the 1950s.

YELLOWMEAD

Stone Circles | Nearest Village: Sheepstor

Map: SX 5748 6784 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.49298N | Long: 4.01063W

Restored in 1921, these four concentric circles of stones of varying size occupy a tremendous moorland location with views up to Sheepstor, Peek Hill and Sharpitor. The innermost circle, which is formed of the largest stones, set close together, once enclosed a cairn that now is barely visible. A double stone row heads in a southwest direction from the circles, and it is possible that outliers on the western side were once part of further rows. A short distance uphill to the northeast from these circles is the remains of a small cairn, with a surrounding ring of stones. From parking near the building known as the Scout Hut, it is a very boggy 20-minute walk to the circles.

DOWN TOR Alt Name: Hingston Hill

Cairn Circle & Stone Row | Nearest Village: Sheepstor

Map: SX 5868 6927 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.50612N | Long: 3.99427W

This stone row 349m (1,145ft) long undulates with the contours of the land, rising at both ends from a central low point. The drama of the uphill approach to the stone circle is enhanced by an increase in the size of the stones as the row leads up to an impressive 2.7m (9ft) terminal pillar just before the circle. Cairns lie west of this stone. The circle itself, composed of small stones (about 0.5m/1½ft in height), encloses a ruined cairn. A compass is useful for the 2km (1¼ mile) walk east from the car park at the northeast end of Burrator Reservoir.

“My new favourite site. Simply amazing!” Jeff Demetrescu

The Stone Rows of Dartmoor

Sandy Gerrard, archaeologist and author of the English Heritage Book of Dartmoor

It is currently thought there are around 295 surviving prehistoric stone rows in Britain, with at least a further 30 known from documentary sources but now completely destroyed. The densest concentration of rows is on Dartmoor, where about 86 have been identified, the shortest (currently thought to be Merrivale’s Row 4, see page 63) measuring a mere 2.97m (9ft 9in), while the longest, Upper Erme (see page 56), extends for 3,386m (just over 2 miles).

Stone rows are notoriously difficult to date. Radiocarbon-dating of a stone in the row at Cut Hill indicates that it had perhaps been erected and toppled some time before 2360BC. This date is consistent with field evidence elsewhere on the moor demonstrating that the rows at Assycombe, Hook Lake, Hurston Ridge, Leeden Tor, Yar Tor and at least one of the rows at Shovel Down are all earlier than middle Bronze Age fields and enclosures that partly overlie them.

The form of these rows varies considerably and their identification is often complicated by their similarity to field boundaries, natural outcrops or lines of stones raised in historic times. Some include only three stones, while others are formed by hundreds. Some are exclusively large uprights, others a mixture of stone sizes, and still others very small stones that barely protrude through the turf. All the long rows (more than 200m/650ft long) are sinuous in form and even some of the shorter rows are far from straight. The spacing of stones varies considerably, though this may sometimes be a result of later damage, and there is no dominant orientation or altitude.

The purpose of stone rows remains enigmatic. Many, as at Merrivale, are directly associated with funerary monuments, which implies they may have been the focus for ritual activity. The evidence suggests that the rows are earlier than the terminal cairns; the upper end of Merrivale’s Row 3, for example, is incorporated into a later cairn. The fact that so many cairns are not in perfect alignment with the rows may also indicate that they are not precisely contemporary with each other and were generally built in two stages.

Recent work has indicated that many rows were carefully positioned to provide particular definable visual links with the landscape. Various features in the surrounding hillsides may have been significant to the builders of Conies Down row, for example. If you walk south down the row, the five distinct tors visible on the horizon to the southwest are hidden one by one, with Great Mis Tor only disappearing as the end of the row is reached. Observations about the rows’ placement in the landscape, as well as their positioning in relation to contemporary routes (as at Lakehead Hill), may provide vital clues to their purpose.

If we accept that the reason why so many stone rows have survived on Dartmoor is because of the difficult terrain here, then we must also conclude that there were originally thousands throughout Britain and we are left with just a tiny fraction. Certainly the rows of smaller stones would not have survived in areas that were more intensively farmed.

Find out more about stone rows at: stonerows.wordpress.com

MERRIVALE Alt Names: The Plague Market, The Potato Market
Megalithic Complex | Nearest Village: Princetown

Map: SX 5548 7477 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.55477N | Long: 4.0415W

In a stunning setting above the River Walkham, Merrivale lives up to its name (“pleasant valley”), and, for Dartmoor, is pretty accessible. This complex prehistoric landscape, includes multiple stone rows, a stone circle, a large standing stone, many burial cairns and cists, and a prehistoric settlement. It’s also known as the Plague Market, this name deriving from the story that provisions were left here for the people of Tavistock when the town was isolated during an outbreak of plague in 1625. If you park by the B3357 and walk up, you’ll pass through part of the Bronze Age settlement (there are more huts on the other side of the road). There are around 36 huts altogether, and the settlement is thought to have been in use for some 1,500 years. There is also evidence of medieval and post-medieval activity here, such as a large, flat apple-crusher stone, used in cider-making.

ROWS 1, 2 AND 3

Rows 1 and 2, the two double stone rows, march roughly east to west across the moor and are almost parallel, about 25m (82ft) apart. A 19th-century leat (artificial stream) separates them. Row 1 is now 183m (600ft) long and probably once extended further to the west. There is a blocking stone at its eastern end, as well as the remains of a kerbed cairn. Row 2 is a fine 263.5m (863ft) double row, with blocking stones at both ends; the large, triangular one to the east is particularly impressive. There is a kerbed cairn at its centre, built on top of the row. A fine cist (pictured, left) lies just south of Row 2, close to a single stone row (Row 3) that ends in a small cairn. The terminal slab of the row is set within the south side of the cairn, indicating that the row predates the cairn. This row extends for at least 60m (196ft).

STONE CIRCLE

At SX 5535 7463, south of Row 3, is a stone circle with 11 stones no more than 0.5m (1½ft) tall.

STANDING STONE

At SX 5536 7459, 42m (137ft) SSE of the circle, is a tall, slender stone, 3m (10ft) high. About 10m (33ft) to the east is a fallen slab, 2m (6½ft) in length, which may have been a companion, although there is no evidence it originally stood. Erected in 1895, it fell over not long after.

ROWS 4, 5 AND 6

These are all short rows close to the standing stone. The stones are generally quite small and therefore it can be hard to figure out exactly what’s going on. Row 4 is south of the standing stone and runs northeast–southwest. There are four small stones. Row 5 is west of the standing stone and in line with it, running east–west, so the standing stone appears at the eastern end of the row. There are six stones of various sizes in a 7m (23ft) alignment. Row 6 is south of Row 5 and runs east–west, heading further west than Row 5.

