Nine Stones, Winterbourne Abbas

From Wikishire
Revision as of 20:42, 26 November 2015 by RB (talk | contribs) (Created page with "right|thumb|300px|The Nine Stones {{county|Dorset}} The '''Nine Stones''' are a small prehistoric stone ...")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The Nine Stones

The Nine Stones are a small prehistoric stone circle just outside of the village of Winterbourne Abbas, in Dorset.

Today the stones are in the care of English Heritage.

Description

The Nine Stones are located in small wooded enclosure next to the A35 road, around half a mile west of the village of Winterbourne Abbas in Dorset. The stones are of sarsen or conglomerate and are arranged in a rough circle with an internal diameter of about 26 feet.[1] The stones are mostly quite small and vary from 0 inch to 4.9 feet in height. The stones are irregularly spaced, and there is wide a gap on the north side.[1]

History

The circle was recorded by John Aubrey in the 17th century, and then by William Stukeley in the 18th century.[1] Stukeley's drawing of 1723 shows the circle in much the same state as it is at present.[1] John Aubrey mentions another circle about half a mile to the west but this has since been destroyed.[1]

In 2007, five of the stones were vandalised with white paint.[2] The site is in the care of English Heritage.[1]

There is a fallen six-foot standing stone known as the Broad Stone lying beside the road about a mile to the west.[3]

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Nine Stones, Winterbourne Abbas)

References