The Standing Stones of Wales and South-West England 9780860545859, 9781407318172

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Copyright
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
NOTE ON CHRONOLOGY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
MORPHOLOGY. TOPOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION
PREVIOUS INTERPRETATIONS OF STANDING STONES
EXCAVATION EVIDENCE
BROADER ASPECTS AND RELATIONSHIPS OF STANDING STONE SITES
EVOLUTION, ORIGINS AND CHRONOLOGY
THE FUNCTION OF STANDING STONE SITES
EXCAVATED STANDING STONE SITES IN WALES, SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND AND IRELAND.
APPENDICES
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Citation preview

The Standing Stones of Wales and South-West England

George Williams (Dyfed Archaeological Trust)

BAR British Series 197 1988

B.A.R. 5, Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 ODQ, England.

GENERAL EDITORS A.R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R. Walker, M.A.

BAR 197,1988 : 'The Standing S tones of Wales and South-West England'

© George Williams, 1988 The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860545859 paperback ISBN 9781407318172 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860545859 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

CONTENTS

NOTE

ON CHRONOLOGY

vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

viii

INTRODUCTION MORPHOLOGY, PREVIOUS

1 TOPOGRAPHICAL

INTERPRETATIONS

LOCATION AND OF

STANDING

DISTRIBUTION

STONES

EXCAVATION EVIDENCE POLEMIC:

1 4 1 6

MODELS AND PROBLEMS Problems of description

1 6

classification and of excavated features

Interpretation

of

ritual

s ites

DESCRIPTION OF EXCAVATED FEATURES Pits The

3

1 8

2 0 2 3 2 3

standing

stones

and

other uprights

2 4

Deposits

25

Burials

2 7

Burning

2 8

Paved

and

Paired

cobbled

areas

features

2 9

Alignments

2 9

Rectilinear/oval Circular Round

2 9

structures

structures

barrows

and

cairns

2 9 3 1 3 2

Miniaturization

3 2

S ite

3 2

plans

Hierarchy

3 4

i ii

BROADER ASPECTS SITES EVOLUTION, THE

AND

ORIGINS

FUNCTION OF

RELATIONSHIPS

AND

OF

STANDING

STONE

35

CHRONOLOGY

STANDING

STONE

4 8

SITES

5 4

RITUAL FUNCTION

5 4

SOCIAL

5 8

FUNCTION

EXCAVATED STANDING STONE ENGLAND AND IRELAND

SITES

IN WALES,

SOUTH- WEST

6 1

APPENDICES

1 07

APPENDIX 1 - LISTS OF SELECTED FEATURES ON STANDING STONE SITES

1 07

1 07

1 .1

Pits

1 .2

Successions of features of the standing stones

1 .3

Miniature

1 .4

Burials

1 .5

The

1 .6

Round barrows and on standing stone

1 .7

Dating

on

the

s ites 1 08

uprights

and

other

1 09 1 09

deposits

1 13

' settings' cairns s ites

evidence

APPENDIX 2 - LONGSTONE FIELD, GEOMETRY AND ASTRONOMY

ST .

ISHMAELS

-

NOTES

1 23

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1 27

iv

LIST OF

ILLUSTRATIONS

F ig.

1 .

Standing

Stones

in Wales

4

F ig.

2 .

Standing

Stones

in

6

F ig.

3 .

Chambered Tombs

F ig.

4 .

Early Christian Monuments groups I and I I

F ig.

5 .

Aber Camddwr

F ig.

6 .

P arc Maen,

F ig.

7 .

Excavated Standing S outh-West England

F ig.

8 .

B edd Branwen,

F ig.

9 .

Bridgend,

F ig.

1 0a. 1 0b.

Candleston, Merthyr Mawr, G lam. Cottrell Park, St. Nicholas, G lam.

6 7

F ig.

1 1.

Carrownacaw ,

6 9

F ig.

1 2.

Cremlyn,

F ig.

1 3a. 1 3b.

Drumnahare, Co. Down Hafoty, Anglesey

7 1

F ig.

1 4.

Gors,

7 2

F ig.

1 5.

K ilpaison

F ig.

1 6.

L inney B urrows,

F ig.

1 7.

F fos-y-maen,

F ig.

1 8.

Maen L lwyd, Carms.

F ig.

1 9.

M iskin,

F ig.

2 0.

Mynydd L langyndeyrn

I ,

F ig.

2 1.

Mynydd L langyndeyrn

1 7,

F ig.

2 2.

Longstone

F ig.

2 3.

P las

South- West Wales

i n Wales

I I,

9 in Wales

Trefeirig,

L langolman,

-

C ards.

Pembs.

Anglesey

6 7

Down

L landdona,

L langynog,

Anglesey

Rhoscrowther,

Castlemartin,

L lanpumpsaint, Gwyn,

L lantrisant,

R ath,

Gogerddan,

7 0

Carms.

Burrows,

Maes

6 2

6 4

G lam.

Co.

4 5 4 6

Stones i n Wales, and Ireland

L lanbabo,

1 1

Pembs.

C arms.

Llanstephan,

G lam.

Naas,

P embs.

Carms.

Trefeirig,

7 6 7 7 7 8

8 0

Carms.

Co.

7 4

8 1 8 2

K ildare

8 3

C ards.

8 6

Fig.

2 4.

The Long Stone, Co. K ildare

Punchestown,

F ig.

2 5.

Rhos-y-Clegyrn,

St.

F ig.

2 6.

Rhos-y-Clegyrn, St. Nicholas, details of s tone-sockets

F ig.

2 7.

Longstone F ield,

F ig.

2 8. 2 8a. 2 8b.

Details o f s tanding s tones and s ockets Longstone F ield, St. I shmaels The Longstone, St. Stephen-in-Brannel and St. Mewan

9 4

Fig.

2 9.

The Longstone, and St. Mewan,

9 5

Fig.

3 0.

The Devil's Pembs.

Stackpole Warren,

9 7

Fig.

3 1.

The Devil's Quoit, Stackpole Warren, Pembs. - details of s tanding s tone, s ocket and s urrounding area

9 8

Fig.

3 2.

Try,

F ig.

3 3.

Ystrad Hynod, L lanidloes, primary f eatures

Mont.

1 05

Fig.

3 4.

Ystrad Hynod, LLanidloes, Mont. details of s elected f eatures

1 06

Fig.

3 5.

Longstone F ield, St.Ishmaels geometry and orientation

1 20

Fig.

3 6.

Circles

1 21

Gulval,

St.

Pembs.

9 0

Pembs.-

9 1

Pembs.

9 3

I shmaels,

St. Stephen-in-Brannel Cornwall

Quoit,

Cornwall

at Boitin,

vi

Nicholas,

8 8

1 03

East Germany

NOTE ON CHRONOLOGY

The chronological s cheme adopted in this s urvey f or the Early Bronze Age i s that applied by Savory ( 1980a) to the Early Bronze Age i n Wales. Early Bronze Age I covers the period 2 500-2000 BC, Early Bronze Age I I covers t he period 2 000-1750 BC and Early Bronze Age I II covers the period 1 750-1 450 BC. These periods are equivalent to Burgess' Mount P leasant, Overton and Bedd Branwen periods respectively ( Burgess 1 980a).

vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dyfed Archaeological Trust through one of its t hematic programmes of r escue excavation provided much o f the stimulus for this publication. I am grateful for permission t o use Trust material on Stackpole Warren and St. I shmaels; Aber Camddwr, Gors, Parc Maen and P las Gogerddan ( Ms. E . C . Marshall and Mr. K . Murphy); and f or t he u se o f t he Trust's S ites and Monuments R ecord. Mr. D . G . B enson ( Trust D irector) and Mr. K . Murphy ( Project Officer) r ead and c ommented on various drafts o f t he t ext. I am a lso grateful to a f ormer Trust Draughtsman, Mr. S . Crummy, f or collaboration on the initial recognition of the St. I shmaels' g eometry and t o Mr. E . Morgan ( Records Officer) f or collaboration on matters o f a stronomy. A particular mention i s due t o Mr. A . H . Ward f or much s timulating d iscussion o f Bronze Age r itual in g eneral and s tanding s tones i n particular. I am grateful t o many people f or i nformation on various s ites, but particularly t o Ms. Frances Griffiths f or i nformation and comments on t he Devonshire s tanding s tones; t o Mr. V . B uckley and Dr. C . S . Briggs; and to Mr. A . Pye for permission to use the information on the Beaple' s Moor stone in advance of publication. Design, t extual l ayout and typesetting was provided by the Dyfed Archaeological Trust ( Mr. T . A . James) and a lso t he graphics ( Mr. G . Davies). I nitial t yping was by Miss M . Davies ( Clerical Assistant) with additional work by Miss M . Lewis ( Trust S ecretary). Thanks are a lso due to my wife Dorothy f or c orrecting s pelling, s tyle and grammar.

T his

work is dedicated

v iii

t o my aunts,

w ith

love.

INTRODUCTION

I n Wales, a s i n m any o ther a reas o f H ighland B ritain, s ingle or p aired s tanding s tones a re, n ext t o r ound b arrows a nd c airns, t he most c ommon f ield monuments o f t he t hird a nd s econd m illennia B C. T hey o utnumber r ing monuments and t he r elatively rare s tone a lignments and, a s s uch, are o f undoubted primary i mportance i n t he g eneral m ilieu o f r itual practice in the period. Nonetheless, until r elatively r ecently, t he s tanding s tones o f Wales h ave b een a l argely n eglected c lass o f monument, b oth i n t erms o f excavation a nd o f s urvey. While, a s a r esult o f t his n eglect, t hey h ave n ot a pparently s uffered, t o a ny g reat e xtent, t he d epredations o f e arlier antiquaries, t hey h ad a lso l argely e scaped t he a ttention o f modern s cholars. G iven t he l ocation o f many s tanding s tones o n what i s n ow a gricultural l and a nd t he proven complexities o f t he a ssociated below-ground a rchaeology, t hey are a v ery v ulnerable c lass o f monument a nd o ne d eserving o f s pecial a ttention. I n more r ecent y ears a n umber o f excavations and s urveys h ave b een c arried o ut o n s tanding s tones i n Wales, which h ave b een p ublished i n t he pages o f T he B ulletin of t he Board of C eltic Studies a nd Archaeologia C ambrensis. A lso, s ince 1 977, t he D yfed Archaeological Trust h as c arried o ut l arge s cale a rea e xcavations o f a n umber o f s tanding s tones and r elated s ites i n t he s outh-western p art o f t he principality. This work h as p ut Wales i n t he f orefront o f s tanding s tone r esearch, a nd prompts a g eneral r eview o f t he archaeology of t hese monuments. While this review c oncentrates on Wales a nd, t o a l esser e xtent, t he a djacent a rea o f s outh-west England, e xcavation e vidence i s a lso i ncluded f rom I reland. The review consists o f a s ummary of the s urface evidence; a review o f various past interpretations o f s tanding s tones; a s urvey o f excavated f eatures, i ncluding a d iscussion o f t he problems i nvolved i n t he c lassification a nd d escription o f t hese f eatures and i n t he i nterpretation o f B ronze A ge r itual s ites i n g eneral; a d iscussion o f t he p arallels f or various e xcavated f eatures and o f t he broader r elationships o f s tanding s tone s ites; a d iscussion o f t he d evelopment and c hronology o f t he s ites; a nd, f inally, a d iscussion o f t he possible f unction o f s tanding s tones. S ummaries o f i ndividual, e xcavated s ites and l ists o f s ome o f t he major excavated f eatures a re appended.

1

MORPHOLOGY.

TOPOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION

This s ection i s largely a s ynthesis of previous s urveys. For Wales t hese h ave i ncluded t he work o f B ird ( 1972) in C ardiganshire; Gresham ( Bowen and Gresham 1 967) i n Merionethshire; L ewis ( 1966) i n s outh-west Wales; Wilson ( 1983) i n Anglesey and i n particular R oese ( 1980a) f or t he whole o f Wales. T he work o f t he R CAHM h as i ncluded a useful s urvey ( RCAHM 1 976) f or G lamorgan. A r evised distribution map o f t he s tanding s tones of s outh-west Wales i s i ncluded i n t his paper ( fig. 2 ). R oese ( 1980a) h as a lso provided a useful s ummary o f e arlier s urveys o f Welsh s tanding s tones l . The s tanding s tones o f C ornwall h ave been i ncluded i n a s urvey o f t he prehistoric c eremonial monuments o f the c ounty by B arnatt ( 1982). For t he p urposes o f this r eview , s tanding s tones are taken to include both s ingle and, the rarer, paired orthostats - ' stone pairs' ( Lewis 1 966, 1 0 and 1 974, 2 6 and 4 1-42). B oth types o f monument c an b e c onsidered a s r elated ( they share characteristic excavated f eatures and have s imilar r elationships w ith other c lasses o f s ite) and, t o extent, d istinct f rom more complex groupings o f orthostats L . B ut other, s imple groups o f orthostats - i ncluding threes tone rows and t riangular s ettings - may eventually proxe t o b e c losely r elated t o s ingle and paired s tanding s tones 3 . Both types, s ingle s tones and s tone pairs, o ccur i n i solation or in a ssociation with other monuments. In particular, they are a ssociated w ith a whole s pectrum o f c ircular r itual and f unerary s ites ( Burgess 1 980a, 3 45-6). A lthough, i n these c ases, it i s o ften a moot point whether t he s tone or t he c ircular s tructure h as primacy, s ome at l east of t hese s tones are l ikely t o belong t o t he s ame f amily a s i solated s tanding s tones. S tanding s tones may b e a ssociated with open r ing monuments: at Naas, Co. K ildare, t he s tanding s tone l ay at t he c entre o f a h engiform r ing and Lewis has pointed o ut t hat a monument r ecorded by Fenton at Crug-y-Swllt, Carmarthenshire, may h ave b een o f t he s ame t ype ( Lewis 1 966, 1 0). Two e arthen r ings l ay adjacent t o t he s tone at Rhos-y-Clegyrn, P embrokeshire. A lso perhaps r elated t o s ingle s tanding s tones are t hose s tones which are o utliers ( or, in s ome i nstances, c entral f eatures) t o s tone c ircles. However, p erhaps more c learly r elated t o i solated s tanding s tones are t hose examples o f s tones a ssociated w ith r ound barrows and c airns. This a ssociation h as been n oted by a n umber o f writers ( Lewis 1 966, 1 0; Lynch 1 971, 5 7; Ward 1 982, 5 -6). The r elationship t akes a number o f f orms s tanding s tones may b e embedded i n t he mounds; t hey may s tand on t he t op o f or on t he p erimeter o f t he mounds: t hey may l ie c losely adjacent t o r ound barrows or may f orm part o f a group o f monuments i ncluding r ound barrows 4 . Standing , : tones may a lso b e i ncluded i n l arge c omplexes o f c eremonial s ites, s uch a s t he groups at G landy Cross ( P. A . Ward e t. a l. 1 967) and Mynydd L langyndeyrn ( A. H . Ward 1 976 and

3

W illiams:

0

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

5 0kms.

F ig . 1 .S tand ing S tone si n Wa le s ( af te r Roese )

4

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

1 983), both i n C armarthenshire. At both G landy and Mynydd L langyndeyrn t he s tones were s ituated p eripherally t o t he c omplexes a nd at Mynydd L langyndeyrn i t was s uggested t hat t he s tones were d eliberately s ited on an a ccess r oute t o t he c omplex a nd t hat o ne o f t hem f unctioned a s ' ....a " shrine" or " sanctuary" s ited on t he t hreshold o f t he c emetery' ( A. H . Ward 1 983, 4 7). A c omparable l ocation o f s tanding s tones i n r elation t o t he approach t o groupings o f r ing monuments h as b een n oted i n Ardudwy ( Lynch 1 984b, 3 4-36). Another phenomenon, perhaps r elated t o t he o ccurrence o f s tanding s tones a s part o f c omplexes o f d ifferent t ypes o f monument, i s t he c oncentration o f a n umber o f s tanding s tones in a s mall a rea. Examples o f s uch c oncentrations i n s outh-west Wales are f ound at St. Edrins, P embs., L landeilo Abercowyn, C arms. and p erhaps S andy H aven, St. I shmaels, P embs. The i ndividual s tones i n t hese groups s eem t o b elong t o t he s ingle and p aired s tanding s tone f amily but, a s a whole, t hey may prove t o r epresent a more c omplex c lass o f s ite. It i s c onceivable, f or i nstance, t hat t hey r epresent c omplexes s imilar t o t hose excavated at Meldon Bridge and e lsewhere ( Burgess 1 976a; C lare 1 986, 3 02) which were n ot c haracterised by an e arthen perimeter. Roese h as produced a d istribution map o f s tanding s tones f or Wales a s a whole ( fig. 1 ). B ut t here are, i n s outh and west Wales at l east, s ome omissions f rom h is map. I n C ardiganshire t his i s understandable a s other workers i n the county have failed to locate many of the s ites i dentified by B ird and much o f h is f ieldwork i s s uspect. Other omissions are more curious, including s ome well documented s tanding stones in Pembrokeshire previously r ecorded by L ewis and examples i n G lamorgan r ecorded by t he R oyal Commission. Furthermore, r ecent mapping o f s tones i n s outh- west Wales ( fig. 2 ) h as i ncreased t he t otal n umber o f s ites, while t he c onsiderable n umber o f s tones known t o h ave been destroyed s ince records were kept, and the h igh i ncidence o f p lacenames i ndicating t he possible previous e xistence o f s tanding s tones ( mapping i s n ot yet c omplete f or t hese) s uggests t hat t he original c oncentration may h ave b een much h igher: s tanding s tones are v ery vulnerable t o d eliberate or a ccidental d estruction. H owever, i n s outhwest Wales, i t i s f air t o s ay t hat t hese c onsiderätions do n ot greatly a ffect t he r elative c oncentrations and o verall d istribution o f s tones a s i ndicated by R oese. The map ( fig. 1 ) s hows t hat s tanding s tones o ccur t hroughout t he principality, with p articular c oncentrations i n p arts o f t he s outh-west ( these f orming a b elt o f s ites s tretching from north Pembrokeshire, through s outh- west C armarthenshire and i nto western Gower) and t he n orth-west ( Lleyn and p arts o f Anglesey). R oese h as s hown t hat, i n g eneral, Welsh s tanding s tones are s ituated on r elatively l ow-lying ground ( the majority l ying b elow 2 50m ). B ut h e h as a lso s hown t hat t his i s a relative not an absolute l imit - s tanding s tones

5

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

0 ,2

•

s ingle

C D •

excavated s tone d estroyed s tone

o

•

s tone

possible

'k

s tone pair

,

X

excavated pair

•

o ne

•

d estroyed pair

0

0

s tone

s tone

l and over

0

1 0

extant

o f pair

6 00ft.

2 0

3 0kms.

F ig .2 .S tand ing S tone si nS ou th - We s t Wa le s

6

eee

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

o ccupy t he l owest o ne t hird t o one h alf o f t he a ltitudinal r ange o f any p articular area and, t herefore, t he maximum a ltitude r eached by t he s tones varies a ccording t o t he maximum a ltitude o f d ifferent a reas. The s tones a lso s how a n umber o f l ocational preferences, t he majority b eing f ound i n i nconspicuous p ositions - i n v alleys and l ow l ying areas. T hey s eem t o h ave a s ignificant proximity t o water c ourses. Also, the majority of s tones appear to have, in cross s ection, s ignificantly d ifferent l ong a nd s hort axes ( see b elow p .12), t he l ong axes b eing g enerally a ligned t oward t hese water c ourses. There i s a lso a g eneral predominance o f n orth-easterly t o s outh-westerly a lignments while, i n s outh-east Wales, d ifferent l ocational groupings s howed a d ifferent predominant range of a lignment and covered a d ifferent a ltitudinal r ange ( Roese 1 978). A number o f writers, particularly Gresham with r espect t o Merionethshire f ollowed by B ird with r espect t o C ardiganshire, h ave n oted t he a ssociation o f s tanding s tones w ith, presumably e arly, t rackways. A s imilar a ssociation may have occurred in G lamorgan ( Savory 1 984, 1 95) and Caernarvonshire ( Griffiths 1 960, 3 34). Bird has a lso p ointed o ut t hat t he C eredigion s tones c orrespond t o t he l imits o f medium l oam s oils. I n Anglesey a c orrespondence h as b een n oted b etween s tanding s tones and brown-earths o f l ow-base s tatus, and with t he margins o f t hese s oils where s tones o ccur i n proximity t o other s oil t ypes ( Wilson 1 983, 3 67). S ome o f t hese d istributional preferences are p erhaps p art o f a more g eneral t rend. Griffiths and Lynch ( 1984b, 3 4-36) h ave n oted t he a ssociation o f other Early Bronze Age monuments with t rackways. A t endency f or Neolithic a nd Bronze Age monuments generally to occur toward the b oundaries o f b etter s oils h as b een n oted i n Anglesey a nd t he Vale o f G lamorgan by Crampton and Webley ( 1960). A t endency f or c hambered t ombs t o o ccur p eripherally t o areas o f better s oil or t o b e l arger and more e laborate i n t hese p eripheral areas h as a lso b een n oted i n a n umber o f r egions o f Britain ( Bradley 1 984a, 1 7-18). A more e xtreme manifestation o f t he s outh-western b ias i n t he d istribution o f s tanding s tones o ccurs i n s outhwest England. In this area s tones are concentrated overwhelmingly in West Penwith, forming the largest c oncentration o f s tanding s tones i n t he s tudy area ( Barnatt 1 982, 9 5-102). They are r elatively r are i n t he r est o f C ornwall while i n D evon unquestionably prehistoric s tanding s tones are r are o utside D artmoor ( I am grateful t o Frances Griffith for this a ssessment of the Devon stones): f urthermore, t he D artmoor s tones are a ssociated w ith s tone r ows ( Worth 1 953) and may r epresent a s omewhat d ifferent phenomenon f rom o ther s tanding s tones. The West P enwith c oncentration h as b een s tudied i n d etail ( Barnatt 1 982). A s i n Wales, t he s tones are, i n g eneral, l ow l ying a nd l ocated i n i nconspicuous positions,

7

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

a lthough f ew c lear l ocational preferences were demonstrated with t he exception of t he avoidance o f s mall, s teep s ided valleys. The stones of The Lizard are s lightly more e levated. But there are differences between the d istribution o f s tones i n Wales and Cornwall - n o a ffinity with water was n oted i n Cornwall, while there i s a lso a t endency f or s tones t o r un i n approximate a lignments at r ight angles t o v alleys; a s omewhat d ifferent arrangement t o t he a ssociation w ith trackways s een i n Wales which r esults i n a rough a lignment a long t he l ine o f valleys. The s ignificance o f t hese observations i s, perhaps, variable. Variations i n d istribution may, i n part, b e a product o f t he availability of s tone and/or d ifferential destruction. S ome o f t hese f actors may h ave operated i n antiquity s uitable stone may have been rare or unobtainable i n s ome areas where s tanding s tones are r are and t his r aises t he possibility t hat s imilar s ites were represented in these c ircumstances by wooden posts ( an a lternative explanation f or t hese d istributional variations i s that wood may a ctually h ave been preferred t o s tone f or the erection of uprights but that t imber was rare in windswept western areas s uch a s West P enwith). In l ater p eriods, s hortage o f building s tone would c ontinue t o make any menhirs t hat h ad been erected i n r elatively s tone f ree areas t hat much more vulnerable t o r e-use. Other f actors influencing s urvival include the intensity of later agricultural or building a ctivity and t he durability o f l ocal s tone. These f actors may operate on a l ocal l evel: f or i nstance, g aps i n t he d istribution o f s tanding s tones in West P enwith c an be r elated t o areas o f s oft rocks and t o urban development and industrial activity ( Barnatt 1 982, 1 00). But the broader, r egional d istributional variations may a lso derive from s imilar f actors, a s has a lso b een s uggested in Cornwall ( ibid , 9 5 and 1 03). It may be s ignificant in this respect that there are s ome s imilarities, i n Wales, between t he overall d istribution o f s tanding s tones and t he d istributions o f chambered t ombs and o f t he e arlier and s impler t ype o f Early Christian monuments, o f groups I and I I; n otably a c oncentration i n North Pembrokeshire where g lacial erratic boulders are p lentiful ( see f igs. 3 and 4 ; a fter S avory 1 980b, 2 18 and Nash-Williams 1 950, f igs. 2 and 4 r espectively). There i s a lso a s imilar western b ias i n t he d istribution o f chambered t ombs i n Cornwall t o t hat o f s tanding s tones ( Barnatt 1 982, 4 2). These s imilarities i n d istribution may s uggest t hat s imilar g eological f actors l imited t he c onstruction and/or s urvival o f monuments from a ll t hree periods. ( But f or another explanation o f t hese phenomena s ee b elow). The association with and the alignment on water courses may prove to be of fundamental importance. Variations i n l ocation and a lignment may, i n part, s tem f rom this association with water coupled with changes in

8

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

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W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

a ltitude. For i nstance, a s Roese points o ut, many s treams and r ivers in Wales r un i n s outh-easterly and north-westerly d irections, h ence t he preponderance o f s tones a ligned a t r ight angles t o t hese ( i.e. a ligned north-east t o s outh west). The d irection o f r ivers and t heir tributaries ( and h ence o f t he a lignment o f t he s tones) varies with a ltitude. Available l ocations a lso v ary w ith a ltitude; t his may, f or i nstance, explain t he l ocation o f l ow l ying s tones o n f lood p lains. As Roese h as s tated, many of t hese observations ' do not prove more t han t he s tatistical s ignificance o f c ertain s ets o f values i n r elation t o others'. There i s a danger o f c onfusing c ause and e ffect i n s uch matters, particularly when using t opographic evidence t o make deductions r egarding the function and the date of the stones, as has been attempted i n t he c ase o f t he r elationship o f s tones t o e arly t rackways. The a ssociation o f s tanding s tones and t rackways h as s uggested, to s ome commentators, a direct functional r elationship between t he two i .e. t hat t he s tones were s et up s imply a s route markers a long t he t rackways. B ut, a s B ird originally pointed o ut, n o s tones exist on v ery h igh ground which i s a lso crossed by t he t rackways. A lthough t his c an be t aken t o s uggest t hat the s tones mark t he l ine o f t he trackways i n t he Neolithic ( Roese 1 980a, 6 50), t he d irect f unctional r elationship s eems i nherently unlikely. Lynch ( 1 984b, 3 4-36) has s uggested a more s ubtle r elationship: t hat s tanding s tones and r ing monuments were s ited in relation to the Ardudwy trackway s o that the ' ...impact o f t he monuments was consciously e nhanced by their approach and l andscape s etting'; a s imilar r elationship has b een n oted by Griffiths at P enmaenmawr ( 1960, 3 32-333). Those s tanding s tones which h ave b een excavated were c learly much more than mere r oute markers and, in any case, trackways would have been their own i ndicators, e specially g iven t he densely s ettled Neolithic and Early Bronze Age l andscapes which c an now be envisaged. Noting that t he s tones c onform t o the boundaries o f medium l oam s oils, B ird s uggested t hey r epresented ' ...settlement marker(s), delineating the extent of the optimum s oil potentiality and productivity t o which t he o ccupier h ad l aid c laim '; it was t hese s ettlements which were l inked by t he trackways. One m ight now add t hat t he s tones r epresent r itual s ites a ssociated with s ettlements, but t he i ndirect a ssociation s eems l ikely t o h old true. A lthough B ird's f ieldwork, and consequently h is d istributional observations, leaves something to be desired, many of h is general observations s eem l ikely t o be v indicated. I ndeed, t he l ocation on t he boundary o f s oil t ypes may i ndicate a more i ntimate a ssociation with s ettlement. A lthough Crampton and Webley f avoured t he explanation t hat r itual monuments were s imply pushed t o t he margins o f areas o f s ettlement ( and d ifferential s urvival i s another possible explanation o f t he phenomenon) s uch a l ocation on a boundary of ecological zones i s a c lassic one for s ettlement,