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LANGSTONE MOOR

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Peter Tavy

Map: SX 5563 7822 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.58581N | Long: 4.04072W

Splendidly situated high above the Walkham valley, this circle would once have been an imposing sight on the skyline, but most of the stones were destroyed when they were used for target practice during World War II. The circle is still worth visiting for the views in all directions (including, to the south, to Merrivale). It is in the Merrivale live firing range, so check range opening times beforehand.

THE LANGSTONE

Standing Stone | Nearest Village: Peter Tavy

Map: SX 5502 7874 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.59033N | Long: 4.04953W

Peppered with bullet holes during target practice in World War II, this stone has a distinctive lightning-strike shape. It is in the Merrivale live firing range, so check range opening times beforehand. Beware of attempting a direct route from here to the Langstone Moor circle, as a nasty mire lies in between.

Nearby | At SX 5424 7867, 780m (just under ½ mile) west of the Langstone, on top of White Tor, is a fortified enclosure with cairns, huts and other structures dating back to the Neolithic.

GRIMSPOUND

Prehistoric Settlement | Nearest Village: Widecombe-in-the-Moor

Map: SX 7007 8090 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.6133N | Long: 3.8378W

Viewed from Hookney Tor or Hameldown, Grimspound is an impressive sight on the moor, enclosed by a wall that averages 3m (10ft) in width. This is an accessible and fascinating Bronze Age settlement with 24 hut circles within the walls, and at least nine more outside, to the southeast. In the southeast there’s a dramatic entrance, with a 2m (6½ft) wide paved passage running between walls that at this point are over 2m (6½ft) high. Excavation here in 1894 unearthed hearths, benches, pottery, cooking stones and other items that evoke the day-to-day experience of domestic life several millennia ago. It’s been suggested that the name Grimspound relates, as with other sites (such as Grim’s Dyke), to the god Woden, but it seems this place name was recorded for the first time in 1797. Some of the reconstruction that took place here in the 1890s is now thought to be inauthentic.

Nearby | At SX 6898 8082, around 1km (0.6 miles) west of Grimspound, Challacombe is an unusual triple stone row, badly damaged at its northern end by tin-mining activity in Chaw Gully. The row has been restored and now stretches for some 160m (528ft). The three rows draw closer together at the southern, uphill end, where there is a large blocking stone. In local legend, Chaw Gully is a dangerous place inhabited by malevolent spirits, where rumours of buried gold have led many greedy treasure hunters to their doom.

HURSTON RIDGE

Stone Rows | Nearest Village: Postbridge

Map: SX 6726 8244 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.62714N | Long: 3.8775W

A rarity for Dartmoor, as this double row is likely to be complete and undamaged, with all 99 stones in 49 pairs (plus one blocking stone) still in place. It’s set in a great location with wonderful views north and east. The rows run from a ruined cairn (where the Hurston Ridge urn was found in 1900) down the ridge for about 150m (492ft) NNE. The end stone of the east row is almost 2m (6½ft) tall, and can be seen for miles around. Many of the pairs are opposing slabs and pillars. A Bronze Age enclosure wall cuts through the avenue about two-thirds of the way down.

“A middle Bronze Age enclosure was built across the row, presumably after it was abandoned. The large recumbent stones form part of the enclosure boundary. Note that these are bigger than the stones used to build the row.” Sandy Gerrard

GREY WETHERS

Stone Circles | Nearest Village: Postbridge

Map: SX 6387 8313 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.63192N | Long: 3.9262W

Climb Sittaford Tor for tremendous views of these two beautiful circles, and look out for skylarks. The circles were restored by Rev Sabine Baring-Gould (who wrote “Onward Christian Soldiers”) in 1909, following excavation toward the end of the 19th century, when a layer of charcoal was discovered to cover the original ground surface. Both circles, one positioned almost due north of the other, are about 33m (108ft) in diameter, and would have consisted of 30 stones; today the southern circle has 29 stones, the northern one 20 stones. You can park at Fernworthy Reservoir and walk through the forest, taking in Fernworthy stone circle before turning left on to moorland to find the Grey Wethers. It’s a long, often wet walk that offers great rewards.

“One of the more common legends (told to me by my father) about Grey Wethers is that the stones were once sold to a drunk farmer as a well-behaved flock of sheep!” Matt Impey

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FERNWORTHY Alt Name: Froggymead
Megalithic Complex | Nearest Town: Chagford

Map: SX 6548 8410 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.64101N | Long: 3.9038W

At Fernworthy you’ll find a stone circle and several stone rows with terminal cairns. The setting in a modern plantation clearing is atmospheric but can be very wet and boggy, justifying the site’s alternative name of Froggymead.

FERNWORTHY STONE CIRCLE

Photographs from before the trees were planted show that Fernworthy, like the Grey Wethers, once stood in an open landscape. There are 29 stones in the 19m (62ft) circle (slightly flattened in the north), 26 of which are standing. The largest is about 1.2m (4ft) high. As at Grey Wethers, excavation found charcoal all over the interior of the circle. Several cairns surround the circle, including one some 73m (240ft) to its east, visible as a low mound and originally surrounded by a stone circle, of which only three stones remain. Excavated in 1898, it contained a central pit packed with stones and a bronze spearhead or knife, a flint knife, a button, and a Beaker-type food vessel.

STONE ROWS AND CAIRNS

A double row of charmingly petite stones starts 140m (460ft) north of the circle, extending for 101m (331ft) and ending at a cairn (at SX 6554 8433) with a cist and a large stone. Much of the row has been destroyed by tree planting. South of the stone circle are two badly damaged double rows. The southwest row is the better preserved, with a cairn toward the northern end (at SX 6547 8410). The small stones of the southeast row are hard to see among the tree stumps. There’s a terminal cairn at its northern end (at SX 6549 8409).

Nearby | At SX 6690 8400, on the edge of the Fernworthy Reservoir, is Metherall prehistoric settlement, where hut circles and enclosure walls can be seen. Four of the eight huts are now usually underwater but can be seen when the reservoir level falls during prolonged dry weather.

SITTAFORD

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Postbridge

Map: SX 6301 8281 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.62884N | Long: 3.93823W

The first stone circle to be found on the high moor in more than 100 years, Sittaford was discovered by Alan Endacott in 2007. It’s about 300m (985ft) SW of Sittaford Tor, north of the reave which runs along the summit ridge. Follow this wall, and look out for the standing stone built into it; probably originally an outlier for the circle. There are 30 fallen stones in a 30m (98ft) circle. Be aware that it’s always extremely wet and boggy up here, even after weeks of fine weather.

