Bowing Out

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Sorry SL, just looked and you're right, there are no fenceposts - it seems you removed them all at some point. As for the Winter Hill grouping, I based that (from what I remember) on the fact that at least 3 sites occupy the same hill, it was a pragmatic choice for the convenience of anyone visiting the area. Also it's plain for anyone to see that the sites surrounding - from Pikestones to Cheetham Close all face the prominent landmark feature of Winter Hill, which to my mind lends up some significance.

Your assertion that " the scheme of the prehistoric landscape, where the boundaries were on the hill flanks." is purely speculative, with no hard facts to back up such a claim - with my grouping there is no denying that the sites are on the same hill, you can't argue with that!

Don't forget about the Dean Ditch (as a possible ancient boundary). It runs where the modern boundary is now and is believed to mean 'Dane's Ditch'. Perhaps it's only Saxon. All the monuments on the lower slopes of Winter Hill face in other directions, of course. I'd like to create a 'Smithills' group - based on the contemporary boundaries but I need (I think) a couple of the cairns in 'Winter Hill'.

There's an article about the boundary stones there on the Souvenir page of my website. There's more there too.