Trethevy Quoit in danger

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Sanctuary S
Sanctuary Mar 2, 2013 22:52:08
Replying to nigelswift

nigelswift wrote:
OK, I get the message!

But going back to the stability issue, if you're concerned that the EH engineer needs to reconsider maybe your best bet is to get a friendly structural engineer to contact him?

I wasn't being intentionally awkward Nigel but I'd like to keep some things back for obvious reasons. As it is I'm making it sound like a book sell but the fact is it's come at the time the quoit has come under threat and it was important to mention it as this situation goes on all over the shop!
Re the engineer, yes a good idea, but I don't have or know any friendly ones. It was pointed out to me that EH engineers are highly skilled, far more than your bog standard engineer because they are used to seeing really dodgy archaeoligical structures that seem to defy all logic and almost won't fall so they tend not to overeact.

So there! :-)

N nigelswift
nigelswift Mar 3, 2013 06:30:32
Replying to Sanctuary

Sanctuary wrote:
Re the engineer, yes a good idea, but I don't have or know any friendly ones. It was pointed out to me that EH engineers are highly skilled, far more than your bog standard engineer
Well, more used to dealing with megaliths anyway. But it's all maths, innit - loadings, angles and coefficients of friction - there's a clear and certain answer as to whether it is currently dangerous I'd have thought. There are relevant academic departments in Exeter and Falmouth who might like to be asked for their opinion just as a fun exercise, not to tread on the toes of their colleague.

But I'm fascinated by the idea of artificially constructed tenons and mortises. They might look like that because a nobble tends to settle into a hollow, but were they deliberately constructed? Would such a thing be necessary if the structure was intended to be buried? It's a fact that a capstone resting on three points (not 4) is extremely stable, would further engineering specifications be needed?