Trotted along to take a look at Long Tom today. A pleasant enough walk from Avebury, up to the Ridgeway, down across Fyfield Down along the old London-Bath road and up the other side.
Just before the reservoir, there’s a notice on the right denoting a private racehorse training field. Nicely cut grass, and about 100 yards into the field can be seen Long Tom, with a much smaller partner on the other side of the ‘racetrack’. Very much a ‘finishing post’.
As to the stone iteself, it’s very angular and clean cut. Very little evidence of the lichen that covers all other stones in the area. All in all, it looks too ‘new’ to be that ancient, even if it’s thought to be Iron Age rather than neolithic. It looks very similar in condition to a small modern rubbing post I spotted in an adjacent field.
Overall, I’m not convinced.