Damn sure this slots into Kernow's megalithscape

Men Amber 1

Image by chris s

chris s Dec 7, 2007 01:05:23

It all seemed to come together in my mind this afternoon, whilst sat astride the wall by the Nine Maidens in the low fog and high wind of a Cornish December....wondering if I was actually gonna be brave enough to leave the car capsule for an extended period, my eye flicked across the Men Amber and I noticed that the trackways crossed there!
As I say in the site posting, I'd been aware of this site from a distance for years - it really stands out along the ridge when viewed from the cliffs and Crane Castle, near Portreath some 11km away (what is that in old money?)...and I often wondered what and where IS that? Yet it wasn't until relatively recently that I visited it purely by accident on a wholely different psychogeographical undertaking...a recent flu bound reacquaintance with the works of TC Lethbridge fresh in the mind, I reconsidered the importance of sight markers in the landscape...
Therefore I shall babble forth my evidence, and hope you find it both good and true....
1 - SIGHTING - Not only is it visible from the coast to the north west at Crane Castle, it is certainly visible from Tregonning Hill nearer to Mount's Bay...and occupying as it does the last lower ridge of the Carnmenellis granite, it has advantageous sighting in directions that the obscured Carnmenellis and Crowan Beacon do not enjoy, being hidden behind in the uplands...
2 - TRACKWAYS - Just at the crossroads of two rights of way, both of strongly arguable antiquity - one being a hollow way running straight up from below and traceable with ease in modern road , path and field systems to the base of Tregonning Hill and further east to near the Fal; the other being a ridgeway that equally leads from hilltop beacon to river basin, past the Prospidnick longstone...check 1:50 000 sheet 203 and see what you think...
3 - NOMENCLATURE - why is it a 'men' and not a 'carn' or 'tor'? Unusual in this area...
4 - VANTAGE - anyone approaching along the trackway from the eastern interior would suddenly at this point come upon a vista of Mount's Bay, the Tregonning and Godolphin Hills outcrop, distant Penwith, and the Atlantic around St. Ives Bay...a direct inland route from the Falmouth area...additionally, it's damn impressive and also isolated in an under-explored slice of mid-west badlands!
and more at http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/10833/men_amber.html
Sorry about the photos, I was impressed when I got there, as I say purely by accident on another mission, but hadn't quite made the click...over to everybody? Mr. Hamhead?
Chris

chris s Dec 7, 2007 01:29:35

Replying to chris s

To which I will add, truly didn't realise this one had already turned up on the megalithic portal,
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=16698
so apologies due, no thunder consciously stolen...literally just found this reference by googling it, but really do think the trackways evidence and sightlines are strong supporting evidence for truly sitting this one in the megalithscape...

Andy Norfolk Dec 7, 2007 19:15:08

Replying to chris s

I wrote this at the beginning of 2003 as part of an article for White Dragon magazine.

Much closer to my home is Men Amber at SW 6501 3225. This was a very sensitive logan rock, or rocking stone. It is on a high ridge by a Monterey Pine and can be seen from miles around. The area has been much affected by mining and quarrying and most moor stones were split up and used in buildings. This one has no sign anywhere that anyone has ever tried to break it so it has clearly been regarded as special. The easiest route is to go south-east along the footpath through the farmyard at Blue Pool Farm and then south-west along ridge. Logan rocks were traditionally used in Cornwall to make vows because it was said that no-one with treachery in their heart could make one rock. This one was toppled by a man called Shrubsall in about 1650 when he was governor of Pendennis Castle for Cromwell's regime. This may have been prompted by one of Merlin's prophecies, in this case that Men Amber would stand until England had no king. Stukely said "Main Ambres; petrae ambrosiae, signify the stones anointed with holy oil, consecrated; or in a general sense, a temple, altar or places or worship"19. Total tosh of course. It's far more likely to be from the Cornish verb amma, to kiss. Borlase said that Men Amber was overthrown because "the vulgar used to resort to this place at particular times of the year, and payed to this rock more respect than was thought becoming to good Christians"20. It looks to me that if some of us went and payed a bit of respect with some levers we might be able to replace this rock so that it logs again. But it's a very big chunk of granite. John Michel says that logan rocks were often on the end of alignments in Cornwall, that they are traditionally associated with the invocation of fertility and that it is said that they played an important part in the generation of the terrestrial current and its transmission down alignments of pillars and stone circles. 21

19 W Stukely, "Stonehenge. A temple Restored to the British Druids", 1740
20 Borlase, ibid.
21 John Michel, "The View over Atlantis", Abacus, 1973, p65

West Cornwall Dowsers will be going to Crowan stone cirlce and Men Amber this sunday - assuming we can stand up in the forecasted gale force winds. If anyone wants to join us we'll bemeeting at 11am about a quarter of a miole from Black Rock towards Reduth parking on the verge opposite a gate.(SW 664 350)

Mr Hamhead Dec 8, 2007 13:06:49

Replying to chris s

Hi Chris

This is a new one on me,...not an area I have explored much...will put it on list of things to do....

Mr H