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Fieldnotes
| 20th July 2005 Still not fallen over. Closer examination of the bluestone outside the pub is starting to convince me that it might be an artificial cup mark, but the stone is seriously igneous, so I'm not 100% convinced. 6th May 2004 May Day inspection of this thing showed it hasn't fallen over yet. This time I think I can state that despite the lack of professionally countenanced provenance, it's not a medeival boundary marker. It may have been used as such, and is still only a few yards away from the county border, but close inspection of the marks leads me to think that it has been pounded with stones, not with metal tools. It also has a shoulder, and is not regular all over. I suspect that these marks, and the rectangular cross section, may have led it to be discounted as a megalith by any surveying archaeologists. There is another stone very similar to the bluestone (see the nearby pub), at the SE edge of the field. Like the bluestone,his igneous looking stone also shows signs of extreme heating, and has a shallow, 6" wide depression pecked into it. Curious, but not really proof of anything at all I guess 18th Sept 2003 The upright stone is clearly visible from the Blyth-Whitley Bay road. It's about 2m high, easiest way into the field is to park in the Deleval Arms and use the gate in the NE corner. Disabled Access poor as the gate is wired shut and ground is rough and uneven. The blue stones are in front of the Pub and in the carpark behind it. Some general waffle about the surrounding landscape:- Anyone interested in the neuro-electromagnetic aspects of prehistoric sites should out the area, as this stone is rather close to a heavy-duty faultline which emerges into the sea at nearby Collywell bay, causing lines of lava intrusions that have warped the rocks into strange formations. (This bay may once have been held special due ti the crystals found in the cliff, digging of which has now resulted in the bay being visually marred by the protective concrete). The nearby natural harbour would have long been recognised as a place of much worth to sea-faring folk, and there is a possible causewayed enclosure a mile or so to the north of the Hartley stone, and another closer circular(ish) earthwork of ancient, but unsecified purpose. The ridge upon which the former enclosure sits also has the particular silhouette view of the Simonside hills that is often associated with prehistoric sites in this end of Northumberland. Add to this the island with St. Mary's lighthouse, and the local landscape, though much ravaged by millenia of constant human activity, is still capabe of betraying the occasional hint of ancient activity. |
Posted by Hob18th September 2003ce Edited 13th October 2005ce
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