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Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

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W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

e specially amongst groups practising mixed f arming i nvolving, p erhaps t ranshumant, p astoral exploitation o f p oorer s oils a nd upland a reas. Another possible, but not n ecessarily exclusive, explanation o f this phenomenon i s the t endency f or c ommunities l iving i n, or m arginal t o, a reas o f r estricted l and use potential t o build more e laborate burial and c eremonial monuments t han communities l iving in more f avourable e nvirons; t his b eing a r esponse t o t he r esources o f t hese areas c oming under pressure. This model h as b een advanced, f or e xample, t o e xplain t he v ariations i n t he d istribution a nd e laboration o f c hambered t ombs mentioned above ( Bradley 1 984a, 1 6-18). I n f act, s uch a r esponse may h ave b een a s s ignificant a f actor i n t he c oncentration o f s tanding s tones i n areas o f r elatively poor s oils, s uch a s North P embrokeshire, a s was t he availability o f s tone ( see above p .8). F urthermore, i n t hese areas, t his r esponse may h ave b een r epeated f or s imilar r easons at v ery d ifferent p eriods, l eading t o s imilarities i n t he d istributions o f s tanding ptones, o f c hambered t ombs a nd o f E arly C hristian Monuments'. The s ize a nd s hape o f s tanding s tones i n Wales a nd t he S outh-West v aries t remendously. H eights r ange f rom l ess t han 1 m t o 6 m ; t he l argest - M aen P ern, C onstantine, C ornwall, 6 m i n h eight - was broken up i n t he e ighteenth c entury ( Barnatt 1 982, 9 7). S hapes r ange f rom e longated t o s quat. The s hapes s eem l argely t o b e t he r esult o f n atural c leavage, and may vary according t o the type of s tone i nvolved. H owever, t he dressing a nd d eliberate s haping o f s tones i s by n o m eans unknown ( this i s r eported f rom f ield s urveys ( Lewis 1 966, 9 ) a nd, r elatively c ommonly, d uring excavation ( see b elow p . 2 4) - t he l atter p erhaps b ecause o f t he d etailed e xamination o f t he s tones i n question) and there are a lso indications o f the deliberate choice of preferred s hapes: R oese's observation o f s tones i n Wales h as s hown t hat t he majority h ave a r ectangular c ross s ection a nd s tatistical a nalysis s uggests a s ignificant d ifference i n a ll t hree axes - ' ...the great majority o f menhirs are h igher t han w ide, a nd w ider t han broad'. P referred s hapes may a lso v ary i n d ifferent areas o f Wales - a gain p erhaps i n p art b ecause o f variations i n t he rocks themselves, a lthough perhaps a lso because o f the exercise o f choice i n s ome areas and, perhaps e qually s ignificantly, t he a bsence o f d eliberate c hoice i n o thers. Lewis ( ibid) has s hown t hat the majority o f s tones in P embrokeshire s eem t o b e b etween 6 a nd 8 f t t all. H e h as a lso n oted a t endency f or t he s tones t o b e twice a s h igh a s t hey are broad, w ith a t endency t o possess at l east o ne f lat f ace ( albeit c reated by s plitting a long a n atural c leavage p lane). Lewis and others have noted a characteristic d imorphism amongst s tone p airs - o ne s tone b eing l arger a nd s quare t opped, t he o ther b eing s lighter and o ften t apering a nd a c ommon a lignment o f t he f lat f aces o f s tone p airs h as

1 2

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

a lso b een n oted. On t he other h and, i n Anglesey, W ilson ( 1983, 3 67-373) was unable t o d etail any r egularities i n s hape, f orm and s ize, other t han a t endency f or s tones t o b e r elatively t all a nd t hat s tones o f s ub-rectangular t o s quare cross s ection t ended to be s horter than ' thin' s tones. Neither was t here any i ndication o f t he dressing o f s tones i n t he c ounty. I n g eneral, Wilson was l ed t o c onclude t hat, i n Anglesey, ' the a vailable s tone was utilised r egardless o f its s hape o r f orm '.

1 3

PREVIOUS

INTERPRETATIONS OF

STANDING STONES

As Ward h as pointed out ( 1983, 4 7), i t i s possible t hat the erection o f s uch a s imple object a s a s ingle s tanding s tone was c arried o ut f or a variety o f purposes. I ndeed, a n umber o f possible f unctions h ave, i n t he past, been s uggested f or s tanding s tones and it h as a lso been s uggested that t hey may belong t o v ery d ifferent p eriods ( see, f or example, Lewis 1 966, 7 ; Roese 1 980, 6 45; Ward 1 983, 4 7; Wilson 1 983, 3 78). These i nterpretations c an be briefly r eviewed. Some s tanding s tones perhaps may not b e prehistoric at a ll. Their possible c onfusion with c attle r ubbing s tones has been d iscussed by a n umber o f writers, i n particular Lewis ( 1 966, 8 -9) and Barnatt ( 1 982, 9 7-1 00). Rubbing s tones were once very c ommon and e arly maps s how s ome areas where a lmost every f ield has a s tone in the c entre ( Lewis 1 966, 8 ). These patterns s ometimes s urvive t oday, e .g. at Swingate, Cornwall ( Barnatt 1 982, 9 9), a lthough t he majority o f r ubbing s tones h ave b een r emoved. It i s t he i solated, s urviving r ubbing s tone t hat i s most l ikely t o be c onfused with a s tanding s tone. In many i nstances, the i dentification a s a r ubbing s tone i s c lear. The s tone may, obviously, have been dressed in r ecent t imes, i t may h ave a drill-hole i n one end where it has been dragged with a rope or s how s ome other s ign o f r ecent erection. R ubbing s tones a lso t end t o be l ocated t oward the c entres o f f ields. I t may be, a lso, t hat r ubbing s tones are, g enerally, l ess massive t han bona f ide s tanding s tones. But t he h eight o f t he t ypical r ubbing s tone ( about 1 .5m ) i s well within t he r ange o f genuine s tanding s tones. S ome s tanding s tones may be f airly s light, may l ie i n the c entres o f f ields and t here are i nstances where a pattern o f r ubbing s tones may incorporate g enuine s tanding s tones - at Swingate and at Prysg Farm , Temple Druid, P embs. ( Stenger 1 983). On the other hand, Lewis has s uggested that n eighbouring f armers may h ave erected l arge r ubbing s tones in c ompetition with one another. A South P embrokeshire farmer, Mr. George Beer, has given the author a vivid a ccount of s uch a competition in the St. I shmaels area o f P embrokeshire. Other s uggested, possible confusions are between s tanding s tones and Mediaeval boundary s tones and Early Christian monuments. B oundary s tones may be s imilar i n s ize and s hape t o s tanding s tones while genuine menhirs may have been used as convenient boundary markers. It i s a lso possible t hat s ome Early Christian monuments may h ave b een unmarked ( RCAHM 1 976, 1 22) or painted r ather t han i nscribed. Again, as a corollary, it i s possible that s ome Early Christian monuments, particularly those of c lass I I,

1 4

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

r epresent s tanding s tones ' Christianised' by t he a ddition o f a c ross. The C hristianisation o f megaliths i n t his m anner i s common in France but i s a lso attested in Britain ( Grinsell 1 976, 1 6-17). Even within a prehistoric c ontext, a number o f d ifferent f unctions h ave b een s uggested f or s tanding s tones. S ome may be part o f more c omplex, destroyed megalithic s tructures. Other s uggested, prehistoric f unctions a re a s meeting places, t erritorial markers, grave markers, c enotaphs or m emorials o f s ome e vent o ther t han f unerary. S uggested r itual f unctions h ave i ncluded objects o f worship, phallic and otherwise. There i s a lso, o f c ourse, the p ossibility o f t he e rection o f s tanding s tones i n r elation t o t he movement o f a stronomical b odies. M uch d iscussion r egarding t heir prehi _storic f unction h as b een g enerated b y t he l ocational s tudies, p articularly by t heir a ssociation with trackways, a s mentioned above. I t has a lso been s uggested t hat t he f unction o f s tanding s tones may h ave c hanged over t he y ears ( Barnwell 1 875); e .g. f unerary s tones m ay h ave b ecome objects o f worship o r meeting p laces. B ut f or an understanding o f t he f unction o f s tanding s tone s ites we h ave t o t urn t o t he excavation e vidence a nd, p articularly, t o t he l arge s cale e xcavations which h ave b een c arried out i n r ecent y ears. I t c an b e emphasised, a t t he o utset, t hat we s eem t o b e d ealing w ith f eatures w ith a n overwhelming r itual s ignificance. Standing s tone s ites f ulfil two o f t he main c riteria s uggested by R enfrew i n r ecognising r eligious s ites ( Renfrew 1 985, 2 0): t hey c ontain e vidence f or ' expressive a ctions o f a r itual n ature' a nd a re ' not e xplicable i n s ecular t erms i n t he l ight o f what we k now about t he s ociety': t he majority o f f eatures a ssociated w ith s tanding s tones a re n ot e asily attributable t o d omestic o r i ndustrial a ctivity while many ( such a s b urials, r itual d eposits and t he o rthostats t hemselves) h ave a s pecifically f unerary or r itual f unction. T hese l atter f eatures may d emonstrate a n umber o f t he c orrelates which R enfrew ( 1985, 1 8) h as s uggested may b e e xpected b etween a rchaeological e vidence and r itual a ctivity ( see b elow pp.57-8). T he f ew more conventional s tructures on the s ites ( the ' fivep osters' and t he more c omplex c ircular s tructures) a lso h ave parallels e lsewhere within r itual c ontexts. This i nterpretation i s a lso r e-enforced by t he i nvolvement o f c ertain of these f eatures i n complex, g eometric r elationships.

1 5

EXCAVATION EVIDENCE

R ecords o f t he excavation o f 5 9 s ingle and paired s tanding s tones in Wales, s outh-west England and Ireland are known t o t he author, a lthough t hese excavations were o ften e arly and poorly documented and h ave g enerally been on a s mall s cale. These l imited excavations have concentrated i n West P enwith, where 1 5 s ites h ave been i nvestigated, many o f t hese being t he work o f one man, W .C. Borlase, i n t he l ast c entury. F ive s ites h ave b een excavated on a l arge s cale using modern techniques, a ll in Dyfed ( see f ig. 7 ) Stackpole, P embs.; St. I shmaels, P embs.; Gors, Carms. and P las Gogerddan, Cards. have been excavated by t he Dyfed Archaeological Trust and Rhos-y-Clegyrn, P embs. by L ewis ( 1974). Other s ites which may be r elated t o s tanding s tones h ave been excavated by t he Trust at Parc Maen, P embs. and Aber Camddwr I I, Cards. Extensive s ampling o f an area adjacent t o a s tone at B allybeen, Co. Down has a lso b een undertaken ( Mallory 1 984). Of t he r emaining smaller s cale excavations, particular mention can be made of Ward's excavations on Mynydd L langyndeyrn, Carms. ( Ward 1 983) and Miles and Miles' excavations at St. Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall ( Miles and M iles 1 971). S ummaries of excavated s ites in Cornwall have been produced by Russel and P ool ( 1964) and B arnatt ( 1982). Valuable g eneral discussions o f excavated f eatures on s tanding s tone s ites have r ecently been published by Ward ( 1983) and Wilson ( 1983).

POLEMIC:

MODELS AND PROBLEMS

A n umber o f broad questions r elating to s tanding s tones and t o Neolithic and Bronze Age r itual s ites i n g eneral c an b e d iscussed briefly at an i ntroductory s tage in order t o e stablish a framework f or t he f ollowing description and d iscussion. Although t here i s an extensive l iterature on mortuary r itual in t he t hird and s econd millennia BC, there does n ot s eem t o be a modern, s ystematic and detailed account o f r itual practice i n g eneral i n t he period, s uch a s exists f or t he Iron Age. Following t he p ioneering work of Corcoran ( 1 958), general s urveys have included that of Burgess ( 1980a, ch. VII), but s urveys have t ended to be monument s pecific ( Burl 1 976, 7 8-89) or popular and unsystematic ( Burl 1 981). H owever, a n umber o f important t heoretical works have appeared in recent years which have general r elevance t o t he s ubject. R enfrew ( 1985) has outlined a framework f or t he explicit, r igorous and s ystematic s tudy o f prehistoric r itual which includes the s eries of archaeological c orrelates f or various a spects of r eligious

1 6

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

behaviour mentioned above ( although h is model, perhaps, n eeds modification i n i ts application t o Northern E urope; H arding and Lee 1 987, 6 3-64). Wait ( 1985) h as developed a more c omplex and s ystematic model for r eligious s ystems b ased on anthropological models. Following o n f rom R enfrew 's proposals, a n umber o f s tages c an be s uggested i n the s tudy of t ypes o f prehistoric r itual s ite. The initial stages s hould involve the description and c lassification o f f eatures i n a s objective a manner as possible ( and, hopefully, at an early s tage, s hould a lso i nvolve t he r ecognition o f t hese f eatures a s being of ritual s ignificance). Later stages should be c oncerned with t he i nterpretation o f t hese f eatures i n t erms o f f unction - t he c onstruction o f models and t he attempt t o c orrelate t he archaeological f eatures with these models. In t his respect t he f unction o f r itual s ites c an, perhaps, be c onsidered on a n umber o f c o-existent l evels. The f irst l evel o f f unction i s a s a f ocus f or r itual i tself - and i n any i nterpretation o f r itual, i t i s n ecessary t o bear i n m ind a d istinction b etween ' cognised' e lements or b eliefs and r esulting ' operational' a spects or practices ( Renfrew 1 985, 1 4 and r eferences t herein); i t may be more d ifficult, a lthough not impossible, t o e lucidate e lements o f b elief by archaeological means. I n addition, r itual s ites and the i deology t hey enshrine c an be expected t o h ave a broader r ole in the s ocial organisation o f t he c ommunity. I t may, a lso, be useful to bear in mind a distinction between f unctions o f t he s ites o f which people were c onscious and other f unctions o f which p eople were not c onscious: e .g. while members o f t he community were, no doubt, conscious participants in r itual and aware of the belief s ystem underlying t his r itual, t hey were, presumably, n ot f ully aware, at l east f rom t he point o f v iew o f a modern observer, o f the f ull s ocial implications o f t he a ctivity at t hese s ites. Interpretations o f t his k ind c an be based on t he archaeological evidence a lone, with the use o f only the most g eneralised comparative material i n framing a model. B ut, inevitably, the t emptation arises to use more specific comparative material, e . g. material derived from later h istoric s ocieties which evolved from the prehistoric s ocieties under s tudy. I n s pite o f t he dangers i nvolved i n t his procedure ( Renfrew 1 985, 3 ), t he approach i s, perhaps, valid i f t hese dangers are r ecognised and any conclusions r eached are c learly d istinguished from t hose made on d irect archaeological grounds. I n t his r espect, perhaps one o f the more fruitful approaches t o Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age r eligion in Britain r emains t hat o f v iewing t he e vidence a s part o f a l ong t radition with many s trands o f c ontinuity. A Late Neolithic and Bronze Age c ontinuum o f s tructure and r itual not only h as its r oots i n t he Earlier Neolithic but, t o a greater or l esser extent, c ontinues through i nto the I ron Age and Romano-British period ( although t here were undoubted changes i n r itual practice i n the Later Bronze

1 7

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

Age, probably a ccompanying major s ocial upheavals ( Burgess 1 980a, 3 54), t here r emained much i n c ommon between r itual practice in the s econd and f irst millennia BC ( Burgess 1 980a, 1 77-179: B url 1 976, 7 8-89 and r eferences t herein) changes were, perhaps, i n emphasis r ather t han i n basic c ontent). The periods outside t he L ate Neolithic and E arly Bronze Age h ave b een well s tudied and, particularly i n t he l ater p eriods, archaeological i nterpretation i s a ided by l iterary e vidence and i conography ( Ross 1 967). A lso, t he possible contribution of f olklore e vidence t o an understanding o f t he f unction o f e arlier prehistoric r itual s ites c annot be i gnored ( Burl 1 976 and 1 981; Grinsell 1 976). It s eems c lear that many traditional beliefs, i ncluding c ertain r ecurrent t hemes a ssociated with r itual monuments, are relatable to pre-Christian practice and belief. I f s uch b eliefs c an persist from a period prior t o the dominance of Christianity, it i s possible that a proportion, particularly t hose c oncerning r itual monuments, may ultimately r elate back t o a much e arlier, Bronze Age milieu. However, the attempt t o i solate any putative Bronze Age t raditions i nvolves very c onsiderable problems a s any s uch traditions will have been transmitted via and i nterwoven with beliefs, practices and attitudes t o t he monuments c urrent in t he Iron Age and R omano-British p eriod.

Problems features

of

c lassification and description of

excavated

A n umber o f g eneral questions c an be c onsidered which concern t he definition, c lassification and description o f excavated f eatures and t he presentation o f t he evidence. Many excavations of standing stone s ites, particularly t he l arger s cale excavations, h ave s hown t hat the stones formed part of larger groupings of features which, i n s ome i nstances, were c omplex and extensive. A range o f f eatures i s becoming apparent, i ncluding s ettings of s tones, p its, burials and t imber s tructures. S ome o f t hese f eatures may prove characteristic o f s tanding s tone s ites, a lthough t he majority s how c onsiderable variation and i nter-relationship with other c lasses o f s ite of the period. This f luidity i s t ypical o f r itual s ites o f t he Neolithic and Early Bronze Age and has b een pointed out by a n umber o f writers, i ncluding Corcoran ( 1958, 1 82) with r espect t o chambered tombs, Lynch ( 1 971, 5 6-57) with respect to standing stones and C lare ( 1 986) with respect to henge monuments. The latter, in particular, has begun an objective analysis which a llows f or these variations. These permutations, p erhaps, t ake three main f orms, and are, t o an extent, i ndependent o f d iachronic changes i n structure of individual monuments or s ite types and of g eographical variations i n the d istribution o f various s ite characteristics:

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a ) t he whole r ange o f p ossible t ypes o f f eature f ound i n a ssociation w ith a ny p articular t ype o f s ite may n ot o ccur o n e very i ndividual s ite b elonging t o t hat t ype. b ) many t ypes o f f eature a re c ommon t o a n umber o f d ifferent t ypes o f s ite. c ) d ifferent t ypes o f f eature may s how c onsiderable variation and t here may a lso be considerable interr elationship b etween t ypes o f f eature, w ith t he s haring o f v arious c haracteristics. I n t hese r espects, i ndividual s ites and t ypes o f s ites c an b e v iewed, f or d escriptive p urposes at l east, a s c lassic e xamples o f a rchaeological e ntities a s d efined b y C larke ( 1978, 3 5-37). T hey are p olythetic - c onsisting o f g roups o f e ntities f ormed by a c omplex s eries o f i ndependent v ariables or attributes t he presence o f a ll o f which are n ot n ecessary f or a n i ndividual e ntity t o b elong t o t he g roup. T hey a re a lso h ierarchical; t he c ombination o f v ariables defining a h ierarchy or h ierarchies of more complex f eatures. In the c ase o f Bronze Age r itual s ites, v ariables i ncluded ' structural' e lements - f or i nstance, p its, p osts, orthostats, mounds, b urials and d eposits - a nd a lso ' plan' e lements e .g. r ound o r r ectangular arrangements o f f eatures. H ierarchies may h ave i nvolved at l east t hree l evels o f c omplexity: a l evel o f b asic e lements e .g. p its, o rthostats, d eposits, mounds; more c omplex c ombinations o f t hese e .g. p it a nd p ost s ettings, b uildings, e nclosures, barrow s tructure; c ombinations of these f eatures, c orresponding t o t he s ite l evel. T he e xplicit r ecognition o f t he polythetic n ature o f t hese s ites h as important i mplications a s i t a llows t he r ecognition o f c onsiderable v ariation a nd i nter-relationship o f e lements at a ll l evels a nd h as t he p otential t o r esolve b asic t heoretical problems o f c lassification ( ibid ). T he o pposite a pproach, t he r igid c lassification i nto t ype which i s o ften imposed on archaeological s ites, may do c onsiderable v iolence t o t he e vidence and i s particularly d amaging t o t he s tudy o f prehistoric r itual and c eremonial s ites. T here i s a d anger o f gross o ver-generalisation o n o ne h and a nd t he g eneration o f a p lethora o f s ub-types a nd hybrids on the other. These problems may be greatly c ompounded when dealing with excavated s ites and, even worse, i n s ome c ases c lassifications which are b ased o n unexcavated s ites may b e i mposed o n excavated o nes: f or while i t i s t rue t hat c ertain s ite c haracteristics may b e more c ommon or s triking t han others, or more obvious a s s urface f eatures, t he s ites may n ot necessaril y c onform t o a r igid c lassification b ased o n t hese f eatures. Many examples of s uch c lassification problems, p erhaps r esolvable by a polythetic model, c an b e q uoted. A c omplex c lassification o f, l argely unexcavated, upland r ing m onuments h as b een proposed ( Lynch 1 972, 1 979 and 1 980a) " 'L ich may, i n a ddition t o d epending o n s uch f actors a s t he s elective s urvival or d iscovery o f f eatures ( Leighton 1 984), p erhaps r epresent t he c ombinations o f s uch a polythetic s et.

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T he extremely c omplex p ermutations amongst e xcavated h enge monuments and r elated s ites s till d efy s imple r esolution w ithout e ither t he i nclusion o f a n e xtremely h eterogeneous a nd s elective grouping o f ' hengiform s ites' ( Clare 1 986) o r, on t he other h and, a perhaps artificially narrow and e xclusive grouping o f s ites ( Harding a nd L ee 1 987, 1-56). S imilar problems are n ot c onfined t o r itual s ites b ut a lso b eset s ettlement s ites. H ingley ( 1984) h as drawn attention t o the considerable variation within l ater prehistoric d efended e nclosures, i n t erms o f s ize, s hape, s iting e tc. I deally, one s hould apply a r igorous a nd s ystematic, t axonomic/morphological analysis to any s uch polythetic s ystem. This may, i nitially, i nvolve a f airly s ubjective c hoice o f s tudy g roup, a lthough t his group s hould b e a s broad and i nclusive a s p ossible and n ot l imited b y pred etermined s ub-divisions b ased o n p articular attributes. T his c hoice s hould b e f ollowed b y an attempt t o d efine t he most basic v ariables a cross t he group, and a n a ttempt t o t est the extent t o which their combination defines a h ierarchy of f eatures. This approach may l ead t o a p ermanently ' inclusive' c lassification o f s ites f or p urposes o f description with a concomitant f lexibility o f s ubd ivision by attribute. T he process c an b e applied e qually t o e xcavated and unexcavated s ites, a lthough i t i s n ecessary t o d istinguish c learly b etween t he two; t he r ecognition o f any e ntities b ased o n t he l atter s hould b e r egarded a s o f potentially l imited v alue. No apology i s made f or t his b asically morphological a nd t axonomic approach, i n s pite o f r ecent c riticisms o f these methods ( ibid ). When considering any c omplex archaeological s ystem t here are a variety of ways of a pproaching t he e vidence a nd a multiplicity o f t echniques and models c an a nd s hould b e applied. While t hese s hould i nclude f resh approaches, s uch a s c ontextual models, t here i s n o r eason t o a pply t hese t o t he exclusion o f t he more t raditional models. I n p articular it c an b e argued t hat a f undamental b ut f lexible morphological analysis i s n ecessary t o a ny i nitial d escription a nd c lassification o f s ites.

