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 Long Stone, or Eddystone, standing stone 210m north east of Music
Water is very well-preserved, and buried features relating to it can be
expected to survive. The bulk, height, distinctive shape and white colour
of this stone make it particularly prominent, demonstrating the
conspicuous character of many monuments of this type. Its adaptation by
limited modification of its top to form a local landmark provides an
example of the continuity or renewal of the impact of prehistoric sites in
the landscape. The Long Stone illustrates well the association of standing
stones with other types of ritual or ceremonial monuments, through its
proximity to prehistoric barrow cemeteries, and the evidence for a barrow
site nearby.
Details
The scheduling includes a standing stone of the Late Neolithic to Bronze
Age known as the Long Stone, or Eddystone, situated on a slight north west
slope below a chain of hills running east-west, north of St Columb Major.
The standing stone is a massive, unworked block of quartz, set upright. At
ground level it is an irregular diamond shape in plan, measuring up to
approximately 2m across, its sides being in the region of 1.2m to 1.8m
wide, and 6.3m around. The height of the stone is approximately 4m. It
rises with a slight taper to a height of around 2m, where its girth is
5.2m. Above this, it narrows to a blunt pinnacle near the centre line of
the stone. The north east and south west sides both fall away with a
marked, though irregular, step below the apex, so that the stone has a
shouldered outline when viewed from the south east or north west. The
surface of the rock is uneven, with natural fault lines, and small ledges
and crevices. The St Ervan tithe map of 1842 provides evidence for a
prehistoric barrow, now levelled, associated with the standing stone. The
top of the rock has a small hole used relatively recently to support a
weather vane.
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.
