St Breock Downs Monolith
St Breock Downs Monolith, otherwise known as St Breock Longstone[1]) is the largest and heaviest prehistoric standing stone in Cornwall.[2] It stands on the summit of St Breock Downs. It is known in Cornish as Men Gurta.
The stone is of the local Devonian shale which has extensive feldspar veining,[3] and it is estimated to weigh around 16.5 tons.[1] It is 16 feet long[1] and stands to a height of ten feet above ground level.[3] It stands on a low stone mound or cairn with a diameter of around 33 feet.[3]
The stone is believed to be Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (around 2500-1500 BC) in date.[1]
History and excavation
The stone fell over in 1945, and was re-erected in 1956 after a small excavation had been carried out.[3] The excavation showed that the stone stood in a setting of quartz pebbles below which were two small hollows.[1] Similar hollows at other sites have been found to contain human bone or ashes.[1]
The stone may have been associated with other Bronze Age ritual monuments in the area, including one other standing stone,[4] and a series of barrows that extend up to 4 miles to the west.[3]
The stone is mentioned in antiquarian records as early as 1613, and was later adopted as a St Breock parish boundary marker.[3] The site is now in the care of the Cornwall Heritage Trust on behalf of English Heritage.[5]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about St Breock Downs Monolith) |
- Location map: 50.4793167 -4.8656333
- St Breock Downs Monolith – English Heritage
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 National Monuments Record: No. 430282 – St Breock Downs Monolith
- ↑ St Breock Downs Monolith
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 St Breock Downs Monolith: History and research
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 430297 – St Breock Downs Standing Stone
- ↑ Sites Managed and Cared for by Cornwall Heritage Trust for English Heritage, retrieved 12 April 2012