Interpretation o f

r itual

s ites

Moving t o t he q uestion o f t he i nterpretation o f t hese s equences: i t c an b e s uggested t hat t he c omplex v ariability o f f eatures, which i s s hared b y s tanding s tones and o ther c lasses o f monument, i s l ikely t o r eflect a c onscious o r unconscious s election f rom a p ool o f practices, s tructure a nd s ymbolism , r epresenting v arious a spects o f r eligious b ehaviour and b elief. T his v ariability i s a r eflection o f t he n ature o f r eligious s ystems, which c an t hemselves b e v iewed a s polythetic a nd h ierarchical - c onsisting i n t urn of basic ' beliefs and behaviours',' rituals' and ' cult i nstitutions' ( Wait 1 985, 3 -10). J udging by a nalogies w ith I ron Age r eligion ( Ross 1 967; Green 1 987) t here may h ave

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b een c onsiderable i nter-relationship a nd f luidity b etween t hese c ult i nstitutions. No a ttempt w ill b e made t o provide a r igorous a nd e xhaustive a nalysis o f N eolithic a nd B ronze Age r eligion. I deally, o ne would l ike t o attempt t o f ormally i dentify a h ierarchy o f beliefs and behaviours, r ituals, and c ult i nstitutions, through c orrelation with a h ierarchy o f e xcavated f eatures, b ut a n exact match will, doubtlessly, p rove impossible: t he e lucidation o f b elief, i n p articular, i s e xtremely d ifficult i n a r eligious s ystem w ith l ittle i n t he way o f i conic r epresentation. Nevertheless, it i s t empting t o s uggest a g eneral p arallel b etween t he two t ypes o f h ierarchy and a n umber o f l evels o f ' practices' and ' ritual t ypes' c an be provisionally r ecognised in the a rchaeological r ecord: t he r ecognition o f c ult i nstitutions m ay b e more d ifficult. ( Detailed examples o f t he f ollowing p ractices a nd r ituals c an b e f ound i n s ome o f t he g eneral works, C orcoran 1 958 and B url 1 976, 7 8-89 a nd 1 981). C ertain b asic practices may h ave b een c ommon t o a n umber o f r itual t ypes, e .g. d ancing; t he ( apparently r are) u se o f s ymbolism; t he s torage a nd manipulation a nd e ventual d eposition o f objects and materials ( including d eposits o f p ottery, a nimal b ones, ' occupation d ebris', h uman s keletal r emains e tc.) i n a variety o f c ontexts - t hese d eposits b eing presumably v otive o r s acrificial a lthough t hey may a lso p rovide e vidence f or f easting or s ympathetic magic. These practices have l eft archaeological traces, a lbeit o ften i ndirect a nd t enuous ( and, p erhaps, more o ften t han n ot i nvolving f eatures b elonging t o t he l owest h ierarchical l evel). Other practices, s uch a s prayer, h ave l eft n o t races b ut doubtlessly existed. Major r itual t ypes s eem t o h ave i ncluded r ituals c oncerned with water, f ertility/sexuality r ituals, c elestial/calendrical r ituals, mortuary r ituals and r ituals c oncerned w ith an underworld. M uch o f t he a rchaeologically d etectable r itual a ctivity i n t he p eriod may, p erhaps, b e r ecognised a s c onforming t o these broad c ategories, a lthough, a gain, o ther r ituals undoubtedly existed b ut are not r ecognisable a s s uch in t he archaeological r ecord. T hese r ituals ( often i nvolving t he s econd l evel o f h ierarchy o f f eatures) were c learly c omplex a nd o verlapping, w ith a c onsiderable d egree o f i nter-relationship b etween t hem. C ombinations o f e lements w ere n umerous ( for i nstance, a ll t he above e lements m ay b e f ound amongst h enge monuments a nd s tone c ircles; e xamples s pecific t o s tanding s tones will b e g iven b elow ). T hese c ombinations m ay, i n p art, h ave h ad a b asis i n a c yclic c oncept o f t ime which i s c ommon i n a gricultural c ommunities ( Thorpe 1 983 a nd 1 984, 4 2-43 a nd r eferences t herein). C oncepts o f f ertility m ay h ave b een l inked with water; w ith c elestial a nd c alendrical r ituals c onnected w ith t he c ycles o f t he s easons; with t he c ycles o f d eath a nd r ebirth which i nvolved b oth t he l and i tself a nd

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t he r elationship o f t he l iving t o t he ancestors. I n t he Early Neolithic, at l east, t he ancestors were probably o f crucial importance, a cting a s i ntercessors with s upernatural f orces. A r elated f actor t o t he cyclic c oncept i s t hat o f t he c onjunction of opposites; c oncepts o f l ight, f ertility and h ealing s eem t o h ave b een c ommonly paired with t hose o f darkness, death and t he otherworld. This i s marked, f or i nstance, i n t he c ase o f c hambered t ombs where mortuary r ituals may have co-existed with s olar r ituals ( as at Macs Howe and New Grange; Thorpe 1 983, 6 ) or acts o f s ympathetic f ertility magic, perhaps demonstrated by t he i nclusion of occupation debris in s ome t ombs ( Case 1 973). A s imilar j uxtaposition i s s een i n t he I ron Age, e .g. i n t he c ommon a ssociation of wells, w ith t heir a spects o f h ealing and f ertility, with t he c ult o f t he s evered h ead ( Ross 1 967, 1 04-113). To r ecent observers, mortuary r ituals are amongst t he most obvious f eatures of r itual s ites in the period. However, t he importance attached t o burial, a s s uch, i n t he l iterature may well be a r eflection o f o ur modern obsessions r ather t han a r eflection o f attitudes h eld in t he past. Rituals involving the deposition of human remains were t ypically c omplex and t horoughly i nter-woven with other nonf unerary r ituals ( Burgess 1 980a, 2 95-296; M iles 1 975, 7 37 5). The s ites involved i n mortuary r ituals o ften a lso f ulfilled a wide r ange o f other r itual and s ocial f unctions. It i s o ften impossible t o d istinguish f ormal burials from t he deposition o f h uman r emains a s t he r esult o f t his other activity. Practices s ometimes i nvolved t he s torage and manipulation, a s well a s t he deposition, o f f ragmentary human r emains, o ften i n a s imilar c ontext t o other nons keletal material or a ccompanied by s uch materials, and h uman r emains were o ften only one e lement, s ometimes q uite a minor one, i n a range o f materials which were afforded t his treatment ( see above). I n addition, i ndividual i nternment was only one a spect o f burial practice and one, apparently, l imited by p eriod, c aste, and s tatus. All these rituals, mortuary and otherwise, were doubtlessly intended t o r elate t o t he s upernatural world. The universe was perhaps, to an extent, animistic; the natural world being populated by s pirit f orces ( a f orm o f belief which may underlie t he c oncern with n atural f eatures s hown i n Later Prehistoric r eligion). The extent t o which t he overlap in r itual was concerned with d ifferent b eings or d ifferent a spects o f t he s ame b eings, we h ave n o means of determining, but again, by analogy with Iron Age practice, s ome l ocal, multi-aspect deities may b e s uspected. The v arious permutations o f t hese r ituals, c arried o ut with r espect t o various a spects o f these s upernatural beings, may have constituted cult institutions. Cult : i nstitutions may prove to be partly relatable to archaeological r emains at t he s ite l evel, i .e. d ifferent

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c ults m ay r elate t o d ifferent t ypes o f r itual monument. B ut t he r elationship b etween s ite a nd c ult m ay h ave b een more complex, particularly in the c ase of multi- monument c omplexes ( Harding a nd L ee 1 987, 6 2).

DESCRIPTION OF EXCAVATED FEATURES A s d iscussed above, a s ystematic a nalysis s hould, i deally, b e c arried o ut o n any c omplex, p olythetic g roup s uch a s t hat which may b e r epresented by s tanding s tone s ites, t he a im b eing t o provide a s objective a d efinition o f s ite a nd s ite t ype a s p ossible by a llowing t hese e ntities t o r eveal t hemselves t hrough a c ombination o f attributes. However, s uch a f ormal approach i s, perhaps, not worth a pplying, a t p resent, i n t he p articular i nstance o f s tanding s tone s ites - t he s ize of t he s ample of extensively e xcavated s ites i s t oo s mall, while t here i s a lso t he n eed t o i nclude a l arger r ange o f s ites i n s uch an a nalysis, which i s b eyond t he s cope o f t his p aper. Nevertheless, a lthough t he f ollowing a ccount o f f eatures i s s ubjective, i t w ill attempt t o c onform t o a basic h ierarchical model - t he s impler c omponents o f t he s ites w ill b e d escribed b efore more c omplex f eatures a nd t he l ayout o f t he s ites a s a whole - and t his d escription w ill b e f ollowed b y a n attempt t o d efine t he s ites i n t erms o f s uch a h ierarchy. No attempt h as b een made t o r educe t he s ites t o ' logically i rreducible' attributes or t o provide an analysis o f the various h ierarchical orders o f s tructure within the formal d efinitions proposed by C larke ( 1978, c h. 4 ), a lthough many o f t he s impler e lements r epresented b elow are, p erhaps, e quivalent t o h is ' attribute c omplexes' ( at v arying l evels o f c omplexity) while t he i ndividual s ite may c orrespond t o t he ' artefact'.

P its

( appendix

1 .1)

T hese were amongst t he most c ommon a nd b asic f eatures o n s tanding s tone s ites and were a ssociated w ith a lmost e very other t ype o f f eature. I n s ome c ases t hey were s imple c uts ( see n ote 6 ), b ut more o ften t han n ot t hey f ormed part o f a s uccession o f f eatures or, p articularly a t G ors, C arms. and St. I shmaels, P embs., f ormed part o f a r egular a rrangement o f f eatures. S uccessions o f t his t ype c ommonly o ccurred i n t he immediate a rea o f t he s tanding s tones t hemselves ( see n ote 9 ) a lthough t his may, in part, be a r esult of the c oncentration o f e xcavation i n t his area. Where e xcavation h as b een more e xtensive, p its h ave b een f ound t o o ccur s ome d istance away f rom t he s ite o f t he s tanding s tone and t hese, a gain, s ometimes f ormed p art o f a s uccession o f f eatures . . r ivolving wooden uprights, r e-cuts and, most c ommonl ,y, t he d eposition o f h uman r emains i n o ne f orm o r another . I n

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f act, s uch p its were r arely f eatureless; t hey g enerally c ont ained inclusions o f v arious t ypes, i ncluding a ll t he f orms of ' ritual deposit' described below. The p its which pre-dated t he s tones at t he Anglesey s ites of B edd Branwen and Hafoty both h ad two s take-holes at their edge.

The

standing

stones

and other uprights

The s hapes o f t he s tanding s tones h ave b een d iscussed above. A r elatively h igh proportion o f t hose excavated h ave s hown s ome f orm o f working' which i s, p erhaps, a f unction of the detailed s tudy g iven t o t hese particular examples. The s tanding s tones were o ften s upported in t heir s ockets by packing s tones a lthough t hese were s ometimes absent ( e.g. Drumnahare, Co. Down; St. I shmaels; Stackpole Warren, P embs.). The s ockets were o ften s imple p its but, i n many c ases, t he s tones were very s hallowly bedded and i n a number of c ases t he s ockets were much l arger t han t he s tones themselves. Many excavated examples h ad, in f act, f allen over and i n s ome c ases - Ty' n-y-Pw11 and Porth Dafarch, Anglesey - t his may h ave happened i n antiquity 8 . I n s ome instances, t he s tones were not actually s et within s ockets: no s ockets were detected at Ballybeen, Co. Down, G ittisham H ill, Devon and T ullylinton, Co. Tyrone, a lthough only at B allybeen was t he s tone in s itu when excavated. The s tone at Maes Gwyn, Llanstephan, Carms. rested on a prepared ' cushion' o f c lay and a n umber o f other s tones h ad been s et upright on t he c overs o f c ists ( see below , p .27). Those erected on c ist covers at Linney, Pembs. and perhaps L lanfachreth, Mer. h ad additional s upport i n t he f orm o f s tones s et about t heir base. ( Similar additional s upport was s ometimes g iven t o s tones erected i n s ockets. This t ook the f orm o f a mound o f s tones at K ilpaison, P embs. and a mound of stone and earth at St. Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall). It i s not c ertain whether t he s tanding s tones at Linney, Llanfachreth and Kilpaison were originally free s tanding - t hey were c ertainly embedded i n barrows at s ome s tage - and t he s tones around t heir bases may have b een r itual or s ymbolic. ' Ritual deposits' were c ommonly made i n t he s ockets and included cremated bone, charcoal, p erishable material and s oil ( see below pp. 2 5-6). Small s tones i n t he s ockets at Stackpole and M iskin, G lam. and, p erhaps, a s lab in t he s ocket at t he l atter s ite, may a lso h ave f ulfilled a s imilar f unction, paralleling t he r itual use o f s tone and pebble deposits i n other contexts. P acking s tones at St. Stephen-in-Brannel were a lso c arefully s elected f or c olour and s hape. C ertainly t he s hallow bedding and i nstability of many s tanding s tones s uggests an e lement o f f aith in t heir erection. As mentioned, t he s tones were o ften only one o f a s uccession o f f eatures ( see appendix 1 .2). These i nvolved

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p its or wooden uprights 9 or, at St. Stephen-in-Brannel, p erhaps a s uccession o f s tanding s tones ( an origin f rom a s imple pit could a lso be one explanation of the i nconspicuous l ocation o f many unexcavated s tanding s tones). These f eatures g enerally pre-dated t he s tone a lthough t hey post-dated t he s tones at B edd Branwen, Anglesey and Rhos-yC legyrn, P embs. U sually only one f eature, other t han t he s tanding s tone, was i nvolved, a lthough a s uccession o f two or three other f eatures occurred at Bedd Branwen, St. S tephen-in-Brannel and Stackpole. In addition t o s tanding s tones, l arge, f ree-standing wooden uprights and small ' miniature' uprights o f s tone or wood were a lso s et up on s tanding s tone s ites ( these various c lasses o f uprights c an probably be d istinguished from t he l arge n umber o f post-holes and s take-holes, s ome r esolvable i nto coherent s tructures, which characterised the s ites at St. I shmaels and Gors). Large, free standing wooden uprights o ccurred i n a n umber o f c ontexts: n ot only predating t he s tones b ut - at St. I shmaels, Stackpole and P las Gogerddan, C ards. - erected e lsewhere on t he s ite. The small uprights o f s tone or wood ( see appendix 1 .3) were s ometimes s et up i n p its or, i n more doubtful c ases, on the old ground s urface. At Rhos-y-Clegyrn and, perhaps, Stackpole s uch uprights appear t o h ave been deliberately r emoved from and s ometimes l aid on the t op o f t he p its. Small uprights a lso c ontributed t o t he a lignment and s etting at Stackpole. G iven t he n ature o f t hese a ssociated f eatures, it i s, perhaps, possible t o v iew t he s tanding s tones a s being part o f a r ange o f variables, c onsisting o f uprights o f d ifferent types, the choice of variable being, to an extent, i ndependent o f t he context i n which it occurred - t he l arger uprights may h ave been o f s tone or wood and may h ave been s et up on c ist c overs or i n s ockets; t hese l arger uprights, perhaps, e cho t he s mall uprights o f s tone or wood which were a lso s et up on t he o ld ground s urface or i n p its. The s ockets may a lso, i n s ome i nstances, be v iewed a s p its existing i ndependently o f t he s tones - they were o ften very s hallow or much wider t han t he s tone itself, t hey o ften contained a variety o f other i nclusions in addition t o t he s tones and t he s ocket was o ften only one o f a s uccession o f p its i n t he s ame area.

Deposits

( appendix

1 .4)

Deposits o f various k inds were c ommon on t hese s ites. They were o ften made i n p its or s tone-sockets a lthough they are a lso f ound i n a variety o f other c ontexts - e .g. on t he o ld ground s urface or i n c ists. They i ncluded deposits o f cremated bone, charcoal, pottery, c lay and s oil, f lints, pebbles and s tone fragments - t he l atter s ometimes b eing o f quartzite. There does not appear t o h ave been any c lear consistency between t ype o f deposit and t ype o f c ontext:

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Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

a lthough partial cremations c ommonly o ccurred in t he s tonesockets ( see note 1 1), this may be a function of the concentration o f excavation on t he s tones t hemselves. A n umber o f points c an b e made i n r espect o f t hese deposits. In many, arguably t he majority of, i nstances t hey were, apparently, o f a r itual n ature - t hey were o ften d iscrete, c onsisted of one or two t ypes of material only or occurred in a ' special' context s uch as a cist. The material i nvolved c an o ften b e s uggested a s h aving h ad a s pecial s ignificance, e .g. water worn pebbles, c harcoal, f lint. However, in other instances deposits were more d iffuse and a m ixture o f t ypes o f material was s ometimes present, in s ome i nstances g iving t he appearance o f domestic debris. The r eason f or t he presence o f apparently domestic debris on r itual s ites o f t he p eriod has been d iscussed ( Case 1 973; C lare 1 986, 2 99 and r eferences t herein). I ts occurrence i n t he s ame c ontext a s other, more obviously r itual, deposits - f or i nstance i n c hambered t ombs - argues f or a r itual s ignificance i n s ome i nstances, a lthough i n others, a more mundane origin i s possible. I n the c ase o f t he deposits o f t his t ype on s tanding s tone s ites, it i s s ometimes d ifficult t o decide whether a deposit i s l ikely t o have b een r itual, or whether i t r epresents r esidual material or s ome other accidental i nclusion or material i ntroduced f or s ome utilitarian r eason. It i s also difficult, in s ome instances, to d istinguish s uch r itual deposits, which i nclude h uman bone, from f ormal burials, a lthough p erhaps s uch a d istinction i s, in itself, artificial ( see above p .22). S ome o f t he materials used i n t hese deposits may h ave been brought t o t he s ite f rom s ome d istance away. The s oil in t he s ocket at Cremlyn, Anglesey may h ave b een f oreign t o the s ite. B each s hingle and s and were brought i n t o f ill the Linney c ist and beach pebbles were brought in for incorporation in the f ill of a c ircular trench at St. I shmaels. The waterworn p ebbles i n t he s econd phase p it at St. Stephen-in-Brannel were, probably, o f marine origin, a s were t he s tones i n t he a lignment at Stackpole. I s i s also l ikely that many other c lasses of perishable deposit were originally present. There are indications o f provision f or t hese - p its at Rhos-y-Clegyrn were provided with s helves and L ewis ( 1974, 2 7) and Ward ( 1983, 4 7) h ave s uggested t hat objects may have l ain within the area e nclosed by t he r ing s tructures at Rhos-y-Clegyrn and Mynydd L langyndeyrn, Carms. ( and, i ndeed, a cremation was f ound i n j ust s uch a position i n t he r ing at Ballybeen). P erishable deposits may a lso h ave b een present i n t he f ill o f the r ing t rench at St. I shmaels. Unidentifiable r emains o f an organic deposit were a ctually f ound on one o f t he s helves at Rhos-y-Clegyrn, and are a lso r eported from t he s tone-socket at S t. Breock B eacon, Cornwall and from an urn at Tresvennack, Cornwall.

2 6

W illiams:

Burials

Standing Stones

( appendix

of W ales & S .W . England

1 .4)

While, on s ome excavated s ites, no burials h ave been d iscovered, it c an b e emphasised t hat t he majority o f t hese excavations were on a l imited s cale and deposits o f h uman r emains, i n one f orm or another, h ave b een f ound on many small s cale and most l arge s cale s tanding s tone excavations. Various permutations o f mortuary practice occurred i ncluding primary and s econdary burials, i nhumations and cremations, t he l ast f ull or p artial. A number o f t ypes o f burial c an be d istinguished, a t l east f or purposes o f description. The most c learly defined t ype o f primary burials c onsisted o f c ist b urials, where the s tanding s tone was erected on the c over o f t he c ist which was i ncluded i n a barrow or c airn. Examples o ccur at L inney, L lanfachreth and, perhaps, Candleston, G lam. These may be r elated t o another group of b urials i n c ists which were more or l ess c ontemporary with s tanding s tones a lthough lying at t he f oot o f t he s tone ( some examples o f which were a lso a ssociated with round barrows). Of t hese, t he c ist and s tone appear t o h ave been integral and c ontemporary at P unchestown and Naas, Co. K ildare while l ittle t ime s eparated t he two f eatures at Try, Cornwall. A s imilar, broadly c ontemporary r elationship may have existed between the recumbent ( ? originally upright) s labs and ' boat-shaped' s ettings at Ty' n-y-Pw11 and Porth Dafarch, both s ettings being a ssociated with c ist graves, a lthough at t he l atter s ite s ome d istance s eparated c ist from s tone. The r elationship of c ists l ying s ome d istance from the s tone at P las Gogerddan and Y strad Hynod, Mont. i s not c ertain but at t he l atter s ite t he c ist may h ave been a s econdary f eature on t he s ite ( a c ist may a lso have existed between the stone pair at Penrhos-Feilw, Anglesey). These various c ists appear to have been constructed or used over a long period of t ime and c onsequently took a n umber o f f orms and contained a n umber o f t ypes o f burial, both cremations and i nhumations b eing known T O . Those c ist burials which appear t o h ave been made over a period o f t ime may, i n s ome r espects, be equivalent t o cremations i n p its l ying n ear t he foot o f t he s tones a s t he l atter appear, on t he whole, t o be s econdary: a lthough a p it burial o f this t ype at K ilpaison was c laimed a s primary, this cannot be proven and the c losest parallel to the K ilpaison cremation, f rom Stackpole, was c learly s econdary, as were non-funerary pits in s imilar positions at Bedd Branwen and Rhos-y-Clegyrn. S imilar cremations, a ccompanied by pottery, may be represented by the deposits at G lynllifon, Caerns. a nd Tresvennack. Again, t he s tones at Kilpaison and Bedd Branwen were associated with round b arrows. Somewhat d ifferent f eatures were d iscovered at H igher Drift and Trewern, Cornwall and at St. Stephen-in-Brannel.

2 7

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

These were, apparently, empty p its, b ut of a s ize and s hape which s uggested t hat t hey may h ave c ontained i nhumed bodies; h owever, at H igher Drift and Trewern t he f eatures may well h ave been o f Early Christian date. A dagger and bones were r eported from t he f oot o f t he s tone at P entrehobyn, F lint. a lthough the n ature o f t his burial i s uncertain. I n-urned cremations, s econdary t o t he s tones, were a lso present i n the b arrows at K ilpaison and B edd Branwen. S imilar burials may h ave b een r epresented i n t he mounds at Try, L inney and Y strad Hynod. S ome of t hese deposits may h ave been f ull and f ormal burials a lthough, in many c ases, t his i s doubtful. The c ist burials at t he f oot o f t he s tones at Try and, perhaps, at Naas and Porth Dafarch, s eem to have been mixed- up or d isturbed. While t his may h ave been b ecause of r e-use, t he deposit at Try, in particular, had strong ' ritual' overtones. The c ists at Try and Naas had other peculiarities; t he f ormer may, conceivably, have been f rees tanding at s ome s tage while t he l atter was s ub-divided and does not appear t o h ave h ad a cover. The l atter h as b een s een a s equivalent t o a r ange of r itual repositories ( Clare 1 986, 2 99-300). There were a lso ' special' a spects t o t he p it burial at Stackpole which, possibly, consisted o f a ' mother and child' burial: burials of this type were relatively common in the period and have possible implications of sacrifice ( Burl 1 981, 2 01-203; Burgess 1 980a, 3 00). The s tatus o f other burials - s uch a s t hat at G lynllifon and the s econdaries at Try and L inney - i s a lso very uncertain. Partial and ' token' cremations are c ertainly very well r epresented on s tanding s tone s ites. These were c ommonly made i n t he s tone-sockets t hemsely9s a lthough t hey a lso o ccur i n a variety of other c ontexts ". The f eatures c ontaining t hese various types o f d eposit o f human remains are also paralleled by s imilar features c ontaining non-skeletal deposits. Primarily non-funerary p its may h ave pre-dated t he Stackpole cremation and a lso l ay adjacent t o the s tone at S t. I shmaels. The non-funerary p its i n t his position at B edd Branwen and Rhos-y-Clegyrn h ave a lready been mentioned. The c ist at P las Gogerddan was a lso, apparently, empty and t here were no s ignificant f inds from t he c ist at P unchestown, a lthough t he l atter may h ave b een d isturbed.

Burning

more

An extensive area o f burning was noted at Naas a nd d iscrete h earths were f ound at Mynydd L langyndeyrn I .

2 8

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W , England

Paved and cobbled areas These s eem to be a feature of the oval and r ectilinear ' settings' and will be described i n conjunction w ith t hese.

Paired features Of the combinations of features associated with s tanding s tones p erhaps the s implest i s t he t endency t o pairing. This occurred amongst large uprights - it c haracterises the ' stone pairs' while at Stackpole a s imilar relationship appeared to have occurred between large uprights o f wood and s tone. Amongst minor f eatures pairing was characteristic o f t he complex at Rhos-y-Clegyrn.

Alignments An alignment of features, consisting of small uprights o f waterworn s tones and perhaps o f wood, possibly s et up in p its, l ed o ff from the axis o f the s etting at Stackpole. A s imilar a lignment o f small uprights o ccurred at t he r elated s ite o f Aber Camddwr I I ( Briggs and Murphy 1 984; Murphy 1 986b) while rows of small upright stones ( surviving a s s urface f eatures) are a ssociated with the o utliers o f s tone c ircles at Cerrig Duon and Nant Tarw , Breckn. ( Grimes 1 963, 1 36-139). An alignment of more massive posts was found at P las Gogerddan. A c ruciform arrangement of s tone b locks was noted at L inney Burrows.

Rectilinear/oval

s tructures

( 'settings')

( appendix

1 .5)

A n umber o f r ectilinear and oval s tructures f orm what i s arguably the most characteristic group o f f eatures f ound on s tanding s tone s ites, with t he exception of t he s tones t hemselves. Although, admittedly, t hese f eatures were very variable, t he j ustification f or r elating t hem t ogether l ies in the fact that they were non-structural, usually s ymmetrically r elated t o the s tones, and h ad overlapping characteristics of plan and construction. Given this variation i n f orm, it i s proposed t o use t he n eutral t erm ' setting' t o describe t hem. These s ettings i nvolved cobbled areas at Ffos-y- Maen, Llanpumpsaint, Carms. and St. Stephen-in-Brannel. Amorphous, but obviously badly damaged, c obbled areas are a lso known at Gors, and a doubtful c obbled area at Cottrell P ark, G lam. Cobbled or paved areas, r ather than c airns a s t he excavators s uggested, may a lso h ave been r epresented by a r oughly c ircular s tone s pread at St. Breock Beacon and a damaged and amorphous stone spread at Maes Gwyn, Llanstephan. Areas of paving were associated with the

2 9

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

s tones at Naas and L inney, t he l atter c apping a l ow mound. A s pread o f c ompact s tone at M iskin was a lso r eferred t o a s ' paving' by t he excavator a lthough Ward ( 1983, 4 6 n ote 2 0) h as s uggested t hat i ts small s ize and irregular appearance s uggests a s imilarity t o a f eature at Mynydd L langyndeyrn 1 7, Carms., which consisted o f a small, amorphous, oval mound of s tony material with an uneven s urface. Another variation included r ows o f s mall upright s tones at Stackpole and perhaps at Hafod- y- Dre, Denbs. ( the latter an unexcavated s ite where a stone - now recumbent - i s a ssociated with a s quare arrangement of s mall uprights; Davies 1 929, 3 84). At Rhos-y-Clegyrn a combination of f eatures i ncluded c obbled areas, more amorphous s preads o f s tone i ncluding l ines o f s tones, and p its. An arc o f s tones at P orth Dafarch and a more complex s tone s tructure at Ty' ny -Pwll, both f eatures a ssociated with c ists and possible s tanding s tones, may a lso h ave b een r elated t o the s ettings. The s ame c oncept may have b een expressed a s a p it group at St. I shmaels and perhaps P las Gogerddan and Gors. The b etter defined examples of t hese f eatures a lso involved a number of plans - roughly rectangular ( St. Stephen-in-Brannel), D -shaped ( Llanpumpsaint, Ty' n-y-Pw11 and Porth Dafarch), t rapezoidal ( St. I shmaels), trapezoidal with a rounded end ( Stackpole), r ounded t riangular ( Miskin), pointed-oval ( Rh K-y-Clegyrn) and irregular oval ( Mynydd L langyndeyrn 1 7) 1` . At St. Breock B eacon and L inney t he paved areas may h ave been c ircular. The description o f t hese f eatures h as t ended t o be s ubjective in the past. They have been described as p latforms, presumably with an implied f unction a s t he s ite o f r itual a ctivity c arried out i n r elation t o t he s tone. The provision of a s table s urface around t he s tones may h ave been n ecessary a s e nergetic and prolonged a ctivity o f this k ind would h ave churned up t he ground. Those s ettings which do i nvolve c obbling or p aving may, i ndeed, h ave f unctioned i n t his manner and t here were i ndications o f wear o n t he c obbles at St. Stephen-in-Brannel. H owever, other s ettings, e .g. Stackpole, c learly c ould n ot h ave f unctioned i n t his way and t he s ettings, i n g eneral, may a lso h ave had a more s ymbolic f unction ( Ward 1 983, 4 6). The s hape o f these f eatures h as been described a s ' boat-shaped' or ' D-shaped'. The f ormer description i s, obviously, very s ubjective, and one suspects that a d ifferent s et o f descriptions would be applied i f t he s hapes in question b elonged t o other t ypes o f monument, for example t o t he mounds o f c hambered t ombs - t he p lan o f R hos-yC legyrn, f or i nstance, c ould well be described a s ' eggs haped'. The p lans c an, i n f act, be s een t o f orm a s pectrum o f v ariation f rom r ectangular t o c ircular. While t he area o f c obbling at L lanpumpsaint was i ndeed D -shaped, t his, possibly, r epresents a variation on t he trapezoidal p lan : 7 ; een at Stackpole and St. I shmaels.