CUT HILL

Stone Row | Nearest Village: Postbridge

Map: SX 5992 8275 | Sheets: OL28 L202 | Lat: 50.62757N | Long: 3.98187W

It is hard to get to this fallen stone row, discovered in 2004 by Tom Greeves on Cut Hill, one of the highest and most isolated parts of Dartmoor. Nine fallen stones have been found, some exposed by peat cutting and others still buried. Carbon-dating of peat suggests that at least one of the stones had fallen (or been placed flat) by 3350– 3100BC an earlier date than had previously been suggested for stone rows. The regular placement of the fallen stones, which Greeves compared to railway sleepers, may indicate that they were placed that way, even if at some point they had been standing (as is indicated by packing stones found at the end of at least one stone). Be prepared for a walk of about two hours, whichever direction you approach from.

The Cist on Whitehorse Hill

Andy Burnham, founder and Editor of the Megalithic Portal

Thanks to its remote moorland location, it was not until the 1990s that the Bronze Age stone cist on Whitehorse Hill was discovered, undisturbed by human activity. Erosion had partially exposed the site to the elements and the contents of the chamber were not expected to have survived, but the results of excavation in 2011 were astounding.

Archaeologists found the cremated remains of a young adult, thought to be a woman interred some time around 1730–1600BC, the cremation wrapped in the pelt of a brown bear and secured with a copper pin. More than 200 beads were found, some of nonlocal clay and amber, as well as a braided woven band or bracelet of cow hair studded with tin beads (the earliest examples of tin objects found on Dartmoor), a textile fragment with delicate leather fringing – possibly a belt, and unique in Europe – and a woven basket. Usually this sort of organic material has long since rotted away, so the finds (preserved by the peat in which the cist was buried) are quite remarkable. Two pairs of labrets or ear studs are the only ones to have been found in the southwest, the earliest evidence of woodturning in the UK.

The finds offer insights into Bronze Age life, from the existence of trading networks that brought amber beads to Dartmoor, to personal adornment styles to the range of crafting techniques practised. Replicas of some of the finds can be seen at the National Park Visitor Centre in Postbridge.

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SHOVEL DOWN

Megalithic Complex | Nearest Town: Chagford

Map: SX 6595 8599 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.65811N | Long: 3.89784W

Less than 1.6km (1 mile) from Scorhill stone circle (see page 71), the Shovel Down complex includes a stone circle, a four-ringed cairn circle, various rows, both double and single, a very large standing stone, several cairns and the remains of a prehistoric settlement. You can park at Batworthy Corner, right up on the moor, and then it’s a short walk along a fairly welldefined trackway to the first of the sites.

FOURFOLD CIRCLE

At the upper, southern end of Row 2 (at SX 6595 8603) four concentric rings of stone slabs surround a central pit, probably a robbed cist. Originally set in a c. 9m (30ft) mound, most of the stones have been taken for wall building, enabling the construction of the cairn to be seen. Although enticingly named, the structure is rather smaller and much less impressive than the Yellowmead fourfold (see page 60).

STONE CIRCLE

Unusually positioned on a slope, and perhaps the oldest of the monuments at Shovel Down, the badly damaged stone circle (at SX 6582 8620) lies to the west of the northerly end of Row 3. Three standing flat-topped slabs remain of this 18m (59ft) circle, along with three fallen stones which were probably part of the circle.

STONE ROWS

There are six stone rows, five of them double rows, and some in a ruinous state. At the top end of Row 2 is a large pair of fallen stones, one of which has parish markers cut into it. Running up the hillside to the south, where it terminates at a cairn, Row 4 is the most complete of the alignments and about 120m (393ft) long, with nicely paired stones.

Although there’s not much left of it, Row 6 originally ran south of the Longstone for 170m (557ft) to the surviving stone of the Three Boys. South of here, another alignment (of which nothing now remains) ran toward Fernworthy. Leaning so far as to be almost fallen, the Three Boys stone faces across the southern end of Row 6.

West of the rows, circles, cairns and standing stones are the remains of a settlement. The remains of four or five huts can be seen, with associated field systems and boundary walls, some of which are made from massive edge-set slabs.

THE LONGSTONE

This splendidly enormous standing stone, set in a slight dip in the landscape (at SX 6603 8568), is over 3m (10ft) tall. It possibly once formed a blocking stone at the end of Row 5, as it is set square on to the rows. Parish boundary markings have been carved into three of its faces.

Nearby | At SX 6653 8633), around 670m (almost ½ mile) east of Shovel Down, is the Kestor settlement, where the hillside is covered with hut circles, field systems and boundary walls. Some of this walling, made of massive edge-set slabs, is still in use to mark boundaries today. Reused in the Iron Age and the medieval period, the site includes major Bronze Age remains, as well as evidence of settlement dating back to the Neolithic and even earlier. At SX 6639 8685, just short of 1km (0.6 miles) northeast of Shovel Down, the Round Pound settlement is an impressively massive construction, around which the local road curves. A huge external wall, up to 4m (13ft) wide and 2m (6½ft) high, encloses a pound including a large hut circle with paved entrance, stone sill and steps still visible. Outside the pound, to the north, is a walled lane also made of massive slabs. The site was reused during the Iron Age.

“The Longstone is said to revolve slowly at sunrise, so as to warm each of its faces.” Martyn Copcutt

SCORHILL

Stone Circle | Nearest Town: Chagford

Map: SX 6545 8739 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.67058N | Long: 3.90542W

A dramatic setting, especially magnificent in low sun, makes this 27m (89ft) circle (its name pronounced “Scorral”) a very worthwhile visit. Approached from the north, the stones resemble a large congregation of people on the slopes of the moor. Of an original 65–70 stones, 34 remain, of which 25 still stand. Two cart tracks pass through the circle, which some feel adds to the sense of drama. The stones are unevenly spaced, with the tallest, at 2.5m (8ft), in the northwest. A huge fallen stone, 1.8m (6ft) long and 1.5m (5ft) wide, lies at the SSW. The Bradford leat partly encircles the circle and can be a challenge to cross. To the southwest the leat has been repaired using several large stones taken from the circle. It’s a short walk from Batworthy Corner, over the clapper bridge, or a small parking area is available at Scorhill Farm.

