Druid's Circle (Conwy)
Druid's Circle (also Meini Hirion or Y Meini Hirion ) is the name of a stone circle south of Penmaenmawr, west of Conwy in north Wales , which is strongly reminiscent of Lakeland circles such as Swinside . Meini Hirion - Welsh for "Long Stones" - is also the name of two, west of the A496 at Llanbedr in Gwynedd standing menhirs .
description
The stone circle originally consisting of 30 stones, excavated by WE Griffiths in 1950, is located about 420 m high in the moorland above Colwyn Bay . 11 stones have been preserved and stand within a low wall about 35 m in diameter. The 23 m long ring is not a perfect circle, but slightly flattened on the northeast side where a path runs. Two portal stones face south.
The proximity to Graig Lwyd Beil-Schlagplatz, about 400 m away , indicates an early date for the construction, but is in contradiction to the Bronze Age finds, which could be secondary uses of the district. A destroyed stone circle (Circle 278) lies in the west, a destroyed hilltop settlement in the southwest and a small cairn on the nearby hill Tal-y-Fan.
Finds
A stone from a stone box was found with stones scattered unevenly around it, including quartz . Inside the box was a jar that held the burned bones of a child between the ages of ten and twelve. A second cremation was found in a pit. A simple vessel contained the burned bones of a child between the ages of eleven and thirteen, accompanied by a small bronze knife.
A provisional dating was between 1450 and 1400 BC. Made in the Bronze Age , but the circle can also be much older (3000 BC)
Legends
Legends are associated with two stones . The stone of sacrifice stands to the east and has a curved natural ledge on top. Legend has it that the children who were killed here during the ceremonies inside the ring died here.
On the west side stands the so-called deity. The stone has an anthropomorphic appearance, similar to a human figure with a hood and looks directly into the center of the circle. According to legend, this stone will kill anyone who swears nearby. It is alleged that a skeptic visited the district during the night to test the statement. His body was found the next day at the foot of the deity stone.
Other sites with the same name
Druid's Circle at Alderley Edge in Cheshire , England is a replica stone circle from the 18th century.
The Bwlch y Ddeufaen is a mountain pass with two menhirs nearby.
literature
- Aubrey Burl: The stone circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. New Haven, Yale University Press 2000, ISBN 0-300-08347-5 .
- Homer Sykes: Mysterious Britain - Fact and Folklore George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-297-83196-8 p. 114
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 15 ′ 12.4 " N , 3 ° 54 ′ 56.7" W.