Re: Pot Boiler | Forum — The Modern Antiquarian

Copt Howe 5

Image by The Eternal

For Jeff

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nigelswift Sep 19, 2003 08:21:15

Replying to FourWinds

FW, I don't know if this is relevant to your musings but 4 of the Rollrights struck me as having had some scraping done to the bases of the natural depressions on their top surfaces. It may be fanciful on my part as being so knobbly most of the stones have such depressions, but these 4 seemed to me to have been slightly enhanced, and one of them had an outflow groove similar to Copt Howe which again I thought was artifice.

FourWinds Sep 19, 2003 09:21:42

Replying to nigelswift

Depressions in the tops of standing stones are interesting. There is one in Clare, near to one of the innaugral mounds, which has one. It also has a chunk of a softer stone set into it (natural).

It was said that as part of the Kings innauguration he would wet his hands in the hollow and rub them on the softer stone. This would produce a soapy substance with which he would cleanse himself.

There are many ways in which water collected in 'special' stones could have been seen as magical, especially if the water picks up minerals from the rock.

There seem to be quite a few examples of one stone in a circle or a single stone having a depression in its upper surface exagerated by the hand of man.

What do they mean?

Haven't got a clue!