WHITE MOOR DOWN Alt Name: Little Hound Tor
Stone Circle | Nearest Village: South Zeal

Map: SX 6328 8961 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.69002N | Long: 3.93693W

A truly lovely stone circle, reconstructed in 1896, in a desolate but spectacular setting between Little Hound Tor and Hound Tor. You’ll need a map, and it’s a tough 4km (2.5 mile) mostly uphill walk, which can be dangerously boggy in wet weather. However, those who make the effort on a fair day are rewarded by an impressive site, with fantastic views. There are 18 stones remaining of a probable 19, one of which is fallen, arranged with their smoother sides inward in a 20m (66ft) diameter circle. The White Moor Stone stands 150m (492ft) to the southeast; 1.7m (5½ft) in height, it’s a parish boundary stone, but may be much older and is possibly associated with the circle. Between this stone and the circle are the remains of a cairn.

“In wet weather, the extensive mire just to the northeast of the circle threatens to engulf the walker who strays from the high ground to the west. Beware!” Martyn Copcutt

COSDON HILL

Stone Rows | Nearest Village: South Zeal

Map: SX 6434 9159 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.70807N | Long: 3.92266W

On the eastern side of Cosdon Hill are the splendid remains of a cairn and triple stone row. The 8m (26ft) cairn at the higher, western end of the rows is damaged, but the remains of a double cist, including a capstone, are clearly visible. From here the three parallel rows, about 1.5m (5ft) apart, stretch away for at least 140m (449ft), curving slightly to the north as they descend the hill. As usual, the larger stones are nearer the cairn. Each row has a large blocking slab at its western end. The upper parts of the rows are in a good state, but lower down are ruinous. Partway down a track has been driven through the rows, but even here stones remain standing between the sections of the track.

Nearby | The five Cosdon Hill summit cairns more or less follow the ridge of the hill in a north–south alignment (running SX 636 914 to SX 637 917). The southernmost is massive, with modern alterations rising up to 3m (10ft) high and 25m (82ft) in diameter. There are two ring cairns, a round cairn containing a cist, and an impressive kerbed cairn containing two or three concentric rings of stones.

“Rather a long uphill trek to get there or you could go the longer way around from South Zeal and take in White Moor circle, too. This way isn’t so steep but can be very wet and boggy.” CazzyJane

SPINSTERS’ ROCK

Burial Chamber | Nearest Village: Drewsteignton

Map: SX 7010 9079 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.70219N | Long: 3.84085W

A dolmen (rare for Dartmoor) with a huge capstone weighing some 16 tonnes (17.6 tons), delicately balanced on three uprights. In 1862 the tomb collapsed and was reconstructed, but not exactly as originally. It’s said that the fallen stones were one day re-erected (before breakfast!) by three spinsters (in the sense of spinners of wool) – hence the name. The 18th-century antiquarian William Chapple suggested the name derived from the Celtic lle yspiennwr rhongoa, “open stargazing place”. He and others reported seeing many stone rows and circles in the area, which have since vanished.

BELSTONE NINE STONES Alt Name: Seventeen Brothers

Cairn Circle | Nearest Village: Belstone

Map: SX 6123 9284 | Sheets: OL28 L191 | Lat: 50.71857N | Long: 3.96715W

A neat little circle on the moors below Belstone Tor. It is almost certainly the remains of a round cairn, and traces of the burial chamber can be seen within the circle. The Nine Stones are one of the more easily reached of Dartmoor’s sites, as the circle is only a 1km (0.6 mile) walk from the church in Belstone village, mostly along a trackway.

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CHALLACOMBE LONGSTONE

Standing Stone | Nearest Village: Challacombe

Map: SS 7051 4307 | Sheets: OL9 L180 | Lat: 51.17216N | Long: 3.85364W

Exmoor’s standing stones are usually small in comparison to Dartmoor’s, and often broken, but this fine, elegant slab of slate (the tallest standing stone on Exmoor) is almost 3m (10ft) tall and still intact, despite measuring just 0.15–0.2m (6–8in) across. From here several barrows are visible on the horizon. A very boggy 3km (2 mile) walk from the nearest road.

SOMERSET

CHERITON RIDGE

Ring Cairn | Nearest Village: Cheriton

Map: SS 7456 4478 | Sheets: OL9 L180 | Lat: 51.18843N | Long: 3.79634W

An unusually extensive cairn survival for Exmoor, set in a saddle on Cheriton Ridge. A standing stone is set within a ring cairn composed of stone rubble and the remnants of an inner retaining wall. Much of the construction material has been scattered over the ground, and the cairn has also been damaged by vehicle tracks.

Nearby | At SS 7492 4432, 583m (1,913ft) to the southeast on Cheriton Ridge, is a minilithic setting that may have incorporated a triple row. Four stones still stand, all under 0.3m (1ft) tall. There are also various other minilithic settings in the area, the stones small and hard to find.

PORLOCK COMMON

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Porlock

Map: SS 8451 4467 | Sheets: OL9 L181 | Lat: 51.18955N | Long: 3.65399W

A 24m (79ft) circle, originally of 21 stones, with seven still standing of the 14 that remain. All are local sandstone. The fallen stones lie close to their original positions. The circle was disturbed during World War II, when the area was used for military training. The largest stone, a fallen one to the SSE, is about 2m (6½ft) in length.

“There is a nearby associated ‘avenue’ 70m (230ft) to the east: tiny little stones in two parallel rows.” Martyn Copcutt

The Miniliths of Exmoor

Martyn Copcutt, Chair of the Megalithic Portal Society and lifelong stones enthusiast

Geologically, Exmoor consists not of granite but of the softer Devonian sandstone, shale and slate. No granite megaliths are therefore to be seen, but that does not mean that ancient people did not create monuments here. Although much of the Exmoor National Park has been heavily farmed, the upland wilds still contain a wealth of relics from prehistoric times, including many ridge-top cairns and barrow cemeteries that can make for an interesting skyline.

Perhaps the most intriguing of the ancient remains are the many enigmatic settings of small stones (often less than 0.3m/1ft), termed “minilithic” by Aubrey Burl. A recent survey identified 57 such monuments, which appear to be unique to Exmoor, and more are likely to be discovered as more people start looking for them. The stones are grouped in varying geometrical patterns, including quincunxes (quadrilateral arrangements with a central stone) and what appear to be random forms. Unlike other stone monuments, the minilithic settings would have required the labour of only one person over a short time to erect them. Sites can be very hard to find, as the stones are often well hidden among heather and grass. Although this type of monument was recognized by 17th-century antiquarians, the miniliths have been little studied and not much is known about them. It is only recently that detailed research into miniliths has been undertaken, with several studies made in collaboration with the Exmoor National Park authority, including by the universities of Leicester and Southampton.

