The Stripple stones (or Stripple stones circle) is a
henge
A henge can be one of three related types of Neolithic Earthworks (archaeology), earthwork. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ditches ...
and
stone circle
A stone circle is a ring of megalithic standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being ...
located on the south slope of
Hawk's Tor,
Blisland, north northeast of
Bodmin
Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor.
The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
on
Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor () is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geology, geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough To ...
in Cornwall, England, UK.
Description
First recorded by this name during the reign of
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
the circle has been described by William Lukis as ''"the most interesting and remarkable monument in the county"''. It is surrounded by a circular ditch and
vallum that forms a level platform in diameter. The circle is in diameter with four
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
standing stones and several fallen. In the centre is a giant fallen
menhir
A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...
approximately long and at the widest point, split in three places. Lukis suggested that with an average spacing of , there would have been thirty seven original stones, whilst
Aubrey Burl suggested only twenty eight.
Archaeology
The Stripple stones were excavated in 1905 by H. St. George Gray who found a burnt flint, three flint flakes, an
ox bone and some charcoal and oak timbers in the surrounding ditch. He also detected an entrance from this facing southwest, directly towards the
Trippet stones. Gray noted that the stones had only been set approximately deep into the ground. Four postholes were found surrounding the central stone which was discovered to have been offset from the centre of the circle by to the south southeast.
Alignments
The vallum surrounding the circle has three semi-lunar projections facing towards the northwest, northeast and east. It has been completely obliterated to the south.
Aubrey Burl suggested that from the location of the central stone, when upright, alignments with these bulges in the outer bank mark
May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...
sunset,
Equinox
A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...
sunrise and the major northern moonrise.
He also suggested that the post holes may have been attempts to establish accurate backsights for alignments.
suggested that sighted from the centre stone, the northeast projection would have aligned with
Capella
Capella is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Auriga. It has the Bayer designation α Aurigae, which is Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Aurigae and abbreviated Alpha Aur or α Aur. Capella is the lis ...
in 1250
BC.
Literature
*
*
*
*
References
External links
Illustrated entry in the Megalithic Portal*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stripple Stones
Bodmin Moor
Stone circles in Cornwall
Henges in England