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

Pont-y-Pridd Rocking Stone

Rocking Stone

Fieldnotes

Notes from the stone, 30 Aug 00

The rocking stone does indeed still rock, although you have to stand on top and bob up and down to make it happen. The stone is heavily carved with initials and names. The bench I'm sat on has a plaque in front of it quoting from the Book of Psalms saying how great the Christian God is.
The 'fine rushing stream' of the Modern Antiquarian's gazeteer is now some slightly damp rock, but the poetic power and pagan significance of the presence of a stream next to such a remarkable stone that looks out over a place where two rivers meet and valleys run off in four directions is great. It is not difficult to mentally erase the dual carriageway whoosing below and the town and see the tremendous natural magificence of this place.

And there's more to this place than the Rocking Stone. Pontypridd Common, which the stone is on, has numerous stones the same kind of size, shape and colour as the rocking stone, huge table/altar-like boulders that really draw the eye and grab the imagination.

Some 200 metres away, following the path northwards along the edge of the hillside towards an obelisk monument, you come to a football pitch sized area of mown grass. Just at the start of this on your right is a stone circle about 15 metres across. When this dates from I've no idea; circles are still being built in Wales, and indeed there's a recent one around the rocking stone. But the stones at this circle feel somewhat older; there are stones missing, and lichens growing on those that remain. They stand only half way up my shin at the largest, and several look broken off.

In the centre is an open cist about a metre deep and two metres long. It's slightly tapered to the south, with a rounded boulder at the north end of pinkish grey granite-type stone.

This doesn't feel like a recent thing to me; recent stone circles are in good condition, and wouldn't be made with missing stones, damaged stones and an opened cist. In fact although I know of many modern stone circles, I've never heard of anyone making a small simple cist. This place doesn't have enough posing to it to be really modern. Anyone know any facts about this circle?
Posted by Merrick
5th September 2000ce

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