St Breock Downs Monolith
The monolith of St Breock Downs (also St Breock Longstone; cornish: Men Gurta called) is next to the menhir of Carfury the largest menhir ( English standing stone ) in Cornwall , England . It stands south of Wadebridge , near the summit of St Breock Downs, and slopes northward.
The stone was mentioned in antiquarian writings as early as 1613 and later served as a boundary stone for the parish of St Breock. It is 4.92 meters long, reaches a height of more than three meters above the ground and measures 1.51 × 1.07 m at the base. The estimated weight is 16.5 tons. The granite stone has numerous feldsparadas and stands on a low cairn with a diameter of about 10 meters. It is assumed that it can be dated to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (2500–1500 BC).
The stone fell in 1945 and was set up again in 1956 after an investigation. The excavation showed that it was standing in quartz pebbles , under which there were two small pits. Similar depressions noted elsewhere contained human bones or corpse burns.
The stone could be linked to other Bronze Age places of worship in the area, including the St Breock Downs Menhir and the Pawton Gate barrow row, which extends several kilometers to the west.
Nearby is the stone chest of St Breock Beacon .
literature
- Ian McNeil Cooke: Standing Stones of the Land's End. An inquiry into their function . Men-an-Tol Studio, Cornwall 1998, ISBN 0-9512371-9-5 .
- John Barnatt: Prehistoric Cornwall: Guide to Its Stone Circles, Barrows and Standing Stones 1982 ISBN 978-0855001292
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 28 ′ 45.5 " N , 4 ° 51 ′ 56.3" W.