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The Harpstone

Standing Stone / Menhir

Fieldnotes

[visited 24/12/02] This is a weirdly shaped standing stone in the middle of a valley in the middle of purbeck. A word of caution, wear wellies to get to this site as in winter the path from the nearest carpark (just to the south), is very very muddy. To get to the stone, park in the car park, walk north along the road to the footpath and set off down the hill. Go through the exceedingly muddy, steep path to the field at the bottom and head east. The harpstone is on the other side of the field past the three trees.

I really enjoyed visiting this site and look back to coming here in summer with a picnic. The stone is unfortunately the other side of a barbed wire fence, which is bypassable but only with care. Its a very strange shape (hence the name) and has what seemed to be its broken off tip resting against its base.

This site is is one of Dorset's finest Megalithic monuments and well worth a visit. 		juamei Posted by juamei
30th December 2002ce

Comments (1)
This stone is close to the Kimmeridge place-name. The word 'kymmer' is Brythonic, Welsh or Cornish and means a place of two or more joining rivers, perhaps thought of as a sacred site. Further up stream is the spring known as Bridewell almost certainly a sacred Bridget spring. Downstream is associated with the martyrdom of Anglo-Saxon St Edward near what became Corfe Castle. The existence of Bridewell as a source for these miraculous waters perhaps explains the later miracles attributed to St Edward.

 Posted by megalith6
5th July 2010ce
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