Given the small size and relative fragility of the stones, the survival of these unprotected settings is remarkable. Sadly, many of the stones are now broken or missing, and the remaining minilithic sites are endangered by people riding and driving over the moor, as well as by bracken cutting. At Beckham Hill, for example, three of the original nine stones (set in three rows of three) were recorded as fallen in 1965; when I visited I found only eight stones, with just three of them still standing.

Find out more about Exmoor’s miniliths at: www.exmoorher.co.uk

EAST PINFORD

Stone Alignment | Nearest Village: Simonsbath

Map: SS 7965 4272 | Sheets: OL9 L180 | Lat: 51.17101N Long: 3.72285W

In a wild Exmoor setting, on the west-facing slope of a hill above a stream, this is a six-stone rectangle, or two rows of three stones. The rows are 4m (13ft) apart and the stones rise no higher than 0.8m (2½ft), with all of them still standing.

WITHYPOOL

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Withypool

Map: SS 8383 3431 | Sheets: OL9 L181 | Lat: 51.09629N | Long: 3.66037W

A little-known circle with very small stones (most under 0.5m/1½ft) in an attractive moorland setting with great views. Around 36m (118ft) in diameter, it was first described in 1906, when 37 stones out of a possible original total of 100 were still in place. There are currently around 30, some fallen.

Nearby | At SS 8761 3431, 3.8km (under 2½ miles) east, are the Wambarrows, three damaged Bronze Age bowl barrows on top of Winsford Hill. The westernmost is the largest, 27m (88ft) in diameter, but less well defined and more overgrown than the others. Easy access for Exmoor, and superb views.

TROUT HILL

Stone Setting (Quincunx) | Nearest Village: Simonsbath

Map: SS 7940 4322 | Sheets: OL9 L180 | Lat: 51.17546N | Long: 3.72659W

There are various stone settings on Trout Hill, including this possible quincunx of which only four stones remain, one of which is fallen. The three standing are 0.5–0.8m (1ft 6in–2½ft) in height, with the stones about 7m (22ft) apart.

SWEET TRACK

Ancient Trackway | Nearest Village: Westhay

Map: ST 4240 4080 | Sheets: E141 L182 | Lat: 51.16353N | Long: 2.82512W

Amazing engineering dating to 3806/3807BC, this elevated footpath ran for c. 2km (1.2 miles) across the swampy Somerset Levels. Ash, oak and lime trees were cut and transported to the site, crossed poles were driven into heavier poles underwater and pegged together, and an oak platform was laid on top. Some of the oak trees were 400 years old. The track was only in use for 10 years or so, probably due to rising water levels; this waterlogging protected it from decomposition. It was discovered by peat worker Ray Sweet in 1970. Wooden artefacts found by the track included yew pins, arrow shafts, paddles, parts of bows, and a dish. Other finds included flint arrows, pottery and two fine axes, one of flint and one of jadeite (from the Italian Alps). Some of these items could have been lost but the sheer volume of finds suggests many were deliberately left, perhaps as offerings. Sections of the track are on display in the British Museum, while much has been conserved in situ at Shapwick Heath Nature Reserve, where visitors can view replica sections along the original route. Associated with the Sweet Track is the even earlier (by about 30 years) Post Track, which followed more or less the same path and was probably dismantled when the Sweet Track was built.

PRIDDY CIRCLES

Henge-type Structures | Nearest Village: Priddy

Map: ST 5400 5280 | Sheets: E141 L182 | Lat: 51.27248N | Long: 2.66079W

Considered the most important Neolithic site in Somerset but hard to see at ground level, the Priddy Circles include four 200m (655ft) earthwork enclosures arranged in a line roughly SSW–NNE. The first three are quite close together, while the northernmost circle is separated from the others by a gap of 350m (1,150ft), which appears to be deliberate. A Roman road runs through this gap. The circles have an external rather than an internal ditch, with internal banks that seem to have been revetted by wooden posts. These features have led to much speculation about whether they are henges or not; possibly they are a type of enclosure that predates henges and may have had a different function. It’s considered likely that the western third of the northernmost circle was never enclosed. In 2011, the southernmost circle was damaged.

Nearby | Priddy Nine Barrows is a group of nine Bronze Age round barrows on North Hill (at ST 5392 5149), seven more or less in a row, with a further two 137m (450ft) to the north. Some 560m (1,837m) to the north, the Ashen Hill Barrows (at ST 5390 5205) is a further group of eight barrows arranged along a ridge.

DEVIL’S BED AND BOLSTER

Chambered Tomb | Nearest Village: Rode

Map: ST 8149 5333 | Sheets: E143 L183 | Lat: 51.27881N | Long: 2.26676W

A long barrow with a very disturbed, almost levelled 35m (114ft) mound. Wide ditches once ran along either side of the mound but are no longer visible on the surface. At the eastern end of the mound are a number of large stones, both upright and fallen, which may have formed parts of a central passage and side chambers. Legend holds that past attempts to move or disturb the stones have always been foiled by bad weather.

“Take the footpath opposite the pub to reach a field. Follow the field boundary right, then go through a gap between fields. Keep left. Go through the next gap and follow the boundary left. The tomb is in the field corner.” Paul Beastie Baker

MAP

STONEY LITTLETON Alt Names: Bath Tumulus,
Wellow Tumulus Long Barrow | Nearest Village: Wellow

Map: ST 7350 5720 | Sheets: E142 L172 | Lat: 51.31328N | Long: 2.38159W

This Cotswold-Severn long barrow is surely one of the loveliest and most atmospheric in the southwest. The setting is beautiful, surrounded by wide valleys and with low hills in every direction. The impressive trapezoidal mound, running northwest–southeast, is about 30m (98ft) long, 12.5m (41ft) wide at its widest point and 2m (6½ft) high (it’s believed to have originally been much higher). It’s surrounded by a restored drystone wall, and the entrance, to the southeast, is at the back of a recessed forecourt, flanked by drystone walling. The left hand “door jamb” is decorated with a striking 0.3m (1ft) ammonite cast, and more fossils are to be found on the inner walls. Inside, there’s a 13m (43ft) gallery with three pairs of side chambers. The barrow was constructed using material from a now infilled ditch on each side. In 1816, an excavation uncovered human bones within the chamber. The walk up from the car park is straightforward, but can be muddy.

