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Standing Stone / Menhir
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In my previous entry for the Five Barrows site at Brook on the Isle of Wight I mentioned this site, and explained that it forms the remains of a long barrow. Well, I just paid a visit this afternoon, and it reaffirmed the greatness of this site.
Lying due south of the mighty mother hill that is Mottistone down and within Brightstone Forest, the site is composed of a large sandstone megalith approx. 5m tall and a second recumbent stone at its foot forming the former entrance to the monument. A surprising amount of the barrow remains, making it easy to trace its outline, plus the tomb itself remains defined on the ground. The barrow also appears to be aligned to the summer solstice sunrise. Adding to the splendour of the location is the nearby iron age hill fort atop a small hill a few hundred metres SE of the Longstone. The largest round barrow on the island, the Black Barrow is approximately 1km due east of the Longstone, plus there are several other smaller burial mounds nearby.
The Longstone has always been something of a local landmark and gets quite a lot of visitors due to its fantanstic location within the forest here and also for the top vibes of the area in general. It's certainly great to have such a place more or less on my doorstep.
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Posted by xyz
17th November 2000ce
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