The stone's about 5ft high, similar in size and shape to The Longstone a mile away, and with the same orientation. The thin edge points straight to The Longstone.
I'm always wary of being too keen about sightlines – it seems such a maps & diagrams attitude, very Roman linear, the vision of someone new on the landscape who needs exaggerated simplicity and obviousness.
The megalith builders knew their landscape well, they didn't need sightlines cos they just knew what lay beyond the hill the same way you and I can find our way round the bedroom even when the light's off. They were far subtler, moving with the curves of the land.
Still this stone unquestionably points straight at The Longstone. The presence of two tumuli a few hundred metres east points to a real continuity of ritual focus here.
And I start to really wonder about the 'fort' just up the hill. It's a gentle sloping hill, so although it's the highest ground hereabouts it's still not the best site for a defensive fort. Furthermore, from up here there's a great view of the bay to the south, and once you get to the top of the hill where the 'fort' is there's that on one side and Mynydd Preseli on the other, a place of tremendous significance.
The stone's very weathered, not made of the same stuff as the Longstone. It's been used as a livestock rubbing post, but even so it's very lichened and it makes me doubly suspicious about the shiny new look of The Longstone.
Visited 8th August 2003: Parc y Garreg is not visible from the road because of an enormous hedgerow. The field it stands in is not directly accessible from the road either, but is adjoined by a field that has a gate onto the road.
The stone stands close to a hedgerow that runs north-south, and when I visited it was surrounded by cattle. One heifer called 1-93 seemed to be particularly fond of the stone, and was clearly reluctant to budge just because I was there. Making the best of the situation I decided she would provide me with some scale for my photos (after all she did get there first).
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Posted by Kammer
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