“A torch is a must as it is a crawl to the end of the barrow. Wonderfully atmospheric.” Scott Whitehouse

STANTON DREW Alt Name: The Weddings
Megalithic Complex | Nearest Village: Stanton Drew

Map: ST 6000 6330 | Sheets: E155 L172 | Lat: 51.36734N | Long: 2.57596W

A large, complex site with various monuments scattered around the tiny village of Stanton Drew. The circles were described by John Aubrey in 1664 and by William Stukeley in 1776. The remains of three stone circles and two avenues can be found, as well as the standing stones known as the Cove (a group of three) and Hautville’s Quoit.

A recent geophysical survey by English Heritage revealed that what we see today is only part of an elaborate prehistoric complex. The site’s other name, the Weddings, comes from the traditional story of guests dancing into the Sabbath and being turned to stone. As at many such sites, it’s said to be impossible to count the stones!

GREAT CIRCLE

At 113m (370ft) in diameter, this is the second-largest stone circle in Britain (after Avebury). In 1998 geophysical investigation revealed the startling news that the Great Circle contains nine concentric circles of closely spaced pits that perhaps once held huge wooden posts, as at Woodhenge (see page 98) or the Sanctuary (see page 112). It was also discovered that the stone circle is sited within a 135m (443ft) enclosure, ringed by a ditch 7m (23ft) wide. Up to 26 stones remain in the circle of a possible 30 originals. The henge ditch has a large gap or entrance on the northeast, and an avenue of which five standing stones remain leading from this for some 88m (288ft) in the direction of the River Chew. There’s a legend that one of the stones will violently repel anyone who pushes it hard enough.

It’s speculated that the gap in the henge would have framed Big Ground Mound, a flat-topped hill north of the river, beyond the floodplain. Recent geophysical analysis by the Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society (BACAS) has shown this to be a natural outcrop, however it’s still possible that it may have played a part in the overal ritual landscape. Flooding was common here before Chew Valley Lake was built, and Big Ground would have been surrounded on three sides by water that stretched to the edge of the northeast circle.

NORTHEAST CIRCLE

Just under 100m (328ft) east of the Great Circle is an irregular 30m (98ft) circle of eight large stones. Four pits, each one aligned with an opposing pair in the outer ring, were found at the centre of the circle. It’s been speculated that these could have once held uprights or been ritual pits of some sort. A second ruined avenue heads east toward the floodplain of the River Chew and would have joined with the line of the avenue leading from the Great Circle.

SSW CIRCLE

Some distance to the SSW, on higher ground and in a separate field, this ruinous 43m (145ft) circle has between nine and 12 fallen stones. It occupies a plateau with views north across the other circles to the river, and west to the Cove.

THE COVE

The three massive stones of the Cove, forming a rectangle with an open side to the southeast, are handily located in the garden of the Druid’s Arms pub. A line drawn through the centres of the Northeast Circle and Great Circle extends to this monument. The church and farm now interfere with any sightlines with the SSW Circle, and the Great Circle is on lower ground so may never have been visible from here. The “back” slab (4.4m/14ft 4 in) has fallen, but the other two (3.1m/10ft and 1.4m/4ft 5in) remain upright. The stones here are of different rock from the circle stones, suggesting a different origin and possibly an earlier date. In folklore, the two upright Cove stones are the bride and groom, with the fallen stone the drunken parson.

Nearby| At ST 6017 6381, less than 500m (1,640ft) NNE across the River Chew from the Northeast Circle, is Hautville’s Quoit, a large fallen stone that’s assumed to once have stood, possibly as part of a chambered tomb. This stone lies on a line running through the centres of the Great Circle and the SSW Circle. Stukeley recorded it as being 4m (13ft) but it has since been broken and is now about 2.2m (7ft). The stone is said to be named for Sir John Hautville, a 13th-century knight who was supposed to have hurled it into its current position.

Gloucestershire

HETTY PEGLER’S TUMP Alt Names: Uley Long Barrow, Uley
Tumulus Chambered Tomb | Nearest Village: Uley

Map: SO 7896 0003 | Sheets: E168 L162 | Lat: 51.69861N | Long: 2.30583W

This Cotswold-Severn-type transepted gallery grave has two chambers on each side of its passage plus an end chamber. The entrance is in a forecourt on the east and the mound rises to 3m (10ft). Human and animal bones, as well as Neolithic pottery, were found here during excavations in the mid-19th century. It’s named after Hester Pegler, who appears to have owned the land on which it stands in the 17th century.

“When I was a child you had to get the key from a house in the village. My dad unlocked the little door and in we crawled. The smoke from the last visitor’s candle was still hanging in the air. Unforgettable.” Jackie Bates

Nearby | At SO 7940 0132, 1.4km (under 1 mile) NNE of Hetty Pegler’s Tump, Nympsfield long barrow is another chambered long barrow or transepted gallery grave of the Cotswold-Severn type, with a pair of side chambers and an end chamber. Excavations in 1862, 1937 and 1974 uncovered skeletons (perhaps from as many as 20–30 individuals).

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THE LONG STONE (MINCHINHAMPTON)

Standing Stone | Nearest Village: Minchinhampton

Map: ST 8835 9992 | Sheets: E168 L162 | Lat: 51.69788N | Long: 2.16997W

A lovely 2.3m (7ft 5in) stone with several holes that offer lots of opportunities for fun photos as people put their hands through, as well as added healing properties if the folklore is to be believed. It’s been speculated that this, as well as another stone in the nearby field wall, are the remains of a burial chamber.

Nearby | At ST 8823 9899, just under 1km (0.6 miles) SSW of the Long Stone, in the Gatcombe Park estate that is home to Princess Anne, is the Tingle Stone, probably the remains of another chambered long barrow. It’s on private land so stick to the footpath (which doesn’t reach the stone) or wait for the horse trials.

The Rev N. Thornbury removed the three Avening burial chambers c.1806 from either Avening Court or Norn’s Tump long barrows and set them up in the garden of his rectory at Avening (at ST 8789 9837). The “porthole”-style entrance is unusual for Britain. Permission from the landowner is needed to visit them, but two can be seen (just about) to the east of the main road north of Avening.

