The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Corrstones

Stone Circle

Fieldnotes

(notes in the evening sunshine looking west to Tap O'Noth, 2 July 00)

These Corrstones stand on the hilltop overlooking the foot of the Tap O'Noth. Although the Silbury aspect is decreased by the revealing of the whole mountain, Tap O'Noth still has a powerful presiding feeling here. Corrstones is certainly a near ruin, but, as at Hawk Hill, the positioning is very arresting. A gentle conical hill surrounded on all sides by farmland, this place has become a monster farm dump. These trees around the stones are shelter not only for so much field clearance stone that only a couple of fallen Corrstones are distinguishable but there's also an assortment of other discarded cack, even an old 1960s-looking car on its side!

Still, the grove, the situation and the view are big enough not to be dominated by it, and a tremendous sense of place affects us, and others too; a small patterned stone had been recently reverentially placed at the recumbent.

Following from the recumbent to the south-western edge of the copse we find that from here six hills in four layers conspire to make a straight-lined horizon! Moving westward round the edge of the trees to face Tap O'Noth, some inquisitive bullocks and the setting sun, the composite horizon is still a straight line but already from this angle it's stopped being level and now slopes down to the left. Corrstones hill, where the Tap O'Noth starts in the valley below and the south-western horizon is horizontal! What must the ancients have made of *that*?

This is a beautifully tranquil place and truly I could stay here for hours, here in the sunshine being sniffed at by bovines, but it's our last full day up here and the call across the valley to Cnoc Cailliche is just too strong.
Posted by Merrick
7th August 2000ce

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