3 0

W illiams:

C ircular

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

structures

A f urther group o f c ircular s tructures was a ssociated with s tanding s tone s ites and, l ike t he s ettings, t hese s tructures s how a s pectrum o f variation which a llows t hem t o be r elated t ogether. The most c omplex and r epresentative example was c ircle 1 at St. I shmaels. This was one o f two c ircles at the s ite. It was a s ubstantial structure i nvolving a c ircular t rench, packed with water- worn s tones, and enclosing a polygonal s take s etting. Other s tructures on s tanding s tone s ites r ing t he changes on St. I shmaels c ircle 1 . C ircle 2 at St. I shmaels was a s imple s take-built s tructure, possibly with a porch. A s take arc was a lso discovered at Rhos-y-Clegyrn. A s imilar f eature t o the c ircular trench i n c ircle 1 , St. I shmaels may be r epresented at C arrownacaw, Co. Down by a s egment o f t rench, lying adjacent t o t he s tanding s tone, t he f ill of which c ontained c arefully s et, though apparently non-structural, s tones. A t rench, possibly oval rather t han c ircular, may h ave s urrounded t he s tone at Ballybeen. At Mynydd L langyndeyrn 1 t he s tone was a ssociated with a much smaller and c learly non-structural c ircular t rench and a trench o f a s imilar s ize l ay t o t he e ast of t he s tone at B allybeen. At Rhos-y-Clegyrn t he c omplex o f f eatures around t he s tanding s tone i ncluded a number o f small, open s tone r ings, one o f which appears t o h ave b een s et down s lightly into the o ld ground s urface. Other, more h eterogeneous, r ings - r epresented by s urface f eatures - have been mentioned above ( p.3) a s h ave t he paved areas around t he s tones at L inney and St. Breock B eacon, which may h ave been c ircular. At Bedd Branwen, t he s tone was s urrounded by a c airn r ing a lthough t his h ad b een built integrally with a round barrow. An earlier ' roundhouse' at Stackpole may a lso have had a r itual d imension which was e choed at a l ater date by the s tanding s tone ( see b elow p .48). A s take arc at Stackpole c an a lso be mentioned at t his point but appears t o have been o f I ron Age date. The r econstruction o f t hese s tructures i s uncertain. T imber s tructures s eem t o have b een r epresented by the posts ettings i n c ircles 1 and 2 at St. I shmaels. B ut t he c ircular t renches h ere and at Carrownacaw and at s imilar s ites at R ullion Green, Midlothian ( see below pp.37-8) do not s eem t o h ave been s tructural f eatures and t his was clearly the case with the smaller rings at Mynydd L langyndeyrn and B allybeen. The s tone packing i n t hese trenches i s, arguably, comparable with the open s tone r ings at Rhos-y-Clegyrn. The Rhos-y-Clegyrn r ings s eem overwhelmingly l ikely t o h ave h ad a r itual f unction, which i s a lso s uggested by the choice o f waterworn s tones f or t he packing at St. I shmaels. On balance, therefore, these c ircular s tructures do not appear t o h ave been c onventional buildings, but t o represent an inter- related range of

3 1

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

f eatures with a r itual s ignificance, i ncluding t hree basic e lements t imber uprights ( perhaps f limsy roofed s tructures), c ircular t renches and s tone r ings. They are, p erhaps, equivalent t o s imilar f eatures - s take c ircles, e tc. - f ound below round barrows and t he possibility exists t hat St. I shmaels c ircle 1 could h ave been i ncluded in a p loughed-out barrow or other upstanding r ing s tructure.

Round barrows

and cairns

The a ssociation o f s tanding s tones with round b arrows and cairns i s widespread. Again, the s urface evidence h as been mentioned above but t here i s a lso a considerable amount o f excavation evidence ( appendix 1 .6). A number o f t ypes of r elationship c an be r ecognised. Those stones which were erected on c ist covers, described above, are l ikely t o have been erected integrally with the c onstruction o f t he a ssociated barrow or cairn. Stones a lso pre-dated barrows at B edd Branwen and K ilpaison and, perhaps, a lso at Porth Dafarch, Try, Y strad Hynod and Ty' n-y-Pw11: at L inney and L long, F lints., s tones which may have been c ontemporary with a f irst phase barrow were incorporated in a s econd phase mound. However, the l ength o f t ime which e lapsed between t he two phases o f these s ites i s o ften not c ertain ( see below , p .49). The s tone may h ave been t otally h idden by t he barrow ( Kilpaison) or may have projected through the s urface of the mound ( Bedd Branwen). In t he c ase o f Try, Y strad Hynod and t he f irst phase at L long, t he s tones s tood on t he edge o f t he barrow or c airn. I n a ll t he above i nstances t he s tones and barrows s eem t o have been c losely connected. By c ontrast, at P las Gogerddan, f eatures a ssociated with a s tanding s tone and f eatures a ssociated with a group of round barrows s eem t o have had an exclusive d istribution on the s ite. However, i t i s possible that t he barrows here were o f a l ater, I ron Age, date.

Miniaturization A n umber o f f eatures on s tanding s tone s ites may be v iewed a s miniature equivalents o f l arger s tructures. The most obvious o f t hese are t he small uprights, a lthough the small r ings at Rhos-y-Clegyrn, Ballybeen and Mynydd L langyndeyrn 1 and t he s mall s ettings at M iskin and Mynydd L langyndeyrn 1 7 may r epresent a s imilar phenomenon.

S ite plans

a ll

Extensive c omplexes o f f eatures have been the area excavations around s tanding s tones,

3 2

f ound on a lthough

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

s uch f eatures were c omparatively rare at Gors and at t he extensively s ampled B allybeen ( however, one s uspects that s ampling may g ive a v ery f alse impression o f the areas around s tanding s tones, to j udge by the s cattered and poorly- defined nature of many of the features at St. I shmaels and P las G ogerddan). The presence o f f eatures i n addition t o t he s tones on many s maller s cale s tanding s tone excavations s uggests t hat s uch c omplexes may exist on t hese s ites a lso. The standing stones and other features may be i ncluded i n f ormal p lans i nvolving the l ayout o f the s ites a s a whole. The s tanding s tones were most commonly l ocated o ff c entre or at one e nd o f t he s ettings 13 . Only in the c ases o f t he s quare s etting at St. Stephen-in-Brannel and t he possible c ircular f eatures at L inney and St. Breock B eacon was t he s tone l ocated more c entrally and only at Gors was a possibly equivalent f eature ( a p it group) l ocated at a d istance f rom t he s tanding s tone. This a symmetry may r eflect a ( fairly s imple) axial arrangement of f eatures which was c learly present on the l arger s cale excavations at Rhos-y-Clegyrn, Stackpole and S t. I shmaels, and i nvolved s tanding s tone, s ettings and other e lements. H owever, at St. I shmaels, t he arrangement of features was, apparently, more complex and may have involved a number of axes and possible astronomical a lignments ( the g eometry and a stronomy o f St. I shmaels i s d escribed i n appendix 2 . There are s uggestions of f urther a stronomical a spects t o s tanding s tone s ites, but these will n ot be pursued h ere a s i t i s hoped t o make t hem the s ubject o f a s eparate paper). A lso, at St. I shmaels, the s etting was, apparently, a s mall e lement only i n the overall design which a lso involved f eatures lying at s ome distance from the s etting. At Stackpole and Rhos-y-Clegyrn the s ettings apparently dominated t he l ayout o f t he s ite. H owever, because the s cale o f t he s ettings varied ( at St. I shmaels the s etting was much smaller t han at Rhos-y-Clegyrn and Stackpole) and because, in no instances, have the full extent of the c omplexes been defined, it s eems l ikely t hat t he s ettings at S tackpole and Rhos-y-Clegyrn will a lso prove t o be part o f l arger complexes ( as i s, i n f act, s uggested by the l arge e arthen r ings l ying o utside the excavated area at Rhos-yC legyrn). It i s possible that the combination of upright, oval/rectilinear s etting and perhaps c ircular s tructure, w ithin an axial arrangement, will prove t o be c haracteristic o f t hese c omplexes. However, an axial arrangement was not s o c learly present at P las Gogerddan and was, apparently, absent at Gors s o does n ot s eem t o have been an invariable c haracteristic o f t he complexes.

3 3

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

H ierarchy A lthough a s ystematic a nalysis h as n ot b een a pplied to the f eatures a ssociated with s tanding s tones, n evertheless t he o utline o f a h ierarchy, i nvolving t hree l evels o f f eatures, c an, p erhaps, b e d iscerned. A primary l evel may i nclude b asic p lan e lements c ircular a nd o ther f orms - a nd a lso s imple f eatures - e .g. p its, uprights, d eposits, b urials, s tone s preads and mounds. These may a ll h ave b een, t o a n e xtent, v ariable f eatures t he v ariations o f which were i ndependent o f e ach o ther. F or instance, there s eems to have been l ittle definite c orrelation b etween t ype o f d eposit a nd t he c ontext i n which s uch deposits o ccurred. P its o ccurred i n c onjunction w ith many other variables, particularly a s precursors o f f eatures. Even t he s tanding s tones c an b e v iewed a s p art o f a r ange o f v ariable uprights, t hese v ariables b eing, t o an extent, i ndependent o f t he c ontexts i n which t hey o ccurred. A s econdary l evel may be r epresented by the c ombinations o f t hese s imple f eatures a nd p lan e lements r esulting i n t he v ariations o n t hemes s hown by t he more c omplex o val/rectilinear and c ircular s tructures a nd t he b arrows. A t ertiary l evel may i nvolve t he i nter-relationship o f t hese d ifferent f eatures on a s ite l evel - i ncluding t he oval/rectilinear s tructures, t he f oci r epresented b y t he s tones t hemselves and t he c ircular s tructures - w ithin an o verall arrangement s ometimes i nvolving d istinctive p lans.

3 4

BROADER ASPECTS AND RELATIONSHIPS OF

STANDING STONE S ITES

A leitmotiv o f t his s tudy i s t he c onsiderable i nterr elationship b etween s tanding s tones a nd other c lasses o f r itual monument o f t he L ate N eolithic a nd E arly Bronze Age. These broader a spects o f s tanding s tone s ites a re d eserving o f f urther d iscussion, which may a lso h elp t o t hrow l ight on t he c hronology a nd f unction o f t he s ites. The m ajority o f t ypes o f f eature f ound o n s tanding s tone s ites c an, i n f act, a lso b e f ound o n other r itual s ites o f t he t hird a nd s econd m illennia b c. S ome o f t hese f eatures, i ncluding t he r itual p its a nd t he whole s pectrum o f b urial practices a nd o ther f orms o f d eposition, were v ery w idespread i ndeed. Other f eatures were more s pecific t o s tanding s tone s ites, i ncluding t he oval/rectilinear s ettings, a lthough t hese a lso may h ave f ormed p art o f more extensive ' families' o f f eatures. ( In d iscussing t hese f eatures many o f t he major c omponents o f L ate N eolithic and E arly Bronze Age r itual s ites w ill b e r eviewed, a lthough t his s urvey does n ot attempt t o b e c omprehensive i n t his r espect). A s d escribed above, t he s ettings h ad v ariable b ut overlapping c haracteristics o f p lan - a lthough t ending t o b e r ectilinear o r o val - and a lso o f c onstruction - c onsisting o f c obbling a nd v arious o ther f orms o f s tone s pread, s mall uprights and, p erhaps, p its. Again, a k ey t o understanding t he n ature o f t he s ettings may l ie i n t he p ermutations o f p lan and c onstruction amongst r itual s ites o f t he p eriod. For instance, monuments of s imilar p lan may involve different t ypes o f f eature - c ircles, for example, may consist of p its, posts or stone s ettings, s ometimes in s uccession. On t he other hand, groupings of s imilar f eatures - s uch a s p its - may b e expressed i n d ifferent p lans, e .g. a s c ircles or a lignments. The v ariations among t he s ettings, t herefore, may r epresent t he expression, i n r ectilinear or ' long' f orms, o f a r ange o f f eatures more c ommonly f ound ' in t he r ound'. C ircular monuments o f t he p eriod c ertainly i ncluded t he s ame t ypes o f f eatures, i ncluding areas o f c obbling a nd p aving ( Burl 1 976, 2 52) a nd, at B eaghmore ( May 1 953), s ettings o f many s mall uprights. P it c ircles were a lso, o f c ourse, v ery c ommon f eatures, p articularly amongst h enge monuments ( Burl 1 969, 7 -8; C lare 1 986, 2 87). B y a s imilar argument, t he s ettings c an, p erhaps, b e r elated t o a s mall b ut i nter-related group o f L ate Neolithic a nd E arly B ronze A ge monuments o f r ectilinear or ' long' p lan. The s ettings h ave l ong b een e quated w ith s imilar s tructures, d escribed a s D -shaped o r boat-shaped, a ssociated w ith b eaker a nd o ther b urials ( Lewis 1 965, 2 61 a nd 1 974,

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2 7). I n t he c ase o f t he Stackpole s etting, parallels c an, p erhaps, even b e drawn w ith l arger multiple row monuments ( Emmett 1 979) s uch a s s ome of the Dartmoor rows, the Caithness s tone f ans or even t he C arnac a lignments! Again, t he St. I shmaels p it group c an a lso b e c ompared with a c ove - another ' family' o f s uch monuments may i nclude n ot only open-ended rectilinear s ettings of orthostats but other s imple and more complex c ove-like s tructures, t he f ormer grading i nto c ist-like s tructures o f t he t ype f ound at Naas ( Wainwright 1 979, 2 31; C lare 1 986, 3 00). The St. I shmaels s etting i s particularly interesting as it appears to r epresent a c ove-like s tructure ' expressed' a s a p it group. Such an arrangement i s not unknown e lsewhere: the more complex c oves i ncluded a c ombination o f orthostats and p its at Mount P leasant, Dorset, while it appears from the excavation r eport t hat t he c ove at C airnpapple, M idlothian ( Piggott 1 948) may a lso h ave c onsisted of an orthostat and p its. It i s possible t hat t his i nterest i n ' long' f orms s urvived from t he Earlier Neolithic. I n particular, t he s hapes o f t he s ettings c an b e compared with t he s hapes o f t he mounds o f N eolithic t ombs ( see a lso Ward 1 983, 4 6) and t he Stackpole s etting i n particular i s r eminiscent o f a l ong c airn. The mounds of c ollective t ombs h ave been s uggested as having had a symbolic role in their own r ight, irrespective of the function of the monuments as r epositories ( Thorpe 1 984, 4 5 and r eferences t herein). This r ole was b ecoming more marked t oward t he e nd o f t he Earlier Neolithic, a s e xemplified by bank barrows and ' cenotaph' barrows ( ibid , 5 4-58). Therefore, i t may not be s urprising t o s ee t he importance o f the s ymbolic a spect o f these s ites, r eflected by an i nterest in s uch f ormal p lans, c ontinuing i nto a l ater p eriod. The standing stones themselves can, perhaps, be compared with the detached posts or orthostats which s ometimes occurred in association with collective tombs ( Burl 1 981, 5 5-56 and 9 2; Corcoran 1 958, 1 84 and 2 14; Piggott and Powell 1 949, 1 1 5). An origin within the chambered t omb t radition has a lso been s uggested f or c oves and r elated s tructures which h ave been s een a s r epresenting t he portals of c hambered t ombs and a s a cting a s repositories f or h uman r emains and other materials ( Clare 1 986, 2 99-300; P iggott 1 948, 1 13-114 and 1 962, 6 5). D -shaped and crescentic s tructures h ave b een related t o t he f acades o f chambered tombs ( Corcoran 1 958, 2 14). ( The presence of s tructures o f t hese t ypes within h enge monuments h as a lso s uggested a s imilar relationship between henges and chambered t ombs ( Clare 1 986, 2 99-300). The 4 - or 5 -post s tructure within t he St. I shmaels c ove was v ery s imilar t o t he s tructure adjacent t o t he s tone at Mynydd L langyndeyrn I . The f unction o f t he additional post at these two s ites i s uncertain. It could be i nterpreted a s s upport f or a l adder l eading to a r aised p latform , a lthough the Mynydd L langyndeyrn s tructure was

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i nterpreted a s a r oofed l ean-to constructed against t he s tone. The excavator compared the Mynydd Llangyndeyrn s tructure with a s tructure at t he c entre o f t he h enge at Stenness, Orkney ( Ritchie 1 976). This consisted of a c ombination o f a s quare, t imber-built s tructure, with c orner posts, constructed integrally with a pair of standing s tones. Other adjacent s tructures at Stenness included two cove-like features, one of which had replaced a t imber upright. Post-built s tructures, s imilar t o t hose at St. I shmaels and Mynydd L langyndeyrn, s ome o f which h ave been i nterpreted a s roofed and s ome a s r aised, have b een noted below round barrows and chambered t ombs. A s pecial mention c an a lso be made of the Stackpole s etting with its rows o f over 2 ,000 small, upright s tones. A c omparison has b een made above b etween Stackpole and t he multiple s tone r ows and t hese do i nclude examples with quite small stones ( Worth 1 953; Emmett 1 979). Circle E at B eaghmore has a lso been mentioned and this s ite - ' embedded l ike a fakir' s bed of nails with 8 84 upright s harpish s tones. ( Burl 1 976, 2 47) - f orms a particularly good parallel to Stackpole. Comparable multiple stone c ircles are also known on Dartmoor in association with c airns and s tone r ows ( Robinson and Greeves 1 981; Robinson and Cosforth 1 986). Attention h as a lso been drawn above t o t he arrangement o f small uprights at Hafod-y-Dre, D enbs. Another arrangement o f small uprights exists in t he s ame c ounty - at Hafod-y-Garreg ( Davies 1 929, 3 82) - a ssociated, i n t his i nstance, with a number o f c ists ( I am grateful t o Frances Lynch f or drawing my attention t o t hese two s ites). Patterns of small uprights, equivalent to those at Stackpole, may, c onceivably, h ave been a ssociated with a pair of kerb cairns at T ir Mostyn, Denbs., a lthough it appears very doubtful whether t hese were artificial f eatures ( Lynch 1 984, a). At Stackpole the small uprights were preserved below s and and at B eaghmore below peat - the apparent r arity o f f eatures o f t his k ind i s, perhaps, on t he one hand, a measure o f t heir vulnerability t o destruction i f unprotected by l ater deposits and, on the other h and, a measure o f the e ase with which t hey may be totally obscured by s uch deposits. A s imilar r ange o f parallels c ould be drawn f or t he c ircular s tructures. They f orm part of a complex s pectrum o f c ircular f eatures a ssociated with e arly r itual s ites which included buildings, enclosures and non-structural s ettings. The c ircular s tructures a ssociated with s tanding s tones perhaps t end t oward t he l ast t ype of f eature and, in g eneral, s eem r elatable t o s tructures f ound below many round barrows ( Ashbee 1 960, c h. 5 ). More s pecific parallels t o c ircle 1 , St. I shmaels are, perhaps, provided by a group o f c ircles at R ullion Green, M idlothian ( Watkins 1 984). These t ook the f orm o f small, c ircular d itches with l ow banks on t he i nside and outside, within which l ay partial cremations. The ditches were deliberately backfilled and contained deliberately placed stones a long the centre-line. The

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material which f illed t he d itches and f ormed t he b ar l s d id not c ome from t he immediate environs o f t he monuments '. Standing s tones and posts are, o f c ourse, a lso c ommon t o a wide r ange o f s ites. Miniature uprights o f s tone and wood are a lso known e lsewhere; f or i nstance, amongst Cornish barrows ( Miles 1 975, 4 9), and t hese, in s ome i nstances, h ad s mall, s upporting mounds of e arth and s tone around t heir bases in t he manner o f s ome o f t he l arger s tanding s tones. Indeed ' miniaturization' may constitute another widespread phenomenon amongst r itual s ites o f t he p eriod. But while, on standing s tone s ites, a number of small f eatures - small r ings and small s ettings i n addition t o small uprights - s eem t o have h ad l arger equivalents, on other s ites the phenomenon may have involved c ontinuous variation across a range of s izes rather than m iniaturisation a s s uch. For i nstance, it may not b e t oo f ar-fetched t o c onsider t he h enge/ring d itch continuum a s s tretching from t he s uperhenges down t o s ites o f two metres or l ess across i nternally, s uch a s t he small r ings at Mynydd L langyndeyrn I and Ballybeen! B urial and other depositional practices on s tanding s tone s ites are r epresentative o f a s pectrum o f s uch r ites i n t he Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. As mentioned above, r ituals involving the deposition o f h uman r emains on s ites o f t he period were interwoven with other practices and are, perhaps, given undue s ignificance by modern observers. Nevertheless, burial i s the best documented aspect of Neolithic and Bronze Age r eligion and t he one which most c learly defines change and continuity i n r itual practice through t ime. Therefore, burial practice and the r elationship of burial t o other r itual i s p erhaps worth r eviewing in more detail before c onsidering t he s pecial c ase o f s tanding s tone s ites. A lso, due t o t he presence o f Iron Age burials on s tanding s tone s ites, t he r eview i s c ontinued i nto the f irst m illennium BC. ( For s ummaries o f burial practice on which t his r eview i s based s ee, f or example, B urgess 1 980a, ch. VII; Bradley 1 984a, 2 1-23; Corcoran 1 958; M iles 1 975; Thorpe, 1 984). The c omplexity of burial r ites i n t he period h as b een described above. These complex processes become more understandable when s een i n t erms o f a n umber o f s trands of b ehaviour. . ' irstly, death c an be v iewed a s h aving been an extended prc , 2 ess. Physical death was f ollowed by a p eriod o f i nitial dep sition, r esulting i n t he decay o f t he c orpse and t he l iberation o f t he s pirit. This was f ollowed by a s econdary process o i l d isposal, o ften o f f ragmentary and partial human r emains. The s econdary r ites, i n particular, r ing t he changes on cremation and i nhumation, i ndividual burial, c emetery burial and c ollective burial. R ites may h ave varied with f actors s uch a s age, s tatus and c ause o f d eath. The process was a lso s ometimes ' short t he s ingle process burials o f i ndividuals.

