Re: axe carvings | Forum — The Modern Antiquarian

Boscawen-Ûn 6

Image by goffik

axe carvings

more_vert

Evergreen Dazed Sep 8, 2014 11:14:48

Replying to Sanctuary

I'm in no position to defend Barnatts or Herrings writing on Boscawen Un, but something to note within the passage I posted is the sentence beginning "When the circle itself was erected.."

If no further information were available about this site, the assertion that follows it would be impossible for either writer to prove or indeed for you to disprove and would be essentially meaningless.

However - The circle is reconstructed, which is why I was keen to know you which plan you were looking at. I wasn't quite prepared for the answer 'Google Earth". I personally don't know, but if Barnatt or Herring were writing on the basis of information gleaned from the 19th century excavations or plans/illustrations created on or before that date, they may well have a reasonable basis for that assertion.

Sanctuary Sep 8, 2014 12:18:32

Replying to Evergreen Dazed

Evergreen Dazed wrote:

I'm in no position to defend Barnatts or Herrings writing on Boscawen Un, but something to note within the passage I posted is the sentence beginning "When the circle itself was erected.."

I understand your point but I would have thought it unlikely that 'qualified' people would have re-erected any of the stones back out of position. How many of the stones does your research show were re-erected when this reconstruction took place only Borlase says in 1754 18 of the 19 were still standing. There was a wall once running through it but it's not clear if any damage was done to the circle when erected or removed.
If the circle is 'as was', then google earth was the perfect way to view it as many of the hand drawings by various archaeos are unlikely to be as accurate I wouldn't have thought.