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Trethevy Quoit

Trevethy Quoit

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Megalithics M
Megalithics Aug 1, 2010 20:52:22
Replying to Sanctuary

Sanctuary wrote:
Looking at the shape and positions of many of the outer stones it looks like it has totally fallen down at some stage and been put back incorrectly.
Well, most of the other Cornish portal tombs have the standard four slab "stone box" plan seen at Chun or Mulfra, the main variation at Trevethy is the double overlapped side walls, these can look a little untidy. Even this is not unique though, as side walls of the Pawton Quoit are double and the west side has the overlapping too.

The main thing about Trevethy that bugs us is that the backstone is too tall to fit under the roof slab at its current angle. The side slabs fit the slant perfectly and the roof slab just "looks right" as it is. Barring time travel, we'll probably never know the answer.

Incidently, the Sperris Quoit seems to have had a fairly complex structure, but it's so trashed now that we could not visualise the layout when we visited.

Maggie & Keith

S Sanctuary
Sanctuary Aug 1, 2010 20:14:17
Replying to Megalithics

Megalithics wrote:
The main thing about Trevethy that bugs us is that the backstone is too tall to fit under the roof slab at its current angle. The side slabs fit the slant perfectly and the roof slab just "looks right" as it is. Barring time travel, we'll probably never know the answer.

Maggie & Keith

Yes the backstone is a mystery and I wonder if it should be somewhere else. That is entirely possible if you believe that it has been messed with like I do. Take a look at the two side stones on the right-hand side as you stand at the tall end. Have you noticed that they both have the same cut angle that the capping stone sits on and BOTH stones are the same height but one forward of the other with about 30" of gap between the slope and the capstone. Now, I think there is a possibility that it belongs on the other side opposite the other matched one which would make perfect sense. As for the rest...well it needs figuring. I'm going to have a real look at it over the next few weeks to see if I can mix and match the stones more. And I've mentioned before the sidestone with what appears to have a cut-out similar to the front closure stone. That needs figuring too.