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Collective r ites s ometimes i nvolved t he l ong t erm s torage and manipulation o f t he f ragmentary r emains o f s ome o f t he dead on s pecialised s ites. S torage and manipulation may h ave b een f ollowed by t he d eposition o f t hese r emains a nd materials, a gain o ften o n s pecialised s ites. I n many i nstances, h uman r emains were a ccompanied b y o ther objects or materials. T hese m ay vary f rom o bvious ' grave g oods', f or t he u se o f t he d ead i n a n a fter-life, t o v otive d eposits w ith a s ignificance e qual t o o r g reater t han t he h uman r emains, emphasising the importance o f nonf unerary r ituals o n t hese s ites. A lthough g rave g oods m ay o ften a ccompany i ndividual b urials, a nd other d eposits m ay b e c ommon i n t he c ollective r ites, t he d istinction b etween d ifferent t ypes o f d eposit i s o ften d ifficult t o make. V iewed f rom t he p oint o f v iew o f t hese p ermutations, t he processes o f death become more coherent from t he N eolithic t o t he L ate I ron A ge, i nvolving a s trong e lement o f c ontinuity. I nitial d isposal m ay h ave b een by b urial o r e xcarnation; what d iffered was t he s econdary process. C ollective s torage, manipulation a nd d eposition o f h uman r emains a nd o ther m aterials appear t o h ave d ominated t he f ourth millennium BC, i n collective ' tombs' and c ausewayed e nclosures. I n t he e arly p art o f t he p eriod, a nd i n s ome areas t hroughout t he p eriod, t he c ollective ' tomb' was apparently t he o nly r itual monument and i ncorporated a ll r itual a nd s ocial r oles i n a ddition t o t he f unerary. Only a f raction o f t he p opulation were h oused i n c ollective t ombs a nd t he f ate o f m uch o f t he p opulation i s unknown. Nons keletal material was o ften present i n t he t ombs, s ometimes d eposited i n c hambers o r i n f orecourts. S imilar practices t o t hose c urrent in t he f ourth m illennium BC r epresented by multiple burials, d isarticulated b urials a nd a lso p artial b urials f orming p art o f a s pectrum o f r itual d eposits - c ontinued i nto t he t hird and s econd millennia BC i n a r ange of s ites i ncluding ' cemeteries' a nd c ircular monuments v arying f rom h enges t o r ound b arrows. Again, t he m ajority o f t hese monuments h ad a f ar broader f unction t han t he purely f unerary, and, a s a rgued above, t here was, c learly, a c onsiderable o verlap i n s tructure a nd f unction b etween t hem. H owever, t here does s eem t o h ave b een a g rowing d istinction b etween c lasses o f monument at t his t ime, most o bviously b etween b urial a nd other monuments ( Lynch 1 980a, 2 37), p erhaps r epresenting a n i ncreased d iversification o f c ult i nstitutions, r eflecting an i ncreased d iversification w ithin s ociety a s a whole. One a spect o f t his d iversification was t he emergence o f i ndividual burial. T his f ormed a parallel b ut o verl apping tradition t o the collective practices described above. It emerged in the s ame milieu as the l ater c ollective t ombs, b ut b ecame o f i ncreasing importance i n t he t hird and s econd m illennia ( the burial o f articulated b odies and the provision of grave goods a lso becoming more important at this t ime). R ites ranged from groups o f

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i ndividual burials with or w ithout i ndications o f r anking ( within c emeteries or c emetery mounds) t o s ingle graves. The c ollective t endency r e-asserted i tself t oward t he m iddle o f t he s econd m illennium B C, i n Early Bronze Age I II. C emetery burials were c ommon, g enerally by cremation, which may itself be i ndicative o f a s ubmergence o f i ndividual i dentity. Grave goods b ecame r arer. Also, on many s ites, non-skeletal deposits and ' token' cremations occur and s ometimes predominate, s uggesting that many of these ' cemeteries' were primarily areas f or votive deposition. This p eriod a lso s aw a great i ncrease i n t he n umber o f t hese deposits. They were o ften made on e arlier s ites which were, i n s ome c ases, c learly n ot primarily f unerary monuments, which may s uggest a change i n f unction o f t hese s ites t o a more s pecifically depositional r ole. These practices c ontinued i nto t he Iron Age ( for a r eview o f Iron Age burial practices s ee Whimster 1 981, Wait 1 985 and Walker 1 984, 4 61-463). Known burials only r epresent a fraction o f t he population. On s ettlement s ites human s keletal material includes partial burials and fragmentary remains. The primary rite was probably exposure. B ut t hese practices s eem t o be part o f a r ange o f r ites which included human s acrifice and other r ituals o f v iolence which, i f not unknown in t he third and s econd m illennia B C, s eem t o h ave b een r arer t han in t he f irst millennium. Also included in this range are complete burials, particularly toward the end of the period, a lthough, i n s ome i nstances, t hese a lso have s trong r itual overtones. The f unction o f t hese r ites and t he s tatus o f t he r emains may a lso h ave varied. I n s ituations i nvolving t he storage and manipulation of fragmentary remains ( characteristic o f t he Earlier Neolithic) t he r emains were, presumably, transformed into relics representing the community of the ancestors - a community consisting of s pecial i ndividuals o f h igh s ecular or s piritual s tatus i n l ife who continued t o p lay an important r ole i n s ociety a fter death. The r ise o f i ndividual burial from t he end o f the Earlier Neolithic probably relates to emerging differences in rank and caste and to the increasing importance o f t he i ndividual i n s ociety. The i ncreased importance o f the i ndividual c ontinued a fter death, a nd this, perhaps, a lso reflects a concomitant belief in a s eparate after-life l ess concerned with the continued i nvolvement of t he dead i ndividual i n the s ociety o f t he l iving. B ut a lso r unning t hroughout prehistory was a s trong e lement of f ear o f t he dead: e ven e laborate burials w ith grave goods may h ave been made l ess o ut o f l ove or s ocial c onstraint t han f rom f ear. B ut t he role o f h uman r emains was probably much more complex than s imple involvement in the transfer of the s pirit t o an a fter-life. There may be s ome i nstances o f deliberate s acrifice ( as i n t he c ase o f j oint adult and infant burials). But deposition of human remains in

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s econdary b urial r ituals m ay a lso h ave b een, t o a n e xtent, v otive o r s acrificial; f or t he b enefit o f t he l iving r ather t han t he dead ( Walker 1 984, 4 63). This i s s trongly s uggested when t he r emains f orm p art o f a r ange o f o ther d eposits a lthough o ther, i ndividual b urials may h ave r itual a spects which b etray s imilar f unctions ( this i s p articularly e vident i n t he I ron Age; Wait 1 985, 2 50). A p articular problem i s t he s tatus o f t hese ' ritual b urials'. S ome o f t he f ragmentary r emains o n I ron A ge s ites, f or i nstance, h ave b een s uggested a s r epresenting o utcast groups ( ibid ). H owever, t here s eems l ittle r eason t o s uspect t hat t hese f ragmentary r emains d iffer f rom t hose f ound i n e arlier t imes and t he r emains may r epresent u lected r elics o f s ignificant i ndividuals ( Walker 1 984, 4 61) 1 . A n umber o f t hese s trands o f b ehaviour c an, p erhaps, b e r ecognised on s tanding s tone s ites. T he possibility c an b e m entioned t hat s ome o f t hose s tones which were i ntimately a ssociated w ith c ist b urials r epresent a s pecific c lass o f f unerary monument w ithin t he s ingle g rave t radition a nd i t may b e t hat t hese s tones were f undamentally d ifferent f rom t hose a ssociated w ith l arger c omplexes. H owever, h aving s aid t his, i t c an b e emphasised t hat many o f t hese s tone a nd c ist combinations probably i nvolved more than a s imple f unerary r ole. T he example at N aas was c learly p art o f a more c omplex monument i ncluding a h enge-like bank a nd d itch and a p aved area. The l ow p aved mound around t he L inney s tone was, p erhaps, e quivalent t o t he c obbled areas a round other s tanding s tone s ites a nd t here may h ave b een a D s haped s etting a ssociated w ith t he s tone at P orth Dafarch. T he areas a round o ther s tones o f t his t ype h ave n ot b een excavated and more complex f eatures may remain t o be d iscovered. T hese s tone a nd c ist c ombinations may, i n a s ense, h ave m arked s pecial g raves m ade d uring t he d edication o f a p hase o f a c omplex. F urthermore, t he a ssociated c ists d id n ot a ll c ontain s ingle b urials, a nd t here may h ave b een other, r itual a spects t o s ome o f t he d eposits within t hem ( see above p .28). C ertainly, i n most i nstances, s tanding s tones d o n ot a ppear t o h ave b een primarily b urial monuments, a point m ade by many commentators; a lthough they c learly had s ome i nvolvement i n t he processes o f d eath t his r ole was i nteg rated w ith other r itual. B urials were o ften, apparently, absent, or s econdary o r h ad a m inor r ole i n t he l ay-out o f t he c omplexes o r h ad s pecial ' ritual' o vertones. They o ften c onsisted o f p artial d eposits a nd were o ften o nly o ne a spect o f t he d eposition o f m aterial. We c an s uggest t hat t he r ituals on t hese s ites a lso included t he s torage and manipulation, as well a s t he deposition, o f objects and materials, including h uman r emains: g iven a n i ncreasing d ivergence o f f unction b etween r itual monuments i n t he p eriod, a s trand i n t his d ivergence may be provided by s tanding s tone s ites which may, c onceivably, h ave i ncluded a r ole a s r epositories e nshrined,

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of W ales

& S .W . England

at an earlier date, in chambered tombs ( although the ' inheritance' o f t his f unction was probably n ot c onfined t o s tanding s tones but may h ave b een s hared w ith other c lasses o f monument, e .g. h enges; C lare 1 986, 2 99-300). This role may be s uggested by a number of the c haracteristics o f s tanding s tone s ites a lready mentioned. The possible role a s r epositories o f s ome o f t he c ists which were a ssociated with s tanding s tones h as b een mentioned. The s imilarities between f eatures a ssociated with s tanding stones and features associated with Earlier Neolithic c ollective t ombs may a lso b e r elevant i n t his r espect s uggesting parallels i n s ymbolic and r itual f unction b etween t he two types o f s tructure. I n particular, we h ave n oted that cove- type structures may have functioned a s repositories or may have represented the portals of c hambered t ombs. The a ssociation o f a 4 - or 5 -post s etting with the cove at St. I shmaels i s s ignificant in this r espect. The s etting - l ike t he s imilar f eature at Mynydd L langyndeyrn - may b e i nterpreted a s a r aised or r oofed s tructure. I nterpretations o f s imilar s ettings which o ccur below round barrows and chambered tombs have included mortuary houses and exposure p latforms ( although one may prefer a more g eneralised i nterpretation o f t hese s tructures a s r epositories a s opposed t o a specifically f unerary one). The use o f imported materials, s hown by s ome o f t he deposits on s tanding s tone s ites, h as a lso b een noted on other types o f r itual s ite e .g. t he u se o f s elected s oils and s and h as been n oted i n r ound barrows ( Corcoran 1 958, 2 15). Also, on other r itual s ites, deposits were s ometimes moved f rom one s ite t o another. This practice i nvolved t he movement of occupation debris ( see above p .26) and a lso, apparently, involved s oil and h uman bones on r ing c airn s ites ( Lynch 1 984b, 2 8). Activity o f t his l atter k ind may b e an explanation f or s ome o f t he s oil deposits f ound on s tanding s tone s ites, s uch a s t he possible f oreign s oil d eposit in t he s ocket at Cremlyn. B urial and d epositional practices on s tanding s tone s ites a lso changed t hrough t ime. Attention c an b e drawn at t his point t o t hese c hanges and t o other trends i n t he d evelopment o f s tanding s tones which are a lso e choed on many other r itual s ites o f t he p eriod ( the e volution o f s tanding s tone s ites will be d iscussed i n f urther d etail i n t he f ollowing s ection). The widespread d evelopment on r itual s ites, i n Early Bronze Age I II, o f a s econdary f unerary or depositional f unction may be r epresented by t he s econdary or t ertiary n ature o f many o f t he deposits on s tanding s tone s ites. This phenomenon i s particularly marked where round barrows or cairns s ucceeded the stones. These s uccessions are examples of t he modification or e laboration o f existing f i .tual s ites which was a lso c ommon in t he E arly Bronze Age. This s ometimes involved the e laboration of an existing barrow, or sometimes involved the construction of an

4 2

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

overlying mound where one h ad n ot existed before ( Burgess 1 980a, ch. VII; C lare 1 986, 3 03-4). These developments may r epresent a p lanned evolution o f t he s ite - a development originally envisaged by t he users - or may represent a change in function. The provision o f round barrows or c airns on pre-existing s ites h as been s een a s equivalent t o t he s ealing o f chambered t ombs or t he c onstruction o f e arthen l ong barrows over preexisting mortuary s tructures at an e arlier date: and, i n t his r espect, it c an be emphasised t hat t he c onstruction o f r ound barrows and c airns was not, i n a ll c ases, d irectly a ssociated with t he deposition o f h uman r emains, and t he mound, a s s uch, may h ave h ad a r itual or s ymbolic f unction i n its own r ight, i ndependent o f t he f unerary ( Miles 1 975, 7 4). In s ome i nstances a r adical change i n f unction may b e i ndicated by t he c onstruction o f a mound. The s tanding stone/round barrow s uccessions may be particularly i lluminating in this r espect when v iewed i n conjunction with t he inclusion o f n atural rock f ormations a s the f oci o f s ome barrows and other monuments ( Barnatt 1 982, 8 2-83; M iles 1 975, 4 2; C lare 1 986, 3 02). This parallel may s uggest t hat, i n s ome c ases, a change i n p erception o f t he n ature and function of the standing stone may have been quite f undamental, there b eing a l ack o f d irect c ontinuity with the earlier function of the stone which was now i ndependently venerated a s a ' landscape f eature'. Other r eu sed s tructures h enges and other r ing monuments - may, c onceivably, have b een v iewed i n t he s ame l ight. Other developments o f particular i nterest are t hose found on the s ites of the standing stones themselves. S equences o f t his type are a well known f eature o f h enges and stone c ircle s ites ( Burl 1 976, 3 2-33). They are c ommonly thought o f a s i nvolving t he r eplacement o f t imber by orthostatic f eatures a lthough i t c an be emphasised t hat t he s equence on s tanding s tone s ites a lso i nvolved p its. A g eneral s uccession o f p it t o post t o orthostat, in which p its c an be expected t o be primary f eatures, may have been widespread amongst monuments o f t he period - amongst h enge monuments, f or i nstance, p it c ircles were g enerally e arlier t han c ircles o f wood or s tone ( Catherall 1 971, 1 48-9). B ut, on s tanding s tone s ites at l east, a lthough p its and posts u sually pre-dated t he s tones, s uch a g eneral s uccession i s n ot c learly apparent: f or i nstance, at B edd Branwen and Rhos-y-Clegyrn, p its post-dated t he s tones. Furthermore, t he process o f r eplacement on s tanding s tone s ites probably o ccurred at v ery d ifferent t imes on d ifferent s ites ( see b elow , p .50), and c annot b e r elated t o any s pecific horizon, a s may be the c ase with h enge monuments and r elated s ites ( Bradley 1 984a, 8 2). The erection o f an orthostat may n ot, i n f act, h ave b een t he i nevitable end r esult o f s uch a process. The p it t o post s uccession at Stackpole and t he r e-cut p its at St. I shmaels may r epresent an equivalent s equence ' frozen' at a pre- orthostatic phase. It i s also possible that s ome

4 3

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

s tanding s tones were r egarded a s t emporary f eatures o nly; i n t he s equence a t S t. S tephen-in-Brannel a s tanding s tone was r eplaced by a s econd, q uite d ifferent, s tone, and i t i s a lso possible t hat s ome r ecumbent s tones may have b een deliberately f elled in antiquity. Again, t his c omplex s ituation may b e a r eflection o f t he f act t hat p its, p osts a nd orthostats may r epresent ' independent v ariables'. The s ituation a lso s uggests t he s omewhat i ronic f act t hat t he s tanding s tones t hemselves may n ot h ave b een o f primary s ignificance t o t he u sers o f t he c omplexes ( Wilson 1 983, 3 75; Ward 1 983, 4 7). T he s uccession o f f eatures, which o ften b egan w ith a n apparently i nsignificant p it, s uggests t hat i t was t he focus r epresented by t he s tone r ather t han t he s tone i tself which was important. W ilson h as s uggested t hat t his p oint i s e xemplified i n Anglesey by t he great v ariety i n s hape a nd f orm o f s tones, which d oes n ot s uggest t hat t hey were v isually s ignificant. A lso, t hese f oci t hemselves were n ot n ecessarily a s important a s other f eatures o n t he s ites, which at S t. I shmaels, f or i nstance, may h ave i ncluded r oofed s tructures. I n f act, i t s eems t hat s imilar c omplexes t o t hose found on s tanding s tone s ites, including characteristic c ombinations o f f eatures, may n ot h ave b een c onfined t o t hese s ites b ut may h ave g iven r ise t o other above-ground f eatures, particularly round barrows and c airns. Excavations o f r ound b arrows a nd c airns h ave s hown a b roadly s imilar r ange o f f eatures t o t hose a ssociated w ith s tanding s tones - barrows included f unerary and non-funerary f eatures, and r anged f rom c emeteries, t o s ingle graves, t o mounds unaccompanied by a ny h uman r emains whatsoever. B ut, more t o t he point, c omparable c omplexes t o t hose a round s tanding s tones are b eing r evealed by area excavation which i s n ow t aking p lace b eyond t he e dges o f t he mounds. T hese ( and other c omparable c omplexes) may, i n s ome i nstances, a lso involve combinations o f uprights, oval/rectilinear f eatures and c ircular f eatures i n an axial arrangement. The b est example i s, p erhaps, Aber C amddwr I I, C ards ( fig. 5 ). This i nteresting s ite was excavated by H ogg ( 1977) a nd l ater by t he Dyfed Archaeological Trust ( Briggs and M urphy 1 984; Murphy 1 986b). A roughly axial arrangement o f f eatures i ncluded a wooden upright s et up at one e nd o f an oval or ' boat-shaped' s etting o f s tone a ccommodated i n a h ollow , an a lignment o f upright s tones, and c harcoal f illed p its. T he s etting was o riginally i nterpreted a s a g rave a lthough t his c annot b e proven. The upright a nd s etting were overlain b y a k erb c airn which was t he dominant f eature o n t he s ite. T his h ad a s mall ' annexe' a ligned on t he s ame axis a s t he other f eatures. Other upright s tones, c harcoal f illed p its, h earths a nd a l arge n umber o f s take-holes ( not s hown on p lan) a lso o ccurred i n t he area. S ome s imilarity c an, p erhaps, a lso b e s een b etween t he s tanding s tone c omplexes and t he N eolithic a nd B ronze A ge r itual s ite o n Crickley H ill, G loucs. I n a l ate s tage this included an a lignment o f f eatures consisting o f a

4 4

W illiams:

Standing Stones

0

5

* charcoal

of W ales

& S .W . England

1 0m .

f illed pits

0

other p its

4 ,

upright

s tones

F ig .5 . Abe rC amddw rI ,T re f e i r ig ,C a rd s .( a f te r Ma r sha l la nd Mu rphy )

4 5

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

l arge, mound, ( Dixon

but s hallowly b edded, wooden upright, a l ong, l ow and a s tone c ircle i ncorporating a c obbled p latform 1 988, 8 4-87 and p ers. c omm.). Other c omplexes appear t o b e o f a d ifferent n ature. Excavations at P arc Maen, P embs. ( fig. 6 ; DAT PRN 1 2030) revealed two s eparate groups of p its, one group being c harcoal f illed, and above ground f eatures c onsisting o f a p latform c airn and a group o f o rthostats o f very varied character and amorphous p lan. The doubtful a ssociation o f a ' setting' o f s mall s tones w ith two k erb c airns at T ir Mostyn, Denbs., has been mentioned. Burials and other deposits are a lso known f rom t he areas s urrounding a n umber o f b arrows i n more e astern areas o f B ritain ( Burgess 1 980a, 3 14) and o ther c lasses o f monument, i ncluding h enges ( Clare 1 986, 2 96), h ad a ctivity o utside t heir ' perimeters'. It m ay b e s ignificant t hat t he l arge uprights a t Crickley H ill and Aber Camddwr were of wood. Other

0

0

0

, ( , ' 1 C 2 . O

0 0

c sA D

Q

ü z%4> o

, e ( . \

c airn

c harcoal

s pread 2

0 p its

0 0

o rthostats

. 0

0

5

r ecumbent

1 0m.

F i g .6 .P a rc Maen ,L lango lman ,P emb s .( a f te r Ma r sha l la nd Mu rphy )

4 6

0

0

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

c omplexes, c omparable i n s tructure or f unction t o t hose associated with standing stones, may have remained ' unlithicised' - e ither by design or because of the unavailability o f s tone - and a lso unmarked by other s urface f eatures. As discussed above ( p.8), this may also be s uggested by t he overall d istribution o f s tanding s tones. By a s imilar t oken, i t c an a lso be argued t hat paired monuments may have been more common: the large wooden upright at Stackpole may h ave been c onsidered t o h ave been o f equal s ignificance t o t he s tanding s tone by the users o f t he s ite. F inally, attention c an be drawn t o t hose s ites which may s how s imilarities t o t he g eometry and possible a stronomy o f t he St. I shmaels c omplex. A number o f i nstances are known o f possible a stronomically s ignificant orientations b etween s eparate members o f groupings o f megalithic s ites ( Heggie 1 981, 1 18-120 and 2 08-209), a lthough these g enerally i nvolve f eatures on a much l arger s cale t han those f ound at St. I shmaels. I n many o f t hese i nstances t he geometry i nvolved i s s imple ( e.g. it may i nvolve a s imple pairing o f s ites) and t he r ecognition o f r elationship between s ites depends on a r ecognition o f s ignificant orientation. B ut other groupings a llow f or t he existence o f potentially more c omplex g eometrical r elationships. Of t hese l atter, t he l ayout o f monuments at Stanton Drew i s, i n s ome r espects, perhaps comparable to St. I shmaels. Here there i s an alignment between a cove and two stone c ircles with a further offset c ircle to the s outh ( Burl 1 976, 1 04). However, Stanton Drew i s, again, on a f ar l arger s cale t o St. I shmaels. A c loser parallel i s provided by a c ombination o f t hree small ' circles' ( including e gg s hapes) at Boitin, G ermany ( Heggie 1 981, 1 23; Muller 1 970, 8 3 - s ee appendix 2 ): t he c omplex i s on a s imilar s cale t o t hat at St. I shmaels and manifests a s omewhat s imilar g eometric relationship which, l ike St. I shmaels, can be observed i ndependently o f any a stronomical orientation, a lthough s uch an orientation may well exist. It c an be s tated t hat t he possible orientations i ndicated at Stanton Drew and Boitin are d ifferent f rom t hose at St. I shmaels.

4 7

EVOLUTION ,

ORIGINS AND CHRONOLOGY

Many s tanding s tone s ites, i ncluding a n umber o f t hose examples which h ave b een extensively excavated, were c learly multiphase. In addition, s tanding s tone s ites o ften s how e arlier and l ater phases of a ctivity, by and l arge i ndependent o f t heir main p eriod o f u se, which c an a lso be briefly r eviewed at t his point. Activity pre-dated t he c omplexes at Rhos-y-Clegyrn, Stackpole and Y strad Hynod; i n a ll t hree c ases s eparated by s ome t ime from t he f eatures d irectly a ssociated with t he stones. The pre-stone features at Rhos- y-Clegyrn ( and perhaps Y strad Hynod) were, apparently, domestic and of Neolithic date and no l ink was s een b etween t hem and t he s tones. The n ature o f t he pre-stone activity at Stackpole was more ambiguous. A l ong p eriod o f pre-stone s ettlement culminated in a ' roundhouse' of Early Bronze Age date. Although t here was a period o f abandonment between t his s tructure and t he complex a ssociated with t he s tone, t here may have been s ome connection between the two phases, demonstrated by a r itual a spect t o t he ' roundhouse' - t he s tructure had a s imilar orientation t o t he f eatures around t he s tanding s tone and a lso produced h uman bone. E arlier s ettlements may also be represented by f lint debris at C arrownacaw and by a Neolithic p it at P las Gogerddan. I n t he main phases o f t he s ites, t he s uccessions o f f eatures in t he areas o f t he s tones t hemselves, which h ave been described above ( pp.24-5), f orm , perhaps, t he c ommonest examples of multiphase activity. But this apparent c omplexity may b e due t o t he concentration o f excavation around the stones. Where excavation has been more extensive, other areas o f t he s ites o ften a lso s howed a c omparable multiphase development. The most informative s ite in this respect was Stackpole Warren where f eatures preserved i n windblown s and provided a c lear s equence o f s ite development, o f which t he standing stone and associated features formed only one phase. The evolution of this phase was complex and, p erhaps, p iecemeal, notwithstanding an overall s ymmetry o f p lan, but it was possible, perhaps, t o s ee t hree main s tages - pre-stone p its, the erection o f t he s tanding s tone and s etting, and post-setting a ctivity, i ncluding t he deposition o f a cremation. Activity o f f our d istinct phases was i ndicated i n t he small area excavated at St. Stephen-in-Brannel. A f airly coherent s equence may a lso h ave b een r epresented at S t. I shmaels - at l east t hree phases o f a ctivity were n oted over much o f t he s ite and, a lthough t he s equences i n d ifferent areas could not be c learly r elated t ogether, development may h ave t aken p lace i n an i ntegrally l aid o ut c omplex o f

4 8

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

f eatures. Similarly, at l east two phases were present amongst a perhaps i ntegrally l aid out group o f f eatures at Mynydd L langyndeyrn I . The c omplex at Rhos-y-Clegyrn was a lso multiphase, a lthough n o c lear evidence a s t o t he overa ll s equence of activity was obtained. Fairly s imple s traight-forward s equences o f development, i nvolving t he s ettings, were a lso n oted at L lanpumpsaint, M iskin, St. Breock B eacon and, p ossibly, L lanstephan. The majority o f s tanding s tone/barrow combinations were a lso multiphase. The pre-barrow s equence was c omplex at B edd Branwen. A f airly c omplex s equence may a lso be s uspected at Try, where t he c ist may have b een used a number o f t imes and, c onceivably, may originally h ave been f ree s tanding. A s imilar s ituation may be s uspected i n t he c ases o f t he c ist deposits at Porth Dafarch and at Naas ( although t he c ist at t he l atter s ite was not a ssociated with a barrow). S impler pre- barrow phases are also known or s uspected at K ilpaison, Y strad Hynod and, p erhaps, L long and Ty'n-y-Pw11. The b arrows t hemselves were o f two phases at L inney and L long. There were two phases o f burials and other deposits in t he b arrow at B edd Branwen ( at a n umber o f other s ites, t he r elationship o f t he mound and deposits within the mound i s not s o c lear 16 ) . The l ength o f t ime i nvolved in these s equences o f development i s o ften uncertain. At Mynydd L langyndeyrn I , St. Stephen-in-Brannel and Stackpole, phases o f use of t he c omplexes were s eparated by episodes of s oil f ormation: but only at Stackpole was there a t erminus post quem and t erminus ante quem for the standing stone phase, these averaging about 4 00 r adio-carbon y ears apart. I n t he c ase o f t he s tanding s tone/barrow s uccessions, t he l engths o f t he i ntervening periods were, a gain, usually not c ertain but, on balance, these s eem l ikely t o have been l onger r ather than s horter. A lthough at Y strad Hynod the majority o f pre-cairn f eatures s eem t o h ave immediately pre-dated t he c airn, t he presence o f a possible p it pre-dating the burial m ight argue f or a l onger pre-cairn s equence. S imilarly at K ilpaison, a lthough the i nterval between s tone and barrow was s ugg ested t o have b een s hort, t he argument i s not c onvincing and, a s we have s een, the p it burial at t his s ite c an be c ompared with s econdary p its at t he foot o f other s tones, i ncluding t he example at B edd Branwen where a c onsiderable period o f t ime s eems t o h ave e lapsed between t he erection o f t he s tone and barrow. A c ertain amount o f t ime may a lso b e s uspected t o have e lapsed b etween the construction of t he c ist and s tone and t he c onstruction of t he c airn at Try, t o a llow f or the r e-use o f t he c ist. S imilarly at P orth Dafarch and Ty' n-y-Pw11 s ome l apse o f t ime may be s uggested t o a llow f or t he c ollapse o f the s tones before t he erection o f a barrow. A s oil may h ave developed between t he two phases o f mound at L long. These multiphase s ites s eem to s how a number of general evolutionary t endencies. In addition to the s equences i n t he area o f t he s tanding s tones, these include

