Two standing stones north-west of Four Stones Hill

Reasons for Designation

Standing stones are prehistoric ritual or ceremonial monuments with dates ranging from the Late Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age for the few excavated examples. They comprise single or paired upright orthostatic slabs, ranging from under lm to over 6m high where still erect. They are often conspicuously sited and close to other contemporary monument classes. They can be accompanied by various features: many occur in or on the edge of round barrows, and where excavated, associated subsurface features have included stone cists, stone settings, and various pits and hollows filled in with earth containing human bone, cremations, charcoal, flints, pots and pot sherds. Similar deposits have been found in excavated sockets for standing stones, which range considerably in depth. Several standing stones also bear cup and ring marks. Standing stones may have functioned as markers for routeways, territories, graves, or meeting points, but their accompanying features show they also bore a ritual function and that they form one of several ritual monument classes of their period that often contain a deposit of cremation and domestic debris as an integral component. No national survey of standing stones has been undertaken, and estimates range from 50 to 250 extant examples, widely distributed throughout England but with concentrations in Cornwall, the North Yorkshire Moors, Cumbria, Derbyshire and the Cotswolds. Standing stones are important as nationally rare monuments, with a high longevity and demonstrating the diversity of ritual practices in the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age. Consequently all undisturbed standing stones and those which represent the main range of types and locations would normally be considered to be of national importance.

The two standing stones north-west of Four Stones Hill survive well and are a rare survival in Cumbria of a paired example of this class of monument. The stones lie close to other monuments in the vicinity of Four Stones Hill, and thus indicate the importance of this area in prehistoric times and the diversity of monument classes to be found here.

Details

The monument includes a pair of standing stones of local granite located at the western end of a col north-west of Four Stones Hill. Their setting affords a dramatic view over the valley now occupied by Haweswater Reservoir. Both stones are rectangular in section and are set c.2.3m apart. The western stone measures c.1.3m high, the eastern stone measures c.1.15m high. The eastern stone tapers towards the top and is leaning towards the north-west. Although the hill is known as Four Stones Hill there is no evidence for other stones in this immediate area.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

22600

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
SMR No. 1602, Cumbria SMR, Standing Stones on Four Stones Hill, (1985)
Bowman, A., MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Standing Stones, (1990)

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