Re: The precious stones ... | Forum — The Modern Antiquarian

Slaggyford Stones 1

Image by StoneGloves

Slaggyford Stones .

tiompan Sep 12, 2011 16:49:16

Replying to StoneGloves

StoneGloves wrote:

"It consists of a quarried multi-ring carving that is unlikely to be in its original situation"

This is the description from the Beckensall Archive. They have an incorrect placename, for the stone, and the setting is described as a fieldwall, yet there is absolutely no evidence for a field division there in the Tithe Commution map of 1838. In fact that section of the 'fieldwall' lines with a hilltop cairn (marked on the map as a currick) and the southern extreme moonrise. Which is very unusual for a fieldwall!

I think the ERA view is probably more considered .

Have you got the data for the azi , alt and dec ?

Do you think there might be some intentionality about the the possible "alignment " ?

Field walls can point in all directions some are bound to point to all the Thom paradigm events and anything else you care to include , it doesn't mean that was the intention of the builders .

StoneGloves Sep 12, 2011 17:17:44

Replying to tiompan

"Have you got the data for the azi , alt and dec ?"

Somewhere, yes. It is also possible to calculate it from an OS map easily enough, but why bother?

"Do you think there might be some intentionality about the the possible "alignment " ?"

The line of stones is about fifty metres in length, with a plan view of an extended 'Z'. Like the high tension glyph - lightning bolt. There are stones in all directions, only one is upright. It seems quite clear that it has been a stone row - but the archaeologists said it was a medieval field wall remnant. In those days, in those parishes the medieval field boundaries were hedgebanks (and one or two remain). There are two short rows of little stones and the archaeologists said 'yes, they are probably stone rows'. One cleverly indicates both the sunrise on the shortest day and the sunset on the longest day. It's a straight line but the horizons are uneven.

There's more - there's a roadway to a dirty great round mound of earth, the size of Knowth. After the archaeologists told me the stone row was a fieldwall I just left them in the field and walked off to see my upcoming summer's work. I didn't take them along the trackway to see this huge mound, which has the local reputation of being a burial mound. The farmer that owns it is very hostile and will chase off unwelcome visitors with a shotgun. (His dad was my friend and mentor).

I've described how to get to the Slaggyford stone rows half a dozen times on here - nobody's been yet. The site is overlooked by a massive 'brooding' hill - Black Hill - which has an almost perfect rounded form, from there. There are some embankments and ditches in the same field, in a trapezoid shape. These are listed on the SMR (as embankments) and could possibly be the remants of a Roman marching camp. There is an ancient trackway that runs past the site - the Maiden Way - and this is accepted to have been improved by the romans - I've come across their cobbles a foot below ground surface, while renovating a barn workshop nearby. It's the Pennine Way now and I used to have a woodfired pottery in an old cottage in the village, when I was young, before I took up building with stones.