4 9

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

t he e volution o f p its l ocated away f rom t e s tones ( see n ote 6 ), t he s econdary n ature o f t he s ettings l i , a s econdary ( or t ertiary) c ontext f or many b urials a nd t he s econdary n ature o f s ome o f t he barrows a ssociated w ith s tanding s tones. This may s uggest a f airly s traightforward evolution common t o a n umber o f s tanding s tone s ites - f rom a s imple s ite, perhaps marked by a p it or p its only, with uprights and other c omplex s tructures a ccruing l ater. However, t he apparently i ntegrated p lans o f t he more c omplex, multiphase s ites s uggest t hat t his i s, p erhaps, a n over-simplification. A lso, t he development was c ertainly n ot a s ynchronous o ne, part o f a g eneral h istorical process: t he s equence may, i n t he majority o f instances, h ave b een i nitiated i n t he E arly Bronze Age or e arlier but t he whole s equence was probably Middle Bronze Age at Stackpole ( see b elow p .51). The e volution o f t hese s ites i s one of a n umber o f factors which contribute to an understanding of their ontogeny and broad chronology. Other factors are a ltitudinal d istribution, a ssociated artefacts, radio-carbon dates and s tructural parallels. This e vidence i s, t o an extent, mutually contradictory. A n umber o f c ommentators h ave s uggested a Neolithic origin f or s tanding s tones ( e.g. M iles and M iles 1 971, 1 2; Ward 1 983, 4 5). The a ltitudinal d istribution o f t he s tones i s a Neolithic one - it i s broadly c omparable with t hat o f h enge monuments but c ontrasts with t hat o f r ing c airns and r elated s ites o f an Early Bronze Age t ype ( Roese 1 980a and 1 980b). Comparable f eatures t o s tanding s tones c an, i n f act, be f ound a s e arly a s t he f ourth m illennium B C. I n particular, we h ave n oted t he p arallels b etween t he s tanding s tones and s ettings on one h and and t he mounds o f E arlier Neolithic t ombs and t he uprights s ometimes a ssociated w ith t hese on t he other. I solated posts, marking burials, are known i n an Earlier Neolithic c ontext ( Piggott 1 954, 4 9-50). I ndeed a date o f 2 973±75 b c h as c ome f rom the pre-stone p it at B edd Branwen - t he e arliest r adio-carbon date known f rom an apparently r itual c ontext o n a s tanding s tone s ite ( other Earlier Neolithic dates, f rom P las G ogerddan and Y strad Hynod, may r epresent domestic a ctivity). However, s herds from t he upper f ill o f t he p it appear t o be o f beaker t ype and t he date i s perhaps s omewhat s uspect. One may be wary o f s eeing d irect f ourth millennium antecedents, b ut t here are i ndications o f the use o f s tandi ng s tones i n t he t hird m illennium B C. On general grounds, t he s tones c an, perhaps, be expected t o h ave had a h istory analogous t o t hat of h enges and s tone c ircles and, a s d iscussed above, the t imber and stone s uccessions s een on s tanding s tone s ites c ertainly h ave L ate Neolithic parallels amongst t he more complex monuments. Standing s tones were a lso a ssociated with l ater p assage graves; at Bryn Celli Ddu ( Hemp 1 930 and 1 931) an i solated orthostat s tood i n t he c hamber and New Grange was possibly c apped by a s tanding s tone ( O' Kelly 1 982, 2 6-27). The l ong c ist at Naas and

5 0

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

' boat-shaped grave' at Ty' n-y-Pw11 c ould belong t o t he l ater t hird m illennium B C ( Savory 1 980a, 2 0-21 and R oese 1 985) and t he g eneral parallels between t he ' boat-shaped graves' and t he s ettings c ould a lso i ndicate a s imilar date f or t he l atter. B ut most o f t he a ssociated artefacts ( from burials and other deposits) are l ater, o f s econd millennium BC date ( appendix 1 . 7). Admittedly, s ome of this material was definitely s econdary and a further proportion was unstratified or f rom c ontexts which may well be s econdary. But other material appears to have been more or less primary, particularly t he material from c ists a ssociated with t he s tones. While t his primary material may b e a s e arly a s Early Bronze Age I at Naas ( and from a c ontext which may be multiphase) and l asts t hrough t o t he Middle Bronze Age at K errow , t he bulk o f t he material b elongs t o Early Bronze Age A c omparable r adio-carbon date o f 1 500±140 bc a lso c ame f rom a c ist at Y strad Hynod, a lthough this was n ot c learly a ssociated with t he s tanding s tone. However, the stone and c ist combinations may, conceivably, represent a s omewhat different c lass of monument from other s tanding s tones, particularly f rom those a ssociated with t he l arger c omplexes ( see above p . 4 1). Dating evidence, mostly by r adio-carbon a ssay, from t hese l atter s ites t ends t o be s omewhat l ater ( appendix 1 .7), from t he m iddle o f the s econd m illennium BC until well i nto i ts s econd h alf. Pottery f rom Rhos-y-Clegyrn s uggests an Early Bronze Age I I - I II date. A date o f 1 355±70 bc c ame f rom St. I shmaels, from a s econd or t hird phase r e-cut o f a p it, a lthough the p it was i ntegral t o t he primary l ayout and, presumably, t o t he use o f t he s ite. A date o f 1 340±70 b c c ame f rom Gors, a date o f 1 140±100 bc f rom an e arly phase o f Mynydd L langyndeyrn I and a date o f 1 000±70 b c c ame from a cremation at P las Gogerddan. The most c learly dated s equence i s from Stackpole Warren. Here the whole s equence of a ctivity, f rom pre-stone p its t o l ater cremation burial, post-dated t he use o f c ollared urns and was bracketed by a t erminus post q ue r n of 1 615±70 bc and 1 395 1 -65 bc and a t erminus ante q uem o f 1 175±65 bc and 9 40±70 bc. Other dates b elong in the f irst m illennium bc. At P las Gogerddan a barrow n ear the s tanding s tone h ad a t erminus post q ue r n o f 8 20±60 bc. F inally, r adio-carbon dates o f 7 10 1 -70 bc and 5 80±70 bc c ame f rom a r ing d itch at Ballybeen and a date o f 5 30±145 bc c ame f rom a s econdary cremation deposit i n t he c airn at Y strad Hynod. While s ome o f t hese l ater dates may r efer t o s econdary usage r ather t han origin, t he Stackpole dates c learly r elate t o t he c onstruction o f t he monument. The l ate dates produced by s ome o f t hese s ites c all f or particular c omment. The l ate s econd millennium bc dates c an be paralleled at other burial and r itual monuments i n Wales, f or instance at Aber Camddwr I I and P arc Maen ( pers. c omm. C . Marshall and K . Murphy). B ut these instances are r elatively rare; t he Early Bronze Age burial and r itual traditions, at l east on specialised r itual s ites, were

5 1

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

c oming t o an end at t his t ime - not only t he tradition o f c onstruction but a lso t he use o f e stablished s ites. I t i s, therefore, interesting to s ee the instigation of the Stackpole c omplex at s uch a r elatively l ate date. The e arlier f irst m illennium bc dates on s tanding stone s ites are particularly interesting as they, presumably, r epresent t he t ail end o f t he Bronze Age r itual tradition. They c an b e paralleled i n other r itual c ontexts - particularly, in more eastern areas, in cemeteries belonging to regional variations of the Deverel- Rimbury tradition ( Burgess 1 980a, 1 46; 1 980b, 2 70) and, more l ocally, by a s catter o f material from Wales and other areas o f t he h ighland zone r epresenting burials ( Burgess 1 976b; Raftery 1 981, 1 73-177) or, perhaps, votive deposits ( Williams 1 979, 2 7-29 and note 7 7). F irst millennium bc r adio-carbon dates are a lso known from s ome kerb c airns i n Argyll ( Ritchie et. a l. 1 975). The Y strad Hynod deposit i s o f a particularly l ate date and may belong t o t he opening c enturies o f t he I ron Age. It introduces an i ntriguing s eries o f Iron Age and later features on these s ites. Iron Age burials from Stackpole consisted of a crouched adult inhumation, l ying within an arc of stake- holes, and three child burials belonging t o a s lightly l ater horizon. The crouched b urial was overlain by l arge s tones; t he child burials were twisted and crushed and one l ay at t he base o f a possible post-hole. The crouched burial produced a radio-carbon date of 1 60±155 bc ( CAR-104). These were amongst the e arliest f eatures i n a s equence o f apparently domestic o ccupation, which i ncluded a number of s ubstantial buildings, and which l asted i nto t he Romano-British period. At Porth Dafarch also a poorly documented s uccession o f R omano-British s ettlement and Early Christian burials post-dated the standing stone/barrow. At P las Gogerddan t he barrow w ith the t erminus post q uer n o f 8 20±60 bc h ad a cremation i n its d itch which produced a radio-carbon date o f 2 00±60 bc, and t he construction o f t he barrow may, i n f act, belong t o t he Iron Age r ather t han t o the L ater Bronze Age c ontext o f t he t erminus post q uem . At l east one, probably t hree, I ron Age crouched burials a lso o ccurred on the s ite. The I ron Age burials were s ucceeded by an Early Christian t ype c emetery. F inds o f Iron Age and Romano-British material a lso c ame f rom Naas and Try and Early Christian burials a lso occurred at K ilpaison and, conceivably, at Trewern and H igher Drift ( and the f inal use o f B allybeen was a s a f ocus f or modern pet burials). Again, there may h ave been a s trong r itual a spect t o t his Iron Age activity. Complete p it i nhumations o f I ron Age date, s uch as those found at Stackpole and P las Gogerddan, may have been o f a s acrificial or votive n ature ( Wait 1 985, 2 50): t his i s perhaps a lso s uggested by t he twisted and crushed i nfant burials at Stackpole and t he l arge s tones in the upper f ill o f t he adult grave - the l atter, possibly, intended t o ensure t hat t he corpse s tayed

5 2

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

b uried. Votive deposits may, a lso, be r epresented by t he f inds from Try and perhaps Carne and Naas. The s take s etting at Stackpole may r epresent a small s hrine, and i t i s p ossible t hat t he l ater domestic a ctivity at t he s ite may n ot have been purely s ecular i n nature. This Iron Age activity raises the question of continuity. While there may have been s imilarities in r itual practice between t he Early Bronze Age and Iron Age ( see above pp.17-18), Bradley ( 1982) has s uggested that, i n s outhern Britain generally, there s eems to be l ittle e vidence f or actual c ontinuity o f r itual use o f Neolithic and Bronze Age r itual s ites i nto t he Iron Age. Rather t he opposite s eems t o h ave been t he c ase - c ertain instances o f r itual usage of these s ites i n t he l ater period are r are while e arly r itual s ites were c ommonly used f or s ettlement i n t he I ron Age or R omano-British p eriod a fter a period o f abandonment. Bradley's argument c an, perhaps, be qualified with f urther evidence f or t he veneration o f at l east s ome e arlier r itual s ites in t he Iron Age and particularly in l ater p eriods. In addition t o t he e vidence outlined above i n r espect of s tanding s tones, f inds of Romano-British c oins and other material are known from barrows and other s ites which were, possibly, o f a votive n ature ( Piggott 1 962, 5 55 6; Williams 1 979, 2 7-29 and note 7 7). Burial mounds f eature s trongly i n pre-Christian Irish tradition and were c learly ' yet another f ocal point f or c ult practice....' ( Ross 1 967, 3 9). At a l ater date there was c ertainly a c onsiderable amount o f Early Mediaeval r itual a ctivity on t hese s ites: in addition t o t he examples on s tanding s tone s ites, this i s well documented amongst henge monuments ( Harding and Lee 1 986, 5 2), and a lso s eems t o have been c ommon on round barrow s ites. But Bradley's e vidence f or a l ack o f continuity i s, i n general, convincing. What, t hen, i s the c ontext o f t his Iron Age and Romano-British r itual a ctivity at s tanding stone s ites? It s eems most l ikely that this activity r epresents r e-use, p erhaps c onnected with t he veneration o f l andscape f eatures which i s a c haracteristic f eature o f C eltic r eligion. Continuing use o f s uch Iron Age s hrines, t hrough the Roman period and i nto Early Mediaeval t imes, with t heir eventual Christianisation, may a lso provide a possible explanation o f t he use o f s ome s tanding s tone and other e arly r itual s ites a s Early Mediaeval c emeteries: t his may be h inted at by t he o ccurrence o f both Iron Age and Dark Age burials at P las Gogerddan. However, ( paralleling t he postulated s ituation i n t he Iron Age) the e stablishment o f a Christian presence on a s ite which was venerated but n ot a ctively used i s a possible a lternative explanation o f this Early Christian usage: the v eneration o f s tanding s tones, a s well a s other l andscape f eatures, in Early Christian t imes i s well documented, a s are the s teps t aken t o s uppress or Christianise s uch t raditions ( Grinsell 1 976, 1 4-17).

5 3

THE FUNCTION OF STANDING STONE S ITES

T his s ection w ill, o f n ecessity, i nvolve a s ummary o f s ome o f t he main p oints a lready m ade i n r espect o f t he f unction o f s tanding s tone s ites. O n t he whole, i t s eems c lear t hat s tanding s tones were b asically r itual s ites a nd t hat t he majority o f f eatures o n t hem c an b e i nterpreted i n t erms o f r itual b ehaviour. T heir f unction c an b e c onsidered o n two l evels: t hat o f t he n ature o f t he r itual a ctivities t hemselves a nd t he broader r ole o f t he s ites i n t he s ocial organisation o f t he c ommunity.

RITUAL FUNCTION While, t o a l arge e xtent, t he s ignificance o f t hese s ites i n t erms o f b elief must r emain e lusive, a r ange o f r itual practices characteristic o f t he period may b e r epresented by t he s tructural r emains o n s tanding s tone s ites. The c omplex i nter-relationship o f f eatures, which i s s hared w ith o ther c lasses o f monument, s uggests s election f rom a pool o f r itual a ctivity, s tructure a nd s ymbolism , r epresenting a h ierarchical a nd p olythetic r eligious s ystem. A h ierarchy o f practices, r ituals a nd c ult i nstitution c an, p erhaps, b e d iscerned. While s ome a spects o f t he s ystem m ay have been very generalised others were possibly more s pecific t o s tanding s tone s ites. D ifferent f unctions w ere, p erhaps, exercised i n s ome c ases b y d ifferent i ndividual s tones a nd, i n s ome i nstances, by t he s ame s tones. T hese f unctions may h ave c hanged t hrough t ime. C ertain b asic b eliefs a nd practices may h ave b een s hared b y a n umber o f r ituals. T hese g eneralised a spects are r epresented by a n umber o f t he f eatures d iscussed a bove when considering the broader a spects of standing s tone s ites, b ut t he phenomenon m ay b e e xemplified by t he v ariety o f t ype a nd c ontext o f d eposit. Deposits were, presumably, s acrificial or votive. One c an s peculate t hat t hey w ere made t o a v ariety o f p owers i n c onnection w ith a v ariety o f t ypes o f r itual - d eposits i n p its, f or example, may h ave b een made t o g ods o f t he underworld, t o f ertility d eities o r t o t he dead t hemselves. They may h ave b een made o n a v ariety o f o ccasions: s ome d eposits, t hose i n c ists f or i nstance, may h ave b een made o n a regular, ' calendrical' basis ( Wait 1 985, 7 ). Other d eposits may r epresent ' crisis r ituals' - f or i nstance, t hose d eposits a ccompanying t he e rection o f s tones may h ave b een d edicatory.

5 4

W illiams:

S tanding Stones of W ales & S .W . England

A n umber o f p ossible s uggestions c an b e made a s t o t he n ature o f t he n on-funerary d eposits. The ' occupation d ebris' may h ave b een u sed i n a cts o f s ympathetic f ertility m agic. White s tones m ay h ave b een a ssociated w ith t he c oncept o f purity. P erishable deposits and charcoal d eposits a re o f p articular i nterest. While s ome o f t he l atter may r epresent t he r emains o f f uneral pyres, t here are i nstances where t his was, apparently, n ot t he c ase ( Lynch 1 984b, 2 7). B oth t ypes o f d eposit m ay, i n s ome i nstances, r epresent ' sacred' wooden objects, t he c harcoal d eriving f rom t he ' cremation' o f s uch objects i n k eeping w ith c urrent f ashion ( such p erishable d eposits may, i n f act, h ave b een f airly c ommon i n other, e arlier c ontexts - s uch a s c ollective t ombs - where i nhumation was t he n orm , a ny s uch d eposits h aving d isappeared w ithout t race. The possibility of organic ' grave goods' h aving accompanied many ' unaccompanied' b urials h as b een p ointed o ut; B urgess 1 980a, 3 24-5). I t i s a lso p ossible t hat s ome o f t he p erishable deposits may r epresent animal bones ( perhaps of t otem a nimals), f ood o r drink o fferings o r t he r emains o f r itual f easts. Major r itual types c an b e expected to have been concerned with water, f ertility, c elestial/calendrical events, death and an underworld. Mortuary r ituals on s tanding s tone s ites - which were c losely c onnected w ith other depositional practices - were v ariable a nd r epresentat ive o f a w ide r ange o f s uch r ites i n t he E arly B ronze Age. The evidence h as been discussed at l ength above. In s ummary, i t i s p ossible t o s uggest t hat s ome s tanding s tone s ites may h ave b een r elated t o t he broad f amily o f s ingle graves a lthough i n t he majority o f i nstances t his was n ot t he c ase. A lthough t here i s, p erhaps, e vidence f or t he proc esses o f d eath o n many s tanding s tone s ites, t he majority do n ot s eem t o h ave b een primarily f or b urial a nd h uman r emains o ften p layed a r elatively m inor r ole i n c omparison w ith t he utilisation o f o ther m aterials. A r ole a s r eposit ories c an b e s uggested, a gain e choing t hat o f c hambered t ombs at a n e arlier date, a nd p aralleling t he r ole o f h enge monuments a nd o ther t hird a nd s econd m illennium s ites. Non-funerary r ituals a re o nly h inted at i n a v ery g eneralised manner. Again, t ypically, t hese s eem t o h ave b een i nterwoven o ne with another. A s mentioned, t here may h ave been a c hthonic a spect t o p it d eposition, t he p its r epresenting bothroi f or c ommunicating with an underworld ( Atkinson 1 951, 5 8). I n t his r espect t hey may b e r elated t o t he c omplex o f s haft a nd well c ults b etter r epresented i n t he Later P rehistoric p eriod ( Ross 1 967, 2 4-33). A c lose c onnection b etween s tanding s tones s ites and water - w ith probable f ertility i mplications - h as b een s uggested o n grounds o f l ocation a nd orientation. This may a lso b e h inted a t by t he f olklore e vidence - t he n umerous annual excursions o f s tanding s tones a nd other megaliths t o the nearest s ource of water ( Grinsell 1 976, 5 6-60. A

5 5

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

s imilar r elationship t o water h as been c laimed f or a variety o f r ing monuments: B url 1 976, 1 53-4 and 2 62-3; Lynch 1 975, 1 25). Boat s ymbolism h as a lso b een s een in t he s hapes o f t he s ettings and their relations to the standing stones, a lthough t he validity o f t his s ymbolism h as been doubted ( Lynch 1 970, 1 02) and i t c an b e s uggested t hat t hese s hapes r epresent a v ariation on a wider r ange of p lans ( see above p .30). B ut s uch a s ymbolic f unction n eed not be exclusive; while a f unerary r ole may be i ndicated ( a s hip o f t he dead), s olar s ymbolism f or i nstance may a lso be involved ( a s hip o f t he s un). Phallic s ymbolism may a lso be s uggested by t he s hape o f t he s ettings ( as i t i s by t he mounds of s ome c ollective t ombs). Phallic s ymbolism i s a lso s uggested by many o f t he stones themselves and a s exual symbolism may a lso be embodied i n t he d imorphism o f t he s tone pairs. A n umber o f other a spects o f s tanding s tone s ites may a lso be r elevant t o f ertility r ituals. The possible s acrificial a spect o f t he Stackpole burial may b e particularly s ignificant i n t his c ontext. Dancing may a lso b e a ssociated with f ertility r ituals - t his i s n ot s trongly s uggested by t he evidence at s tanding s tone s ites a lthough i t may h ave been the r eason for the wear on the s etting at St. Stephen-in-Brannel. Folklore evidence a lso exists for the association of s tanding s tones w ith h ealing ( Grinsell 1 976, 1 5-16). The a ssociation o f white s tones with h ealing i s well documented ( Rees 1 935), a s i s t he apparent l ongevity o f t he r itual u se of white stones, stretching from the Neolithic to the present day 18 . The question of the astronomical s ignificance of prehistoric r itual s ites i s a v exed one. Many o f t he s ignificant a lignments which h ave been c laimed ( e.g. Thom 1 967) concern unexcavated s ites and e vidence provided by excavated s ites i s t herefore p articularly welcome. The geometric relationships involved in the layout of the c omplex at St. I shmaels do, possibly, imply an i nterest i n t he movement o f a h eavenly body ( see appendix 2 ). B ut it c an be s tressed t hat t his s eems unlikely t o h ave involved a ' scientific' observational function - no obvious long d istance s ite l ines are i nvolved, rather the opposite, t he ' site l ines' i nvolving i nternal r elationships. These ' site l ines' a lso i nvolved r oofed s tructures and backfilled p its, which, again, does n ot s uggest a s trictly observational f unction. The r elationships are better explained a s h aving had a magical or religious s ignificance, involving the l ayout o f t he s ite i n s ympathy with an a stronomical e vent. F inally, we c an pose t he question o f whether or not s tanding s tone s ites r epresent a c ult i nstitution. This may be bound up with the question of the extent to which s tanding s tones r epresent a s pecific ' type' o f monument. This i s arguable. The possible role o f s ome s tones a s s pecific burial monuments h as b een d iscussed. A f urther, major qualification in this respect i s the complex

5 6

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

r elationship of t he s tones with other types o f s ite, r eflecting t he p olythetic n ature o f r itual s ites i n t he p eriod. I n p articular, c omparable c omplexes s eem t o h ave o ccurred o n s ites which were n ot c learly c haracterised by s ingle s tanding s tones but by other s urface f eatures, p articularly r ound b arrows a nd c airns. A s a c orollary, i t s eems l ikely t hat s imilar phenomorphs may h ave r esulted f rom v ery d ifferent b elow ground f eatures. Nevertheless, e ven a llowing t hese q ualifications, t he c ombination o f f eatures the f oci r epresented by the s tanding s tones, the o val/rectangular s ettings, a nd t he axial arrangements - m ay r epresent basic t hemes running t hrough t he excavated s tanding s tone s ites, a lbeit t hemes perhaps expressed e lsewhere by d ifferent phenomorphs. There was, h owever, probably a c hange i n t he r itual f unction o f s tanding s tone s ites t hrough t ime. I n t his r espect, a n umber o f t rends h ave b een d iscussed which c an b e p aralleled o n other r itual s ites o f t he p eriod. I n v ery g eneral t erms t he emergence o f s tanding s tones c an b e s een a s p art o f a n i ncreasing d iversification o f r itual s ites i n t he t hird a nd s econd m illennia B C. Many o f t he b urials a nd other deposits a ssociated with s tanding s tones were s econdary a nd may r epresent a n e volution o f t he s ites t o a more s pecifically f unerary or depositional f unction, a c ommon t endency o n r itual s ites i n t he l ater p art o f t he E arly Bronze Age. Another w idespread t endency, s een o n s tanding s tone s ites, was t he a ddition o f a b arrow t o a preexisting s ite. T hese d evelopments may h ave v aried f rom a p lanned e volution t o a major c hange i n f unction: t he l atter may, i n f act, b e s uggested by a c omparison o f t he s tanding s tone/barrow s uccessions with t he inclusion of natural o utcrops i n s ome b arrows a nd c airns. Before l eaving the question o f r itual, it i s i nteresting t o c onsider t he e xtent t o which s tanding s tone s ites manifest t he a rchaeological ' correlates' f or r itual a ctivity proposed b y R enfrew ( 1985, 1 8), a nd t he e xtent t o which t hese s hould b e modified i n a prehistoric B ritish c ontext ( Harding a nd L ee 1 987, 6 3-64). The majority o f R enfrew 's c orrelates which h ave b een s uggested by H arding a s p ossibly b eing i dentifiable amongst h enge monuments may, p erhaps, a lso b e r ecognised o n s tanding s tone s ites. T hese may i nclude t he presence o f s pecial f acilities f or t he practice o f r itual ( pits, s ettings e tc.), votive deposits, perhaps f ood and drink ( perishable d eposits) a nd a lso e vidence f or s acrifice ( the a dult a nd c hild b urial at S tackpole). T he s ites, a s a whole, c an b e l ooked at a s ' a s pecial b uilding or other c onstruction p ut apart f or r itual a ctivity'. Other examples o f R enfrew 's c orrelates m ay a lso b e r ecognised o n s tanding s tone s ites. The f oci r epresented by t he s tones may h ave f unctioned a s ' attention-focusing d evices'. T he s tones a nd other uprights a nd t he s ettings

5 7

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

may h ave h ad a s ymbolic f unction and t he n umbers o f small uprights and the common pairing of features at Rhos- yC legyrn may r epresent ' redundancy' o f s ymbols. I t c an even be s uggested that the standing stones themselves were aniconic r epresentations o f a s upernatural b eing. Other c orrelates c an be added t o R enfrew's l ist, i ncluding c onsiderations o f l ayout and orientation ( ibid . 6 3) and, v ery importantly, t he presence o f h uman r emains. F inally, t his modified l ist o f c orrelates may apply n ot only t o h enges and s tanding s tones but may be o f more g eneral relevance in the context of prehistoric British r itual s ites. I n t his wider c ontext, f urther c orrelates c ould be s uggested e . g. the presence of totem animals and the breakage o f objects.

