Reasons for Designation
Stone circles are prehistoric monuments comprising one or more circles of
upright or recumbent stones. The circle of stones may be surrounded by
earthwork features such as enclosing banks and ditches. Single upright stones
may be found within the circle or outside it and avenues of stones radiating
out from the circle occur at some sites. Burial cairns may also be found close
to and on occasion within the circle. Stone circles are found throughout
England although they are concentrated in western areas, with particular
clusters in upland areas such as Bodmin and Dartmoor in the south-west and the
Lake District and the rest of Cumbria in the north-west. This distribution may
be more a reflection of present survival rather than an original pattern.
Where excavated they have been found to date from the Late Neolithic to the
Middle Bronze Age (c.2400-1000 BC). It is clear that they were designed and
laid out carefully, frequently exhibiting very regularly spaced stones, the
heights of which also appear to have been of some importance. We do not fully
understand the uses for which these monuments were originally constructed but
it is clear that they had considerable ritual importance for the societies
that used them. In many instances excavation has indicated that they provided
a focus for burials and the rituals that accompanied interment of the dead.
Some circles appear to have had a calendrical function, helping mark the
passage of time and seasons, this being indicated by the careful alignment of
stones to mark important solar or lunar events such as sunrise or sunset at
midsummer or midwinter. At other sites the spacing of individual circles
throughout the landscape has led to a suggestion that each one provided some
form of tribal gathering point for a specific social group. Large regular
stone circles comprise an arrangement of between one and three rings of from
20 to 30 upright stones. The diameters of these circles range between 20 and
30 metres. They are presently known only in upland contexts, the majority
being located in Devon and Cornwall or Cumbria. Of the 250 or so stone circles
identified in England only 28 are examples of this type. As a rare monument
type which provides an important insight into prehistoric ritual activity all
surviving examples are worthy of preservation.
Details
The monument includes Hoarstone or Marsh Pool stone circle and two small round
cairns situated on level ground below Stapeley Hill. The circle includes 38
dolerite stones arranged in a circle with a diameter of 22m. The stones range
in height from just protruding through the turf to 0.9m high. A single large
boulder 1.2m high stands in the centre of the circle surrounded by a slight
hollow 2m in diameter and 0.1m deep. The interior of the circle appears to be
raised slightly, up to 0.1m, above the surrounding natural ground level.
To the north of the circle are two small round cairns; the more westerly lies
approximately 30m from the centre of the circle, the more easterly 32m. Both
are visible as low earth and stone mounds 5m in diameter and up to 0.3m high.
Although no longer visible as a surface feature each cairn will be surrounded
by a ditch 1m wide from which material for the construction of the mound would
have been quarried.
A metal post set in concrete on the east edge of the circle is excluded
from the scheduling though the ground beneath is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
19180
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
