The Nine Stones (or Altarnun stone circle) is a
stone circle south southeast of
Altarnun
Altarnun ( ; kw, Alternonn) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located west of Launceston on the north-eastern edge of Bodmin Moor at .
The parish of Altarnun includes the village of Fivelanes and the ha ...
, west of
Launceston on
Bodmin Moor in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, UK.
Description
The Nine Stones is an
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
managed property. It was restored in 1889 when only two stones remained standing. The circle is the smallest on Bodmin Moor, only in diameter with eight
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) 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 cools and solidifies under ...
stones forming the circle and one in the centre. A flat triangular-shaped stone also lies at the base of one of the stones. The stones are irregularly spaced with the tallest being . A gap in the north suggests where a stone may have stood.
The central stone, a granite post 1.1 metres high, may have been moved from the north part of the circle to be used as a boundary stone for the parish boundary.
Archaeology
There are
hut circle
In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...
s to the northeast and another to the south.
Alignments
Alexander Thom
Alexander Thom (26 March 1894 – 7 November 1985) was a Scottish engineer most famous for his theory of the Megalithic yard, categorisation of stone circles and his studies of Stonehenge and other archaeological sites.
Life and work Early ...
proposed a
lunar
Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon".
Lunar may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games
* "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta
* "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...
alignment with a nearby stone row which leads towards some
cairns, although this has been considered doubtful as the row is likely of
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
construction.
Literature
*
*
*
*
References
External links
Pastscape - Nine Stones Stone CircleIllustrated entry in the Megalithic Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nine Stones, Altarnun
Bodmin Moor
Stone circles in Cornwall