SOCIAL FUNCTION The s uggestions regarding the possible s ocial functions of standing stones proposed here apply most readily to Wales and depend, to a certain extent, on arguments based on t he d istribution o f t he Welsh s tones. There i s no reason to s uppose that basically different functions were performed by the standing stones of the south- west, a lthough here the apparent distribution of standing stone- type s ites may have been distorted by g eological f actors. A llowing t he f act t hat a basically uniform c lass of s ites i s represented by standing stones, it c an be t entatively s uggested t hat s ome of t hem , at l east, f ormed the spiritual, social and t erritorial centres of small s ocial groups in t he L ate Neolithic and e arlier part o f t he Early Bronze Age. The comparisons with collective tombs may be particularly s ignificant i n t his r espect, a s t hese h ave b een s een a s f ulfilling j ust s uch a role i n t he Earlier Neolithic ( Thorpe 1 984, 4 5 and references therein). Such minor c entres are not s o well defined i n l owland areas o f western Britain i n t he Late Neolithic and particularly t he Early Bronze Age. They may b e r epresented, t o an extent, by r ound barrows and round barrow groups, which have a fairly ubiquitous d istribution and f ulfilled s uch a f unction i n more e astern areas ( Burgess 1 980a, 1 70-171). B ut i n Wales and other western areas, r ing c airns and r elated s ites, which were c learly n ot primarily f unerary monuments and c an be expected t o h ave f ulfilled a wider s ocial role, h ave an upland d istribution. S tanding s tones and r elated s ites c an b e s uggested a s h aving f ulfilled an e quivalent role i n more l owland areas. The c entres r epresented by t he s tones may h ave been ; . -u bsidiary t o major c entres r epresented by major groups o f b arrows and r ing monuments ( Ward, A . H ., 1 976; Ward P . A . e t. a l., 1 987) and by h enges and s tone c ircles. I t i s even possible t hat t he s ingle s tanding s tone s ymbolised a s ingle

5 8

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

s ocial unit a nd t hat t he s tone c ircle r epresented a g rouping o f s uch units. f oci o f t he t ype possibly S ocial a nd t erritorial an, p erhaps, b e expected t o r epresented by s tanding s tones c east t he major or primary h ave b een a ssociated with at l A s we h ave s een, s ettlements o f t he groups i n question. previous s ettlement h as b een s uggested by excavation o n a n umber o f s tanding s tone s ites and, at Stackpole, t here may be an evolutionary l ink between s ettlement and s tone ( although t here may h ave b een a ' ritual' d imension t o t he S tackpole ' roundhouse' while t he s tanding s tone i tself was a l ate and, perhaps, special c ase). Other, indirect indications of s uch a ssociations have been discussed, i ncluding t he a ssociation o f s tones w ith t rackways a nd t he r elationship o f s tones t o s oil t ype. The apparent contradiction between the l owland, Neolithic d istribution ( and apparent Neolithic ancestry) o f s tanding s tones and t he l ater s econd m illennium r adio-carbon d ates may, i n p art at l east, b e e xplained by t his model. The s ites, i n g eneral, may b e s uggested a s h aving b een e stablished i n or by t he Late Neolithic a s t he t erritorial f oci o f i ndividual s mall groups. They c ontinued i n u se and evolved in complexity during t he Early Bronze Age and p articularly t oward t he e nd o f t he p eriod. On t he other hand, the construction of s tanding s tone s ites was not c onsidered appropriate by the builders of variant r ing monuments who e xploited more upland areas at t his t ime. A number of further points arise from these s uggestions, with regard to both upland and lowland d evelopments. A parallel t o t he d evelopment o f s tanding s tone s ites i n l owland areas o f Wales may b e provided by t he d evelopment o f ' ritualised l andscapes' e lsewhere ( Harding and L ee 1 987, 4 and 6 2). These are an i ncreasingly well known phenomenon i n l owland areas o f more e astern p arts o f B ritain i n t he l ate Neolithic a nd Early Bronze A ge, a nd probably r eflect r esponses t o d ifferent c auses i n d ifferent areas at different t imes. With respect to r itualised l andscapes, we c an r epeat t he s uggestion made above ( p.5) t hat s ome c lose groupings o f s tanding s tones may r epresent major r itual c omplexes. I t i s a lso possible t hat l ater s econd m illennium phases o f more c omplex d evelopment on s tanding s tone s ites were a r eaction to conditions of s ocial and, perhaps, u ltimately e nvironmental pressure: t hat t he d evelopments were meant t o c onfirm t he i dentity o f t he group a s i t c ame under s tress. The e laboration o f pre-existing s ites i n t his c ontext may r eflect ' a r eference t o t he past a s a s ource o f l egitimating a uthority' ( Bradley 1 984b, 6 3). L ithicisation o f h enge monuments at an e arlier date may b e explained i n a s imilar manner ( Bradley 1 984a, 8 2). The d istribution o f s tanding s tones in r elation t o poorer s oils, discussed above, may a lso be r elevant to these s uggestions;

5 9

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

environmental pressures and t he e laboration o f s ites b eing greater in areas o f r educed productivity. Any comparison between the function of r itual monuments i n upland and l owland areas must depend partly on o ur understanding o f t he r ature o f s ettlement i n both z ones. While there i s l ittle doubt that there was permanent s ettlement i n l owland areas o f Wales i n t he Early Bronze Age ( e.g. Williams 1 986), i n t he uplands t he evidence i s not conclusive. Transhumant exploitation o f t he l atter area h as been s uggested a s a possibility ( e.g. Lynch 1 984b, 3 6) and t here were, undoubtedly, r egional variations i n s ettlement and e conomy t hroughout t he principality. However, s ome f orm of p ermanent upland s ettlement i n Early Bronze Age Wales now s eems l ikely ( Briggs 1 985). The d ifference i n monument t ypes between upland and l owland areas may indicate t hat upland groups h ad s et up i n opposition t o e stablished, l owland groups ( Bradley 1 984b, 6 3) or, perhaps more l ikely, t hat t he upland groups were o f s ubsidiary s tatus and dependent on groups i n ancestral, l owland t erritories: t his dependence perhaps being emphas ised and r e-affirmed i n t imes of s tress and c ompetition ( Sahlins 1 961). A dependent r elationship may be s uggested by t he evidence from Moel Goedog, Merioneth ( Lynch 1 984b), where s keletal r em is h ad b een brought t o a r ing c airn f rom more l owland areas ". There are parallels i n other areas o f Britain for t he g eneral s ituation s uggested above ( Bradley 1 984a, 8 9-94); f or d ifferences between upland and l owland burial monuments and f or a l ate Early Bronze Age intensification o f r itual a ctivity under pressure - a particular parallel f or t he l atter being the l ate date o f the Wessex 1 1 barrows.

6 0

EXCAVATED STANDING STONE SITES SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND AND IRELAND.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 0 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 6 2 7 2 8 2 9 3 0 3 1

Ballybeen, Co. Down B allygrennan, Co. L imerick B eaple's Moor, Devon B edd Branwen, Anglesey Boleigh, Cornwall Bridgend, G lam. Candleston, G lam. Carfury, Cornwall Carne, Cornwall Carrownacaw , Co. Down Cottrell Park, G lam. Cremlyn, Anglesey Downpatrick, Co. Down Drumnahare, Co. Down Dungiven, Co. Derry G ittisham H ill, Devon G lynllifon Park, Caerns. Gors, Carms. Hafoty, Anglesey H igher Drift, Cornwall Kern s, Cornwall Kerrow, Cornwall Kilpaison Burrows, Pembs. Knelston, G lam. L inney Burrows, Pembs. L lanfachreth, Mer. L lanpumpsaint, Carms. L lanstephan, Carms. Llong, Flints. Miskin, G lam. Mynydd Llangyndeyrn 1 , Carms.

3 2 3 3 3 4 3 5 3 6 3 7 3 8 3 9 4 0 4 1 4 2 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 6 4 7 4 8 4 9 5 0 5 1 5 2 5 3 5 4 5 5 5 6 5 7 5 8 5 9

IN WALES. ( Fig. 7 .)

Mynydd L langyndeyrn 1 7, Carms. Naas, Co. Kildare Penrhos-Feilw , Anglesey Pentrehobyn, Flint. P ickwell Manor, Devon P ilton, Devon P las, Pembs. P las Gogerddan, Cards. Portavo, Co. Down Porth Dafarch I I, Anglesey Porthmeor, Cornwall Pridden, Cornwall Punchestown, Co. Kildare Rhos-y-Clegyrn, Pembs. St. Breock Beacon, Cornwall St. I shmaels, Pembs. St. Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall Stackpole Warren, Pembs. Trelew , Cornwall Tregiffian, Cornwall Trenuggo, Cornwall Tresvennack, Cornwall Treverven, Cornwall Trewern, Cornwall Try, Cornwall Tullylinton, Co. Tyrone Ty' n-y-Pw11, Anglesey Ystrad Hynod, Mont.

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

3 8 • 4 7 2 3

2 7 •

1 8• 5

4 9

2

:

1 32

• 2 4

3 0

6 7

• 1 1

F ig .7 .E xcava ted S tand ing S tone si n Wa le s ,S ou th - We s tE ng land a nd I r e land

6 2

W illiams:

The Long Stone,

Standing Stones

Ballybeen,

Co.

of W ales & S .W . England

Down

( Mallory

1 984).

The s tone s tood at t he western end o f a p latform ( the p latform was, presumably, n atural a lthough the excavator does not state this). The area around the stone was e xcavated and an extensive area t o t he e ast o f t he s tone was s ampled by t rial t renching. There was no t race o f a s ocket, t he s tone h ad, apparently, b een s tood upright on i ts f lat b ase. A r ow o f s mall c obbles l ay t o the north o f t he s tone. A s hallow d itch possibly e nclosed the area around t he s tone ( it was not possible t o s ample the f ull extent o f t his p ostulated enclosure). To j udge by t he published p lan this e nclosure was o f a s omewhat oval p lan. Approximately 5 0 m west o f t he s tone t here l ay a s econd r ing d itch, 2 .0 m a cross i nternally, t he f ill o f which c ontained charcoal and a worked f lint f lake. I n t he c entre o f t he r ing d itch a d eposit o f cremated bone l ay on t he o ld ground s urface. T his appears t o h ave b een a t oken cremation ( although t he e xcavator pointed o ut that s ome bone may h ave b een l ost by e rosion). Two r adio-carbon dates o f 7 10±70 b c and 5 80±70 bc were obtained from charcoal from t he r ing d itch. Other a ncient f inds i ncluded two f lints from a modern d itch, an e nd-scraper and a f ragment o f bone from t he c obbles n orth o f t he s tone. The s tone was l ater u sed a s a f ocus f or modern p et burials.

Ballygrennan,

Co.

L imerick

( 0 Donnabhain

1 986).

The s ocket was n arrow and, apparently, y ellow g lass bead c ame from t he s ubsoil.

B eaple's Moor,

Knowstone,

Devon

( Pye

f unctional.

A

1 987).

This was a doubtful standing stone, recently excavated by Exeter Museums Archaeological F ield Unit. The stone had been erected in a pit which was s omewhat l arger t han t he b ase o f t he s tone and t here was n o s ubstantial packing. The s tone had s uffered d ifferential weathering. These f eatures are consistent with a Bronze Age d ate, but t here were no f inds or a ssociated f eatures, even t hough an area s ome 6 x 1 0 m was excavated around t he s tone.

Bedd Branwen,

Llanbabo,

Anglesey

( Lynch

1 971).

F ig.

8 .

The s ite w as dug i nto in 1 813 and r e-excavated i n 1 967. There was a s uccession o f f eatures on t he s ite o f t he s tanding s tone. A primary hollow possibly c ontained a n upright post at s ome s tage, r epresented by a deposit o f c harcoal i n t he b ase. The hollow had b een backfilled and

6 3

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

s ocket

s takehole

i n

f ill

primary hollow

A

s econdary pit ? base

c remated bone

s takehol

packing

of post

/// , >( t

A s takehole buried soil

0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 P iI n : ,

1 I I 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1

c harcoal

l ayer

c harcoal ( ?base s econdary p it

0

P

s ocket

basal

1

2

primary hollow l ine

o f

s tones 3m .

F ig .8 .B edd B ranwen ,L lanbabo , Ang le sey ( a f te rL ynch )

6 4

o f post)

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

c ontained a n umber o f d eposits - a l ine o f t hree s tones i n t he b ase, a l ayer o f c harcoal a t a h igher l evel a nd an upper f ill o f c lay c ontaining two f lint f lakes a nd s herds o f p ottery. Two s take-holes were d iscovered o n t he l ip o f t he h ollow. T he p it was c ut by t he s tone-socket. This was a r elatively deep, apparently f unctional, excavation c ontaining packing s tones. A ' token cremation' was, a pparently, d eposited at t he s ame t ime a s t he erection o f t he s tanding s tone a s i t l ay b ehind a p acking s tone. S craps o f f lint a nd a s herd o f pottery a lso f rom t he f ill o f t he s ocket were, c onceivably, r esidual, a lthough t he e xcavator d oes n ot s tate t his. B oth primary h ollow and s tone-socket were s ealed by s oil formation and, therefore, s ome period of t ime had e lapsed b efore l ater developments o n t he s ite which i ncluded t he c onstruction o f a b arrow a round t he s tanding s tone. T his i ntermediate phase may h ave s een t he d igging o f a s hallow p it ( not i llustrated), which h ad a f ill l ike t he b uried s oil, s ome 3 m f rom t he s tone. This p it c ontained a f ew p ieces o f f lint. The b uried s oil, a s excavated, probably r epresented a n o ld s ubsoil; t he t opsoil h aving b een s tripped o ff prior t o t he c onstruction o f t he barrow. F inds f rom t he s urface o f t he l ayer c ould, t herefore, b e c onsidered c ontemporary with the c onstruction of the barrow. They included f ragments o f c ollared urns and f lints. There was e vidence o f ? extensive b urning o n t his s urface and b urnt b one i s a lso m entioned. A f urther p it was dug t hrough t his s oil l ayer, at t he f oot o f t he s tanding s tone. T he b ackfill o f t he p it was c ontemporary w ith t he c onstruction o f t he b arrow. T he p it was c ircular, s teep s ided a nd f lat bottomed. I t c ontained a f ew p ieces o f c harcoal at t he b ase, presumably a d eliberate d eposit, a lthough a f ragment o f f lint a nd ? p ottery f rom t he upper f ill were, a gain, p erhaps r esidual. The b arrow ( not i llustrated) was v ery d isturbed. I t was o f a c omplex , c omposite c onstruction, a lthough c learly o f a s ingle phase. I t i ncluded a c arefully c onstructed c airn r ing, w ith a s tony i nfill. O utside t he c airn r ing, t he mound was o f e arth a nd t urf w ith a n o uter k erb. When c omplete t he mound may h ave b een ' rather doughnut s haped', t he upper p art o f t he s tanding s tone r emaining v isible a t i ts c entre. B urials, a nd other d eposits i n t he b arrow , p erhaps f ell i nto t wo p hases - t he f irst pre-dating t he c airn r ing, t he s econd i nserted i nto t he s tony i nfill - a lthough t here was unlikely t o h ave b een any g reat l apse o f t ime b etween t he t wo groups. T hey were a ssociated w ith c ollared urns a nd a f ood vessel. They included apparently complete cremations, with accompanying grave goods including an a ccessory vessel, an awl, knife pommels, beads and a n ecklace. Other a ccessory v essels, paired with those c ontaining t he c remations, c ontained only very small

6 5

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

deposits o f cremated bone - n otably cremated i nfant e ar bones - and e arth and c harcoal. E arth and c harcoal were a lso used t o pack t he urns i n t heir p its. Two o f t he urns were enclosed i n c ists. Other f ragments o f pottery and b one from disturbed areas were, presumably, due t o d isturbance o f intact vessels rather than more diffuse deposits a s no pottery or bone was d iscovered i n t he undisturbed make-up o f t he mound. F inds o f f lint from t he mound were, probably, r esidual, i ncorporated a s part o f its e arthen c omponent. The dating o f t he e arlier, s tanding s tone phase i s problematical. C harcoal from t he pre-stone hollow g ave a very e arly date o f 2 973±75 bc. However, t he s herds from t he upper f ill were, possibly, of b eaker while t he s herd f rom the s tone-socket was, possibly, o f c ollared urn or f ood vessel. There i s n o c lear indication o f what l ength o f t ime i s r epresented by t he i ntermediate s oil horizon. R adioc arbon dates f or t he c onstruction and u se of t he b arrow f ell between 1 403±60 and 1 274±80 bc.

The Pipers, 1 905).

Boleigh,

Cornwall

( Borlase

1 872,

1 06-107;

Lewis

This i s a possible s tone pair, perhaps o utliers of t he Merry Maidens s tone c ircle. These are l arge s tones, the north-east p iper b eing 5 .05 m h igh and t he s outh-west 4 .1 m h igh. The excavation o f t he s tones was d escribed t hus by Borlase i n c onjunction w ith t he Goon R ith s tone, Tregiffian: ' On d igging carefully round e ach o f t hese s tones n othing remarkable was discovered,...'. But he does record the north-east s tone a s b eing bedded at a d epth o f 5 f t a nd the s outh-west a s only s et 1 ft 3 i ns i nto t he t urf! I t has b een s uggested t hat h e d id not f ully i nvestigate t he l atter ( Barnatt 1 982, 2 26-227). Lewis r ecords a s econd-hand r eport of a pot o f a shes b eing f ound n ear one o f t he s tones.

Bridgend,

G lamorgan

( Lewis

1 965).

F ig.

9 .

The s tone-socket was much l arger t han t he base o f t he stone, a lthough this was, perhaps, due to an unstable s ubsoil. The s ocket c ontained c learly f unctional packing. A hollow in the base of the s ocket could, conceivably, r epresent an e arlier upright o f s tone o r wood ( although t his was not s uggested by t he excavator). T his hollow was f illed by a deposit c onsisting o f charcoal and a partial cremation, t he deposition o f which must h ave more or l ess immediately pre-dated t he e rection o f t he s tone, a s t he butt o f t he s tone had b een ground i nto the deposit during erection. The s tone s ocket a lso c ontained a utilised f lint f lake.

6 6

W illiams:

Standing Stones

edge

‘ c 7

packing

A

of W ales & S .W . England

o f

s ocket

c 2 4 1" 2

\J

basal h / Iollow

e

( 1) c harcoal a nd c e,-) cf ' 5 c remated bone basal hollow

1

2

3m .

F ig .9 .B r idgend ,G lam .( af te rL ew i s )

dagger

f ood vessel

r

\

c remation cairn

0

1

2m .

0

1

2

F ig . 1 0a .C and le s ton , Me r thy r Maw r ,G lam .

1 0b .C o t t rel P a rk ,S t .N icho la s ,G lam .

( a f te r Wa rd )

( a f te rG r ime s )

6 7

3m .

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

Candleston, Merthyr Mawr, G lamorgan Savory 1 980a, 2 2-23.). F ig. 1 0a.

( Ward

1 919,

3 27-330;

The monument s eems t o h ave c onsisted o f t he r emains o f a ? p latform-like c airn i ncorporating an e longated and ' somewhat wedge-shaped' c ist b uilt on t he o ld ground s urface. These were overlain by a r ecumbent s lab which h ad once, perhaps. s tood erect on t he c ist c over or c airn. The c ist contained an ? adult cremation, a f ood v essel, a r ivetted dagger and a deposit o f s nail s hells.

Carfury,

Gulval,

Cornwall

( Pool

The socket contained charcoal f lecking i n t he upper

Carne,

Morvah,

Cornwall

and

R ussell

packing f ill.

( Borlase

1 872,

1 959,

stones

1 28). and

l ight

1 83).

This i s a v ery doubtful s ite. A vague, e arly account speaks of an urn c ontaining c oins f ound n ear t he north- west corner of a small enclosure, s urrounded by a thick, uncemented s tone wall, at t he f oot o f a v ery l ong and l arge s tone inserted i n t he wall. It l ay about a f oot from t he s urface, covered by a f lat s tone. A n umber o f possible interpretations c an b e made o f t he d iscovery, i ncluding an interpretation as a l ater deposit made on an earlier s tanding s tone/ring monument s ite.

The 1 1.

Long

Stone,

Carrownacaw ,

Co.

Down

( Collins

1 957).

F ig.

The stone was shallowly bedded with apparently f unctional packing s tones. 1 f t 6 i ns t o t he n orth o f t he stone a s egment of a trench of V -shaped profile was excavated, which was t aken t o r epresent a r ing t rench o f 2 02 5 f t d iameter. The f ill o f t he trench c ontained s tones which ' apparently d istributed at r andom , were i n r eality c arefully s et.... They extended t hroughout t he depths o f t he f illing and i n p laces projected one f oot above t he general l evel o f the boulder c lay on e ither s ide'. The i llustration s hows t hat t he s tones t ended t oward t he c entre o f t he t rench which does n ot s upport t he s uggestion t hat t hey were packing s tones and t hat t he t rench f unctioned a s a bedding t rench ( pace Ward 1 983, 4 6). A n on-functional r itual deposit i s, perhaps, more l ikely. The d itch a lso produced very small quantities o f burnt b one and charcoal, a f ew f lint f lakes and an i ndeterminate s herd. F lint, mostly unstratified, was c ommon on t he s ite, and i ncluded waste f lakes, utilised f lakes and other implements, i ncluding tranchet arrowheads. G iven t he r arity o f worked f lints i n t he area, t he excavator was i nclined t o l ink t he f lint with t he s tanding s tone, but

6 8

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

d irect a ssociation t he o ccurrence o f s tone s ites.

i s by n o means proven, e specially g iven p re-stone o ccupation on other s tanding

A

trench

0

1

2

3m.

F ig .1 .C a r rownacaw ,C o .D own ( a f te rC ol in s )

Cottrell 1 0b.

Park,

St.

Nicholas,

G lamorgan

( Grimes

1 934).

F ig.

The s tone-socket f ormed a r amp o n t he e ast down which t he s tanding s tone h ad b een i ntroduced. This r amp was packed with s tones i n order t o prop t he s tanding s tone upright. The s tanding s tone l ater partially c ollapsed and was l eaning at an angle when excavated. The t op o f t he packing s eems t o h ave b een e choed by a l ayer o f s mall s tones extending about 4 f t f rom t he s tanding s tone on t he west, t he whole, p erhaps, f orming a s mall c obbled area around t he s tone.

Cremlyn,

Llanddona,

Anglesey

( Lynch

1 980b).

F ig.

1 2.

The s ocket was pre-dated by a small pit, very possibly r epresenting a p ost-hole, t he p osition o f which h ad been r espected d uring t he d igging o f t he s tone-socket. The s tone i tself was s et s hallowly i n t he s ocket. The s ocket was an uneven, apparently f unctional, excavation and i ncluded packing s tones. The f ill o f t he s ocket s eems t o

6 9

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

h ave i ncluded s oil f oreign t o t he s ite. A s tony area around t he s tone ( not i llustrated) was o f r ecent origin. position

o f stone when e rect

pre-stone

p it

A

packing A

7. „

packing

socket

pre-stone

socket

1

2

pit

3m.

F i g .1 2 .C rem lyn ,L landdona ,A ng le sey ( a f te rL ynch )

Downpatrick,

Co.

Down

( Brannon

1 986).

A s mall area e xcavated around t he s tone, and two additional, r adial t renches 9 m l ong, f ailed t o l ocate any archaeological f eatures. The s tone-socket was, apparently, a s imple, f unctional excavation.

Drumnahare,

Co.

Down

( Collins

1 957).

F ig.

1 3a.

The stone was very s hallowly bedded in a s ocket s omewhat l arger t han t he s tone. The s ocket c ontained a ' token' cremation a nd a l ittle c harcoal s cattered t hroughout i ts f ill.

Dungiven,

Co.

Derry

( Bratt

1 976).

The s ite had been excavated in the n ineteenth c entury. Trial t renching was c arried o ut i n t he 1 970's when t he s ite was f ound t o b e v ery d isturbed. The s tone h ad been e rected o n a n atural h ummock, a nd h ad b een s urrounded by a f ence or p alisade. The h ummock was b uilt up with s oil or t urf t o f orm a p latform a round t he s tone.

The Rolling Stone,

G ittisham H ill,

Devon

( Tyler

1 930).

This i s o f d oubtful antiquity. I t was originally a n r a. ect s tone - e xcavated when r ecumbent. The s tone h ad a dressed, s quare base. No s tone-socket was apparent, t herefore, t his was, probably, o riginally v ery s hallow. No f inds were made apart f rom a f ossil e chinoderm , which o ccurs n aturally i n t he area.

7 0

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

I I I I I

I I I I I

socket

collapsed s tones

A

stone impression o

0 0

1

2

1

2

3m.

3m.

projected profile--1-A

of

F i g .1 3a .D rumnaha re ,C o .D own ( af t e rC o l l in s )

socket

1 3b .H a fo ty ,A ng le sey ( af te r Wh i te )

Maen Llwyd, Glynllifon Park, Llandwrog, Caernarfonshire ( Wynn Williams 1 875; H emp 1 932; S avory 1 980a, 2 9). The s tone was excavated i n 1 875 and 1 931. A l ayer o f cremated bone and c harcoal w ith f ragments o f a f ood v essel were d iscovered i n 1 875, 3 f t f rom t he b ase o f t he s tone. No p it i s r ecorded a lthough i t i s c lear f rom t he 1 931 a ccount t hat t he r emains l ay b elow s ubsoil l evel. T he r emains were a ssumed t o r epresent a c remation c ontained i n a vessel a lthough Wilson ( 1983, 3 75) has s uggested they r epresent a ' ritual d eposit' o f c harcoal, bone and pottery f ragments. T he 1 931 e xcavations were c arried 2 3 yds b eyond t he s tone b ut n o s tructural f eatures were r ecorded. A f ew p ieces o f q uartz w ere a lso d iscovered.

7 1

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

Gors, Llangynog, F ig. 1 4.

Carmarthenshire

( Marshall

1 985a

and

b ).

The s tone l ies amongst a c oncentration o f s tanding s tones and was, p erhaps, o ne o f a pair. The s tone-socket was v ery s hallow. I t was c ut by a s mall, o val p it. 1 0 m t o t he s outh-east o f t he s tone was a r oughly t rapezoidal s etting o f c lay-filled pits and t o the s outh- west was a s hallowly c urved l ength o f g ully which c ontinued o utside t he excavated area. Fragmentary patches o f c obbling s urvived around t he s tone and the c lay-filled p its but formed no coherent pattern. A n umber o f other s mall p its - s ome o f which may h ave b een post-holes - a nd n umerous s take-holes were f ound t hroughout t he excavated area b ut t hese f ormed no c oherent pattern ( the s take-holes are n ot i llustrated). Only one o f these l atter p its c ontained a s ignificant deposit, c onsist ing o f charcoal and a s ingle f ragment o f b urnt bone and t his c harcoal produced a r adio-carbon d ate o f 1 340±70 b c.

ö c >c . . . .

gully

.

1 340±70bc 0

o

0

0 3 °

o

o

8 , 1 3

o

. 0

* e 8

I M y' U

0

0 1

0 o

z . . 0 , 0‚d . e b

b eI g h s i ,

-l e e

pit g roup

0

o c ei g ie

&

c obbles

Po

p its

o

0

o

,

1 0m.

5

F i g .1 4 .G o r s ,L langynog ,C a rm s .( af t e r Ma r sha l l ) Hafoty,

f eature

Anglesey

( White

1 977).

F ig.

