The Stripple stones (or Stripple stones circle) is a

henge There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork that are all sometimes loosely called henges. 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 ...

and stone circle located on the south slope of Hawk's Tor,

Blisland Blisland ( kw, Blyslann) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is approximately five miles northeast of Bodmin. According to the UK census 2001, 2001 census, the parish had a populatio ...

, north northeast of Bodmin on Bodmin Moor 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. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

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 Vallum is either the whole or a portion of the fortifications of a Roman camp. The vallum usually comprised an earthen or turf rampart (Agger) with a wooden palisade on top, with a deep outer ditch (fossa). The name is derived from '' vallus'' (a ...

that forms a level platform in diameter. The circle is in diameter with four

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 ...

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 human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

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 Harry Aubrey Woodruff Burl HonFSA Scot (24 September 1926 – 8 April 2020) was a British archaeologist best known for his studies into megalithic monuments and the nature of prehistoric rituals associated with them. Before retirement he was P ...

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 Mayday sunset,

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

sunrise and the major northern moonrise. He also suggested that the post holes may have been attempts to establish accurate backsights for alignments.

Norman Lockyer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (17 May 1836 – 16 August 1920) was an English scientist and astronomer. Along with the French scientist Pierre Janssen, he is credited with discovering the gas helium. Lockyer also is remembered for being the f ...

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 Latinised to Alpha Aurigae and abbreviated Alpha Aur or α Aur. Capella is the sixth-brightest star in ...

in 1250 BC.

Literature

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References

External links

Illustrated entry in the Megalithic Portal

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stripple Stones Bodmin Moor Stone circles in Cornwall Henges