Menhir of Carfury
The Carfury menhir (also known locally as Gulval 1 or Cuckoo Rock) stands northwest of Madron, near Penzance in Cornwall in England .
The almost three meter high menhir stands in the vegetation, in steep terrain above the Chyandour valley next to the small alley that leads to the Ding Dong mines . It appears that the menhir went unnoticed until the early 20th century when Charles Henderson described the "magnificent stone ... a remarkably selected monolith for its slenderness and length". It is the largest in Cornwall , along with the massive monolith at St Breock Downs .
The Carfury Menhir was excavated by Peter Pool and Vivien Russell at the turn of 1957 to 1958. Called one of the most elegant in West Penwith by the excavators, it was likely sculpted, although no tool marks are visible. The floor was cleaned up to within four feet of the base of the stone. It was found that the stone had been erected in an oval pit about 1.24 × 1.08 meters. Originally it belongs to a pair of stones, its 4.5 meter long fallen partner is about 25 m lower in the valley.
The menhirs of Bosiliack stand nearby.
literature
- John Barnatt: Prehistoric Cornwall: Guide to Its Stone Circles, Barrows and Standing Stones 1982 ISBN 978-0855001292
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 9 '2.4 " N , 5 ° 35' 5.6" W.