“Folklore has it the stone wanders around the field when church bells strike 12 – AND that it is haunted by a former owner of Gatcombe Park on a horse!” 4clydesdale7

HORESTONE (RODBOROUGH)

Standing Stone | Nearest Village: Rodborough

Map: SO 8577 0241 | Sheets: E168 L162 | Lat: 51.72023N | Long: 2.20739W

Rediscovered in a back garden in 2001, thus settling years of controversy over whether this stone, last recorded in 1636, still existed. There is a medieval boundary stone about 250m (820ft) away, which has been mistaken for the stone in the past, but the true Horestone is 1.8m (6ft) tall and made of the same holey freestone as so many other local standing stones. Further details of this stone and its neighbour can be found by searching the Megalithic Portal for the Horestone (Rodborough) and the Horestone (Sullivan) respectively.

LONG STONE (STAUNTON)

Standing Stone | Nearest Village: Staunton

Map: SO 5593 1206 | Sheets: OL14 L162 | Lat: 51.80543N | Long: 2.64056W

Standing beside the A4136, this characterful 2.5m (8ft) stone is of deeply scored and weathered sandstone. Local tradition states that it will bleed if pricked with a pin at midnight.

Nearby | Ochre mining at Clearwell Caves (at SO 5770 0822), on the western edge of the Forest of Dean, may date back 7,000 years, with stone tools from 4,500 years ago discovered here. Clearwell ochre contains high levels of iron, giving it an unusually strong colour pigment, and it is still mined here today.

BELAS KNAP

Long Barrow | Nearest Village: Winchcombe

Map: SP 0209 2545 | Sheets: OL45 L163 | Lat: 51.92756N | Long: 1.97101W

A fine long barrow (pictured opposite), its current impressive appearance shaped by restoration in 1928–30. The 55m (180ft) mound runs north–south and was once larger, now rising to 4m (13ft) high and stretching to 20m (66ft). Unlike other local barrows, there’s no entrance or central passage; instead, at the northern end, there’s a “false entrance”, with two standing stones and a lintel, between the curved horns of the forecourt. The four chambers, two on the east, one at the southern end and one on the west, each have individual entrances. Excavation uncovered the remains of 37 people in the four chambers and under the false entrance. Romano-British pottery was also found, showing that it was accessible in that era.

“Belas Knap is part of an ancient landscape that includes Cleeve Common, and the barrow is intervisible with the upper slopes of the common to the west. It’s worth taking a whole day to explore the area, as there are Bronze Age dykes and an Iron Age camp – oh and the stunning views …” Dr Olaf

WINTERBOURNE NINE STONES Alt Names: Devil’s Nine Stones, Nine Ladies, Lady Williams and Her Dog
| Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Winterbourne Abbas

Map: SY 6108 9043 | Sheets: OL15 L194 | Lat: 50.71219N | Long: 2.5526W

First recorded by John Aubrey in the 17th century and hardly changed since, this little circle (8m/26ft) is unusually located in a valley bottom. It is unexpectedly atmospheric, despite the proximity of the A35. The stones, of varying size, are evenly spaced, with a larger gap to the north. Aubrey described another circle (no longer there) about 800m (½ mile) west of here. The fallen 2m (6½ft) Broad Stone lies semi-buried beside the road about a mile to the west. Access from the A35 has been blocked, but at the time of writing, parking is possible across the field to the east, at the site of the old Little Chef (pending redevelopment). A gate here gives on to a path to the stones.

Nearby | On Long Barrow Hill (at SY 5717 9115), Long Bredy bank barrow is, at 195m (640ft), the second longest in Britain (after the one at Maiden Castle, see page 85). Ditches run in parallel along either long side. The barrow can be seen in both directions from the A35; look for the V-shaped notch. There are various other sites close by, including what may be cursus to the northeast, and other barrows.

Dorset

KINGSTON RUSSELL

Stone Circle | Nearest Village: Abbotsbury

Map: SY 5779 8783 | Sheets: OL15 L194 | Lat: 50.68858N | Long: 2.59889W

On a chalk ridge above the Bride valley, with views south and west to the sea, this irregular 30m (98ft) circle of fallen sarsen and conglomerate stones is not far from the Grey Mare and Her Colts. There are 18 stones, one of which was still standing in 1815. Two similar stones lie close to a nearby fence. Some of the stones are partially buried and so may be larger than they appear.

Nearby | At SY 5839 8706, just short of 1km (0.6 miles) southeast of Kingston Russell circle, Grey Mare and Her Colts is a well-preserved long barrow with a 24m (78ft) mound. At the southeast end are four impressive sarsens, three of which are still standing. A fifth, possibly the capstone, lies at the southwest end of the row. The remains of a collapsed chamber lie behind the sarsens.

“Parking is only possible on verges of minor roads a mile or two away. Resist the temptation to drive down the farm-access tracks as you may get into trouble!” Jim Champion

HELLSTONE

Long Barrow | Nearest Village: Portesham

Map: SY 6058 8670 | Sheets: OL15 L194 | Lat: 50.67861N | Long: 2.55928W

A much-damaged and inaccurately restored but very dramatic-looking long barrow. The mound is at least 24m (78ft) long, up to 12m (40ft) wide and 1.5m (5ft) high near the chamber, but further southeast it is much disturbed and barely 0.6m (2ft) high. The chamber was rebuilt in 1866 and nine stones, up to 1.7m (5ft 7in) tall, now support the huge 3 × 2.4m (10 × 8ft) capstone.

BRONKHAM HILL

Barrow Cemetery | Nearest Village: Portesham

Map: SY 6267 8688 | Sheets: OL15 L194 | Lat: 50.68037N | Long: 2.52972W

A group of round barrows stretching northwest-southeast for about a mile along the Ridgeway. The group includes four bell barrows and a double bowl barrow.

Nearby | There are various other barrow cemeteries to be explored in the area. The Hardy Monument barrows (at SY 6130 8760), 1.5km (just under 1 mile) WNW of Bronkham Hill, have spectacular views.

MAIDEN CASTLE

Causewayed Enclosure & Bank Barrow | Nearest Village: Winterborne Monkton

Map: SY 6690 8846 | Sheets: OL15 L194 | Lat: 50.69483N | Long: 2.46999W

The dramatic Iron Age hill fort is the most impressive element of the site, but this hilltop has been the focus of occupation for more than 6,000 years. A Neolithic causewayed enclosure, one of the largest in England (approximately 8ha/20 acres), is buried under the embankments of the early phase hill fort, which probably followed its outline. When the enclosure went out of use, a 550m (1,805ft) bank barrow was built across its western side, flanked by ditches. The barrow is still visible, just about. In the early Iron Age, a single rampart was built on top of the earlier enclosure, and later the fort was extended to enclose more than double the original area. The entrances became more complex, extra ramparts were added and the inner rampart was heightened. Maiden Castle was featured in the first-ever English-language archaeology TV show, broadcast by the BBC in 1937. A downloadable audio tour is available from English Heritage.

