Just received this from Mr Michael Murray (which nicely knits together several Threads :-)

More at http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/stones.html

<b>The Legend of the Hangman's Stone</b>

One shaft he drew on his well-tried yew,
And a gallant hart lay dead;
He tied its legs, and he hoisted his prize,
And he toiled over Lubcloud brow.
He reached the tall stone standing out and alone.
Standing there as it standeth now;
With his back to the stone, he rested his load,
And he chuckled with glee to think
That the rest of his way on the downhill lay,
And his wife would have spied the strong drink,

A swineherd was passing o'er great Ives Head,
When he noticed a motionless man;
He shouted in vain, No reply could he gain,
So down to the grey stone he ran.
All was clear: there was Oxley on one side the stone,
On the other the down-hanging deer;
The burden had slipped, and his neck it had nipped;
He was hanged by his prize all was clear.

"I ... read somewhere that the exhumed skeletons of archers from this period have almost freakish, superhuman bone density in the shoulders and arms".

fact or folklore - i'd really like to see some solid evidence for this?