This is a stunning location. It commands a broad panorama with middle distance view of the surrounding islands. I got a superb view of Samson Island in the near distance projecting her earthly twin peaks. This is a very prominent location that is not easy to access. I approached from the summit of Samson Hill and had to watch my footing as the ferns and bracken obscured good footholds in June. The late evening sunlight enveloped the whole area and made me feel like whoever was buried here was still watching, silently, strongly.
This one is a real beauty,but not easy to reach.. It is set in a commanding position overlooking the cannle between Bryher and Samson. From below, it can be reached from the coast path, but the brambles and bracken are fierce. The best approach is by climbing Samson Hill and then it can be sen from above.
Mentioned by Craig Weatherhill, in “Cornovia: Ancient Sites of Cornwall & Scilly” (Cornwall Books - 1985, revised 1997 & 2000). “There is a sadly ruined tomb on the summit of Samson Hill, but this excellent tomb is situated on a flat ledge on the steep southern face of the hill, directly beneath a high outcrop whence one gains a superb aerial view of the site. 9m in diameter, the denuded mound is retained by a massive kerb still two courses high in places. The chamber (entered from the north east) is coffin-shaped: 0.8m wide at the entrance, 1.4m in the middle and 1.1m at the distal end. Six capstones, one of which is displaced, still cover much of the somewhat infilled chamber.”
Jeannette Ratcliffe in ‘Scilly’s Archaeological Heritage’ (Twelveheads Press, 1995) gives the following info. “At the eastern end [of Samson Hill] lies an oval cairn, enclosing a rock outcrop and surrounded by a kerb of 21 stones. A few metres north-east is an overgrown entrance grave; a mound, revetted by 10 nearly-set kerbstones and other natural rocks. The central hollow is probably the remains of a chamber”
Jeannette Ratcliffe in ‘Scilly’s Archaeological Heritage’ (Twelveheads Press, 1995) gives the following info. “At the west end of the hilltop, an irregular D-shaped kerbed cairn built against a natural rock has remains of a chamber running along the outcrop. Two metres north-east on a natural eminence of bare rock by the footpath is a simple cairn with a slight central disturbance”.
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Posted by PeterH
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