MAUMBURY RINGS

Henge | Nearest Town: Dorchester

Map: SY 6901 8992 | Sheets: OL15 L194 | Lat: 50.70808N | Long: 2.44024W

Surrounded by new development, this late Neolithic henge, more than 100m (328ft) in diameter, was used as an amphitheatre by the Romans and as an artillery fort during the Civil War. Excavations in the early 20th century revealed a wide ditch inside the circular bank, with a series of shafts (possibly around 45) up to 11m (36ft) deep. Eight were found to contain red-deer skulls and human and animal bone fragments, as well as carved chalk objects (including the famous phallus). The shafts may have been deliberately backfilled. The entrance is to the northeast. A stone that once stood to the west of the entrance is said to have been discovered and reburied in the 19th century, its location now unknown.

Nearby | In the car park under the Dorchester Waitrose, the position of some post-holes from a huge timber circle are marked on the ground. Discovered during development, the circle is estimated to have been some 380m (1,245ft) in diameter, requiring the trunks of 600 mature oaks. It was radiocarbon-dated to around 2100BC. Also in Dorchester is the Flagstones enclosure, partly sited under the grounds of Max Gate, Thomas Hardy’s old house. It is a 100m (328ft) interrupted ditch enclosure (similar to a causewayed enclosure), formed by a ring of pits. Human remains were found, including an infant and a baby in the pits, and a young man in a central barrow. Carbon-dating puts this burial about 1,000 years later than the enclosure, which dates to around 2486–2886BC.

KNOWLTON RINGS

Henge-type Structures | Nearest Village: Gussage All Saints

Map: SU 0238 1028 | Sheets: E118 L195 | Lat: 50.89199N | Long: 1.96753W

There are four henges or henge-type earthworks at Knowlton. The best-known and best-preserved is the Church Circle, which contains the ruins of a Norman church. To the east, is the Great Barrow, the largest round barrow in Dorset. Other barrows and ring ditches are scattered in the surrounding area. The Northern, Southern and Church Circles are generally accepted as henges, while the status of the fourth earthwork, known as the Old Churchyard, probably predates the medieval period. A large stone, ploughed out of the Southern Circle in the 1970s, features four concentric pecked rings. If this is indeed prehistoric rock art, it is highly unusual for the region.

Nearby | Some 5km (3 miles) southwest of Knowlton Rings, on private land with no access, High Lea Farm was until 2008 the focus of Bournemouth University’s Knowlton Prehistoric Landscape Project. There’s an early Bronze Age cemetery of round and oval barrows, most of which are now visible only as cropmarks.

MAP

OAKLEY DOWN

Barrow Cemetery | Nearest Village: Sixpenny Handley

Map: SU 0182 1731 | Sheets: E118 L184 | Lat: 50.95521N | Long: 1.97546W

A fine cemetery containing over 30 round barrows of various types, some of which are clearly visible from the A354 south of Woodyates. The Roman road, Ackling Dyke, passes through the cemetery, over two of the disc barrows.

Nearby | The excavation into Wor barrow (at SU 0124 1729), 579m (1,900ft) west of Oakley Down barrows, by General Pitt Rivers in 1893–4, is considered to be the earliest investigation of a long barrow to modern scientific standards. In one of the first examples of experimental archaeology, Pitt Rivers then studied the re-silting of the ditches over the following years, and decided this wasn’t a reliable method for dating earthworks. Six male skeletons were found inside the original mortuary chamber, but the site is best known for a secondary burial that was placed in the ditch after construction. The body had been preserved for 30–130 years before burial, making it the earliest known “mummy” in Britain. A flint arrowhead between the ribs gave insight into the probable cause of death.

DORSET CURSUS

Cursus | Nearest Village: Sixpenny Handley

Map: SU 0175 1600 | Sheets: E118 L184 | Lat: 50.94343N | Long: 1.97717W

Probably Britain’s largest Neolithic site, the Cursus runs for 10km (6 miles) northeast–southwest across the chalk downland of Cranborne Chase. Originally a pair of parallel banks about 90m (295ft) apart, it is now mainly visible as cropmarks, although some earthworks are still present, including two associated long barrows and the remains of banks in Salisbury Plantation on Oakley Down, and on the northeast-facing slope of Bottlebrush Down. It’s been estimated that the Cursus took around half a million hours to construct, and may have been built in two phases, with the 5.6km (3½ mile) southwest section completed first. It’s well worth visiting, despite lack of visible remains. There is no public right of way along the whole of the Cursus but the area is criss-crossed with paths and lanes.

Nearby | At Wyke Down (SU 0060 1530) are two henges (one only discovered in 1995), just 40m (131ft) apart. The ditches were constructed as a serious of pits. Excavation in the 1980s revealed pottery sherds, flint tools and carved chalk objects at the first site, with further pottery, including an almost complete grooved ware pot, found at the second in 1996.

If you enjoyed this ebook and would like to find out more about the megalithic and other prehistoric sites of the rest of Britain and Ireland, the following regional ebooks are also available:

The Old Stones of the South, Midlands & East of England 9781786782441

The Old Stones of the North of England & Isle of Man 9781786782403

The Old Stones of Wales 9781786782410

The Old Stones of Scotland 9781786782427

The Old Stones of Ireland 9781786782434

You can also download the complete ebook:

The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland
ISBN: 9781786782038

Also available as a book:

The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland
ISBN: 9781786781543

The Old Stones of the West of England

The Megalithic Portal

Edited by Andy Burnham

First published in the UK and USA in 2018 by
Watkins, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited
Unit 11, Shepperton House, 89–93 Shepperton Road
London N1 3DF
enquiries@watkinspublishing.com

Design and typography copyright © Watkins Media Limited 2018

Feature boxes and site entries by named contributors copyright © each named contributor 2018

All other text copyright © Watkins Media Limited and the Megalithic Portal 2018

Artwork copyright © Watkins Media Limited 2018, except for the diagram of the Rough Tor triangle copyright © Roy Goutté Photography copyright © each named photographer 2018

The right of the Megalithic Portal to be identified as the Author of this text has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Commissioning Editor: Fiona Robertson

Editor: Jackie Bates

Proofreader and Indexer: James Hodgson

Senior Designer: Francesca Corsini

Head of Design: Georgina Hewitt

Production: Uzma Taj

Map Design: Andy Burnham

Commissioned Artwork: Jay Kane

A CIP record for this book is available from the

British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-78678-239-7
www.watkinspublishing.com