This was p art o f a s tone on t he s ite was a l arge,

7 2

1 3b.

a lignment. p ear-shaped

The e arliest p it which h ad

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

s ilted up n aturally b efore t he erection o f t he s tanding s tone. The f ill c ontained a n umber o f s tones which h ad c ollapsed i nto t he p it. There were two s take-holes on the e dge o f the p it. The excavator s uggested t hat t he s tones may, originally, h ave c overed t he p it, perhaps s upported on a wooden frame. The stone had been erected above the pit. The excavator a ssumed t hat i t h ad been erected i n a s eperate s ocket, a lthough a ll trace o f this putative s ocket, and o f t he upper part o f t he p it i tself, had been destroyed by l ater s oil f ormation. It s eems more l ikely t hat t he s tone h ad been s et up d irectly over t he t op o f t he s ilted p it, r esting, i n part, on the l ip and, i n part, on packing s tones o n t he edge of t he p it; i t h ad moved in antiquity and l eft a n impression d irectly i n the upper s ilt. The only f inds c onsisted of f lint waste from the t opsoil.

H igher Drift,

Sancreed,

Cornwall

( Borlase

1 872,

2 3-24).

This i s a stone pair. Excavation revealed a r ectangular pit measuring 6 ft by 3 ft 3 ins by about 5 ft d eep. It was a ligned e ast- west, at r ight angles t o the axis o f t he s tones and with i ts western end midway between them. The excavator appreciated the problems of date and f unction posed by the p it. It could r epresent a number o f t hings, i ncluding a ' ritual' p it, a prehistoric inhumation d issolved by the acid s oil or an Early Christian inhumation r epresenting r e-use o f t he s ite.

Kern s,

Paul, Nil

Kerrow ,

Cornwall

( Borlase

1 872,

1 75).

r esult.

Z ennor,

Cornwall

( Dudley and Patchett

1 954).

A deposit was s ituated immediately adjacent t o t he s tanding s tone, apparently within t he s tone-socket itself, a lthough t he account i s not c lear on this point. The d eposit c onsisted o f two Trevisker urns, one i nside t he other, s tanding upright on a small p ile o f charcoal and p acked round with c harcoal and burnt s oil. No bone was a ssociated. The deposit was overlain by a l ayer o f s tones.

K ilpaison Burrows, Rhoscrowther, S avory 1 980a, 2 4-25). F ig. 1 5.

Pembrokeshire

( Fox

1 926;

Excavations by A . G . 0 . Mathias and J . D . B eddoe were observed and r eported by Fox. The monument i ncluded a s tanding s tone i ncorporated i n a barrow. The s tone s eems t o h ave been s et i n a r elatively deep, s teep-sided s ocket. No

7 3

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

p acking s tones, a s s uch, are r ecorded a lthough a h eap o f s tones was p iled around i ts b ase. 4 ft away a s econd, s maller s tone l ay on t he o ld ground s urface. B etween t he two was a c arefully made, basin-shaped p it which c ontained c harcoal and cremated r emains, probably b elonging t o a y oung woman. Charcoal a lso l ay on t he o ld ground s urface. The deposition of the charcoal, the smaller s tone and, presumably, the cremation must have, more or l ess, immediately pre-dated t he c onstruction o f t he barrow. Fox a lso s uggested t hat t he s tanding s tone was c ontemporary w ith the small stone and cremation due to the symmetrical r elationship o f a ll t hree f eatures. H owever, t he s tanding s tone c ould h ave pre-dated t he other f eatures a s a f rees tanding monument.

\

A pit with c remation

s tanding

(

s tone

urns

h eap of s tones

excavated a rea

s tone

A s tanding

p it with

s tone

c remation 0

1

2

3 m.

barrow

5m

F i g .1 5 .K i lpa i son B u r row s ,R ho sc row the r , P emb s .( a f te rF ox )

The b arrow i s d escribed a s c ircular a lthough, a s i llustrated, i t appears t o b e s omewhat oval: i ts l ong axis b eing t he s ame a s t hat o f t he e arlier f eatures. I t was o f e arthen c onstruction a nd, a pparently, o f a s ingle phase a nd covered the top of t he monolith. It was not totally e xcavated b ut extensively t renched. I t c ontained a n umber o f s econdary d eposits, i nserted s uperficially. One deposit, n ot c ontained i n a n urn, was a c omplete cremation. T he

7 4

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

r emainder, i n c ollared urns, i ncluded apparently partial cremations and an urn c ontaining no bones. An Early Christian long c ist burial was later i nserted i nto t he mound.

The Eastern S avory 1 949;

Burry RCAHM

Stone, Knelston, 1 976, 1 22 No.546).

Glamorgan

( Rutter

and

The s tone was, possibly, part o f an a lignment. The excavations were o n a l imited s cale. The s tone-socket was s hallow. P acking s tones were noted a lthough t hese had b een d isturbed i n r ecent t imes. No other f eatures or f inds were d iscovered.

Linney Burrows, Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire 1 926; Savory 1 980a, 3 0.). F ig 1 6.

( Gordon Williams

This was, p erhaps, a two phase monument. The f irst phase included a well-constructed, c lay-bonded c ist - s et partly in an artificial h ollow - with a f ill o f s ea s and c apped by a l ayer o f s hingle. Within t he c ist l ay a crouched burial, a ccompanied by a f ood v essel. A pebble may h ave l ain i n t he mouth of t he c orpse and t he c ist a lso c ontained two f lint f lakes. The c ist was s urmounted by a s tanding s tone and i ncorporated i n a l ow, c lay mound, c apped with l imestone p ieces, which gave the impression of a s loping, paved area s urrounding the s tone and i ncorporating t he c apstone. The s tanding s tone was propped up by s tone b locks s et i n c lay and, t herefore, was probably contemporary with the c ist. The s urface o f t he mound and ' paving' was overlain by a s catter o f b lack p ebbles and a cruciform s etting o f s tone b locks, t he l atter c entred on the s tanding s tone. The p lan o f t he mound was uncertain due t o l ater d isturbance b ut was, presumably, originally c ircular. This f irst phase was, possibly, originally frees tanding and only l ater embedded i n a mound o f s and and s tone which r eached at l east t o t he t op o f t he s tanding s tone. Apparently w ithin t his mound was a s econdary deposit ( not i llustrated), a lthough t his was much d isturbed and i ts n ature i s n ot c lear f rom t he excavators a ccount. It s eems t o h ave b een a ssociated w ith a p it with e vidence of burning and t o h ave i ncluded cremated bone, charcoal and pottery f ragments. The e xcavator s tated t hat a body had been burnt i n s itu and t he i n-urned c remation l ater destroyed. B ut h e o ffered no evidence for the former s uggestion and an i nterpretation a s a ' ritual p it' may be preferred. Neither i s i t possible t o b e c ertain, f rom t he excavator's r eport, whether t he deposit was, i n f act, originally enclosed within a pot or whether it originally consisted of a more f ragmentary deposit, i ncluding pottery s herds.

7 5

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

\ \

/ / /

/

\ \ \ \

/ /

\ \

/

/

/

1 i I I I

/

cruciform

\ \

s etting

/

\

/ / / \

/ N

N

/

/

/

/

, —

secondary ? original of

extent

mound

propping

?paving

s econdary mound

cruciform

. . . . . . . . . . .

s etting

-. . •• .

A _ _ _ __

, -

. . "

. -/

c ist

primary mound

0

1

2

windblown

3m.

F ig . 1 6 .L inney B u r row s ,C a s t lema r t in ,P emb s . ( a f te r Go rdon -W i l l iam s )

7 6

sand

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

hollow

_ _

packing

s tone

impression

B

l imit of

socket 0 .

--cobbled

packing

o

1

2

3 m.

F ig . 1 7 .F fo s -y-maen ,L lanpump sa in t ,C a rm s . ( a f te rL ew i s )

7 7

a rea

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

Tyddyn Bach, Llanfachreth, C ambrensis 1 873, 2 13; Chitty

Merionethshire ( Archaeologia 1 926; S avory 1 980a, 2 5.).

This s ite, r eported f irst i n 1 873, was i nterpreted by M iss C hitty a s s imilar t o t he L inney B urrows monument: i .e. it was interpreted a s c onsisting o f a c ist c ontaining a burial, c apped by a s tanding s tone s upported by s maller s tones, and i ncorporated i n a mound. It was not c ertain whether t he h uman r emains r eported r epresented an i nhumation or cremation. The burial was accompanied by a t anged s pearhead ( or dagger) and a g old r ing i s a lso r eported. 0°

Q

0Qo . . .

O0 0 c 0 2 o0

9

0

S‚0 ° Oc

90p Di i r c,2o °,

( )

op

pit

% '00

0

'z 'o e ,0 2 0

0

j

e

( 2

o .o3

A

-

. 092'

B

A ci -,

c l9 .- -

-1 1>

pre-stone

GC

.6

0.

j Z3 9 1: 0 0

v

, .

/

,( ‘ 0 2 D C 7-- - 0 0 - 40 ( , Co < 9 o O C7 7

stone

0

scatter

°(-7 -C)

Q N ,c ). D 0 _.

1

2

stone

3m.

clay

scatter

' cushion' B

c : 2 0 c2

A 2

pre-stone

pit

F i g . 1 8 . Maen L lw yd , Mac s Gw yn ,L lan s tephan ,C a rm s .( a f te rL ew i s )

Ffos-y-Maen, F ig. 1 7.

Llanpumpsaint,

Carmarthenshire

( Lewis

1 965).

The b utt o f t he s tone h ad, possibly, b een dressed. The s tone-socket was c onsiderably l arger t han t he s tone and r elatively s hallow a lthough t he s tone h ad b een c arefully

7 8

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales

& S .W . England

p acked. The s tone l ay a t t he n orthern e dge o f a c obbled area, measuring 1 0 f t by 1 1 f t, which appeared t o h ave b een, originally, D -shaped. This overlay t he s tone-socket a lthough n o g reat l ength o f t ime c an h ave s eparated t he two f eatures a s t here was no s oil build-up b etween t hem. To t he n orth o f t he c obbled area was a h ollow c ontaining o ak c harcoal.

Maen Llwyd, Maes 1 965). F ig. 1 8.

Gwyn,

L lanstephan,

Carmarthenshire

( Lewis

The e arliest f eature on t his s ite was a s hallow oval p it, t he f ill o f which c ontained s mall p ieces o f charcoal. M iles and M iles ( 1971, 1 0) h ave s uggested t hat t his m ight h ave h eld an e arlier s tone or, more l ikely, an e arlier post. The pit was partly overlain by a deposit of red c lay c ontaining f lint f lakes, a ccommodated i n a s hallow h ollow d ug down t o s ubsoil l evel. The s tanding s tone r ested on t his c lay deposit which was i nterpreted a s a ' cushion' deliberately l aid down t o s upport t he s tone. There was n o s tone-socket a s s uch. The primary p it a lso appears t o h ave b een post-dated by a s catter o f s tones l ying t o t he north o f t he s tanding s tone. This s catter was interpreted by the excavator as the possible base o f a c airn a lthough it i s t empting t o s uggest i t r epresents t he r emains o f a s tone ' setting' or ' platform' o f t he type c ommonly f ound on other s tanding s tone s ites.

L long,

Flintshire

( Lynch

1 984c).

This i s a poorly r ecorded s ite, partially excavated in the 1 950s and recently interpreted and published by Frances Lynch. The s ite appears t o have i ncluded a s tanding s tone which s tood c lose t o t he e dge o f a small c airn. The e arliest f eature on t he s ite was, possibly, a backfilled p it underlying t he c entre o f t he c airn, i n t he t op o f which p it was a crouched i nhumation, possibly o f a young woman. Lynch a ssumed t he p it t o be c ontemporary with t he burial but a n e arlier date f or t he f ormer c an p erhaps be s uggested ( the presence o f an e arlier p it pre-dating a burial c an a lso b e s uggested at t he c omparable, e astern Welsh s ite o f Y strad H ynod; s ee below). A quantity o f c harcoal was a ssociated w ith t he b urial. The burial was, p erhaps, overlain by t urves f ollowed by the main body o f t he c airn. The l atter c ontained c harcoal, f lint implements, b urnt animal bones, c remated h uman bones, a p iece o f unburnt h uman cranium and a j et n ecklace. A period of t ime, r epresented by the possible u evelopment o f a s oil o ver t he c airn, may h ave e lapsed b efore f urther d evelopments on t he s ite. B oth c airn and s tanding s tone were t hen i ncorporated i n an e nlarged barrow , w ith a l ayered make-up and, p erhaps, a s tone c apping. I n t he r econstructed s ite p lan the monolith l ies c lose to the

7 9

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

c entre of the s econd phase mound. c ontained two p artial c remations.

Miskin,

L lantrisant,

Monmouthshire

( Vyner

The

s econd

1 977).

F ig.

phase

1 9.

T he e arliest f eature o n t he s ite was a s hallow p it. This was c ut by t he s tone-socket. The f ill o f t he s ocket c ontained two s andstone s labs, one o f which was, p erhaps, broken o ff t he s tanding s tone i tself a nd which d id n ot a ct a s a f unctional packing s tone. The s ocket a lso c ontained a whetstone and a n umber o f, p ossibly waterworn, p ebbles. The primary p it s eems t o h ave r emained open at t his s tage a s i ts base had been heavily trampled and the trample l ayer c ontinued over t he f ill o f t he s ocket. The t rample l ayer c ontained a worked f lint f lake a nd a s econd whetstone. The p it was t hen deliberately b ackfilled and c apped by a c ompact area o f s tone. This was o f a r ounded t riangular s hape, about 1 .5 m a cross, a nd d escribed a s ' boat s haped'. The excavator r eferred t o i t a s ' paving', a lthough Ward ( 1983, 4 6 n ote 2 0) h as c ommented t hat i ts s mall s ize and i rregular s urface s uggests a s imilarity t o a more amorphous s tructure at Mynydd L langyndeyrn 1 7. The matrix o f t he s tony area c ontained a n umber o f f lakes o f f lint and chert.

s tone

l ayer

9 )02 s tone

s ocket

A Q .-

l ayer

00

pre-stone p it

-—

sandstone

0

1

s labs

2

pre-stone pit

3m.

F i g . 1 9 .M i sk in ,L lan t r i san t ,G lam .( a f te rV yne r )

Mynydd Llangyndeyrn, and 2 1.

Carmarthenshire

( Ward

1 983).

Two c losely adjacent ( but n ot i ntervisible) s tones were excavated o n Mynydd L langyndeyrn.

8 0

F igs.

2 0

s tanding

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

P HASE

1

, d a t

post s tructure pitched e

4

pf r

A4

•

s tone

I

4

e

-. , 4

7

4

P

IT

4 4

1

1 li

r ing

•

t rench s ocket

P HASE

pitched s tone

pitched r ecumbent

CD

s tone

s tone

. L 3 •, . , :. •••. :2 : 7 n . . .hearth . . ' .1.7 3 • . , „ , , _, . •. r ing

. a• \

t rench 0

C )

5m.

0

F ig .2 0 . Mynydd L langyndey rn I ,C a rm s . ( a f te r Wa rd ) 8 1

I I

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

Mynydd L langyndeyrn 1 ( fig. 2 0) was t he most c omplex a nd o f two main phases. T he s tanding s tone h ad b een e rected i n phase I . The ' socket' was a s hallow s coop o f l arger area t han t he b ase o f t he s tone. An adjacent s etting o f f ive post-holes a nd post-rests post-dated t he s ocket. Two o f t he post-holes contained deposits of white c lay and white c rystalline s tone. T his s etting was i nterpreted by t he excavator a s a l ean-to, r oofed b uilding c onstructed a gainst t he s tanding s tone, w ith an a dditional o uter s creen. Other f eatures i n t he area i ncluded a p it c ontaining c harcoal a nd a small r ing trench ( approx 1 .5 m across internally). Charcoal f rom t he p it produced a r adio-carbon date o f 1 140± 1 00 b c. These f eatures were s ealed by a s oil l ayer. L ater f eatures were c ontemporary with or p ost-dated t he f ormation o f t his l ayer. This l ater phase o f a ctivity was, p erhaps, l ess i ntensive. T he r ing-trench was r e-cut and t he e nclosed area i ncluded a h earth. Other f eatures i ncluded a s econd h earth, a r ecumbent s lab , and two s mall s tones which were p itched at an a ngle - a lthough o ne o f t he s tones may, originally, h ave b een s et upright.

A

1

2

3m.

F i g .2 1 . Mynydd L langyndey rn 1 7 ,C a rm s .( a f te r Wa rd ;n a tu ra ls t one so m i t ted )

8 2

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

The s econd s tanding s tone, Mynydd L langyndeyrn 1 7 ( fig. 2 1), was, apparently, s impler. T he s tone-socket was r elatively deep and s teep-sided with f unctional packing s tones. I ts f ill appeared t o b e c ontemporary w ith t he c onstruction o f a s mall, f lat-topped, oval mound ( 1.6 m l ong) l ying adjacent t o t he s tone. The mound preserved a r ough, uneven s urface.

Longstone Rath, F ig. 2 2.

Naas,

Co.

Kildare

( Macalister

et.

a l.

1 913).

The s tone s tands at the c entre of a henge-like e arthwork w ith an external d itch. I t i s i ncluded h ere a s i t f orms part o f a g roup o f exceptionally l arge menhirs which exist i n t he Naas area ( Leask 1 937, 2 50). The s tone was s et r elatively s hallowly b ut s upported by f unctional p acking s tones. It had, probably, been erected more or l ess i ntegrally w ith a l arge, l ong c ist which l ay n ear i ts f oot. The c ist, apparently, n ever h ad a c over and was p artially d ivided, l ongitudinally, by a l ow s lab. The f loor o f t he c ist was o f ' rounded f ield s tones' a nd h ad b een h eavily b urnt, which t he excavators a ssumed was due„ t o i n s itu c remation a lthough t his s eems v ery uncertain ". The d isordered f ill o f t he c ist i ncluded two c remations, o f a male a nd probably a f emale; but, a lthough i t i s s tated t hat ' ...it i s probable t hat t he whole o f t he two s keletons were r epresented...', only one t ooth was f ound among t he c remated b ones. A lso i n t he c ist were f ragments o f pottery, c harcoal, a knife, a b ead or t oggle and f ragments o f a bracer. A pot s mashed when d iscovered - may h ave, originally, s tood on t he t op o f t he f ill. I t i s p ossible t hat t he f ill was d isturbed ( in antiquity) and t hat a n umber o f phases are r epresented.

fallen ( as

A

f allen

partition

1

2 s tanding

s tone

F i g .2 .L ong s tone R a th ,N aa s ,C o .K i lda re ( af te r Maca l i s te re t .a l . )

8 3

d iscovered)

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

C lare ( 1986, 2 99-300) h as i nterpreted t he c ist a s a r itual r epository ( 'offering box '). T he area s urrounding t he c ist a nd s tanding s tone was p artially paved and s howed e vidence o f e xtensive burning. T his was c overed by a l ayer o f r edeposited s oil 1 - 2 f t t hick. The c ist was described a s ' just c oncealed b eneath t he s urface o f t he e arth'. Animal bones were a lso d iscovered i n t he area a lthough i t i s not c lear whether t hese were ancient. A possible I ron Age h arness r ing was a lso f ound n ear t he s tone.

Dol-yr-Orsedd,

Pentrehobyn,

Flintshire

( Davies

1 949,

2 49).

A ' dagger a nd h uman bones' were f ound at t he b ase o f a menhir during i ts r emoval. The s tone may h ave been dressed.

P ickwell Manor,

Georgeham ,

Devon

Mentioned e n passant excavation o f another s ite. t he base o f the menhir.

Penrhos-Feilw , 1 869, 3 10).

Holy

I sland,

( Tyler

1 930,

7 0).

during t he description o f t he A quartz p ebble was f ound at

Anglesey

( Stanley

1 868,

3 94;

Stanley r ecords a n umber o f ' traditions' r egarding t his monument. The monument n ow appears t o b e a s tone pair, but a ccording t o Stanley's 1 869 a ccount t hese were, p erhaps, once enclosed i n a s tone c ircle. I n h is 1 868 a ccount Stanley s tates t hat ' Tradition s ays t hat " a l arge c offin" was f ound b etween t hem , c omposed o f s everal f lat s tones, and enclosing r emains o f bones with s pear-heads and arrow-heads, but I am unable t o obtain a ccurate e vidence o f the f acts.' The mix of materials i s, perhaps, reminiscent of the c ontents o f t he c ists at N aas and Try.

The Long 1 968).

Stone,

P ilton,

Devon.

( Arkle,

Spencer

and

Lomas

This i s a s omewhat doubtful s ite. The s tone a ppears t o h ave b een moved i n t he n ineteenth c entury. I ts original position may h ave b een marked by a very s hallow s ocket, n ear which were discovered ' quite a lot of roundish s tones' unlike t he n ative r ock. I t was v ery t entatively s uggested t hat t hese f ormed part o f a c airn which an e arly c ommentator c laimed t o h ave e xisted o n t he s ite.

8 4

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

P las, Hebron, Pembrokeshire ( unpublished l ogical Trust e xcavation, P RN 1 3142).

Dyfed

Archaeo-

This was an inconclusive excavation. The s ite c onsisted o f a r oughly c ircular mound, w ith a l arge f lat s tone o n i ts s ummit, and a n upright s tone s ituated at t he b ase - p ossibly r epresenting a b arrow c ontaining a c ist w ith a n a djacent s tanding s tone. B ut, a lthough t he upright s tone a ppeared t o b e c learly a rtificial, i ts a ge was uncertain, while t he mound was p ossibly n atural - t here b eing many g lacial mounds a nd e rratic b oulders i n t he area. Excavation o f t he s ite o f t he s tone a fter i ts r emoval r evealed a s mall, f unctional s ocket w ith n o p acking. T here were n o f inds. H owever, v ery l imited e xcavation o f t he mound i tself d id s uggest t hat i t was a rtificial.

P las F ig.

Gogerddan, 2 3.

Trefeirig,

Cardiganshire

( Murphy

1 986a).

This was o ne o f a w idely s paced p air o f s tanding s tones, t he other s tanding s ome 1 40 m away t o t he west. T hese were, p ossibly, o riginally part o f a r ow o f t hree s tones. A l arge r ound b arrow s urvives s ome 5 0 m t o t he s outh o f t he s tone a nd e xcavation r evealed t he e xistence o f t hree others t o t he west. A p it l ocated t o t he n orth o f t he s tone, which c ontained q uantities o f c arbonised grain, produced a r adioc arbon d ate o f 2 750±70 b c. I t i s n ot c lear whether t his was a r itual d eposit or an e arlier s ettlement f eature. T here was n o d irect d ating e vidence f rom t he s tanding s tone i tself. The s tone h ad b een moved i n t he n ineteenth c entury but i ts o riginal s ite may h ave b een i dentified, marked by a s hallow p it. A n umber o f other f eatures, d iscovered i n t he a rea o f t he s tone, were presumed t o b e c ontemporary with i t. T hese i ncluded a n umber o f p its ( one o f which c ontained a p artial c remation), a n apparently empty c ist a nd an a lignment o f t hree massive t imber uprights. S ome o f the p its may h ave f ormed a c urved arrangement l eading n orth f rom t he s tanding s tone. T he c remation g ave a r adio-carbon date o f 1 000±70 b c. T he b arrows t o t he west o f t he s tone were r educed t o r ing d itches - two c onjoined e xamples o f 1 0 m d iameter and a s maller example 6 m a cross. Only t he l atter h ad a c entral f eature, a p it. One o f the conjoined barrow d itches c ontained a c remation d eposit. T o t he s outh o f t he b arrows were f urther f eatures i ncluding a r ow o f p its a ligned on a s hallow d itch, presumably p art o f a more extensive l inear f eature. The d itch h eld a p artial c remation a nd a h earth; t he p its h eld f ragments o f c remated b one a nd c harcoal. Charcoal f rom a p it c ut b y t he d itch o f one o f t he b arrows g ave a T PQ o f 8 20±60 b c. T he c remation f rom t he barrow d itch g ave a r adio-carbon date o f 2 00±60 b c ( CAR-

8 5

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

post

p it with

a lignment

c harred grain 2 750±70bc

0 0 c ist

c urved

c remation / ///

Oo

1 000±70bc

a rrangement o Oa

o f p its

( )b e

o ? original 0

s ite

of

s tanding s tone

r ing d itches ? crouched burials c remation

2 00±60bc

8 20±60bc

c rouched burial

0

5

1 0m.

0

2

2 _7:ow o f

p its

00

0 o

0

ditch

F ig .2 3 .P la s Goge rddan ,T re f e i r ig ,C a rd s . ( af te r Mu rphy ;E a r ly Med iaeva lf e a tu re s om i t ted )

8 6

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

1 072). A p it, c ut into t he e dge o f t he s outhern barrow d itch, h eld a c rouched burial, a lso o f I ron Age date, marked by a body s tain and two bronze f ibulae. Two f urther c onj oined p its, s ome 2 0 m f urther n orth, one o f which c ontained t races o f bronze and a body s tain, may a lso h ave contained I ron Age crouched b urials. A c emetery o f Early Christian t ype was e stablished i n t he area ( not i llustrated). This c ontained 2 0-25 graves, a ligned e ast- west, s ome with t races o f wooden coffins. Three of the graves were enclosed in rectangular t imber s tructures. One o f the graves g ave a r adio-carbon date o f 3 70 1 -60 ad ( CAR-1045).

Portavo,

Co.

Down

( Collins

1 976).

This was a possible s tone pair. Excavation revealed t he s ocket f or a s econd s tone l ocated l ess t han 1 m t o t he e ast o f an extant s tone. The excavator f ound i t h ard t o f ind a parallel for s uch a c lose s et pair of upright stones, a lthough parallels are known in Wales ( e. g. within the e ntrance o f a h enge at Nantgaredig, C arms.; Williams 1 984). Flint knapping debris in the base of the topsoil was s uggested a s possibly c ontemporary with t he s tones.

Porth Dafarch II, Lynch 1 970, 9 4-95).

Holy

Island,

Anglesey

( Stanley

1 878;

A r ecumbent, ? originally upright s tone and c ist, which were a ssociated with one o f a group o f three barrows. This i s a particularly important b ut badly excavated and r eported s ite which has been r e-assessed by Frances Lynch. The monument appears to have consisted of a barrow incorporating a well-constructed c ist with a massive c apstone. The c ist appears t o h ave h ad no f ill but t o h ave c ontained t he crouched burial o f a young woman accompanied by t he r emains o f two beakers. ( Stanley, i n f act, describes t he c ist a s ' empty' but goes on t o describe t he crouched burial. It s eems most l ikely that Stanley meant to emphasise t he f act that t he c ist was l argely empty of f ill and h ence undisturbed, not that t he burial l ay outside t he c ist). The beakers were broken, one c onsisting o f t hree s herds only, and it i s possible t hat ( as i n t he c ase o f Try) e arlier deposits h ad been disturbed before the insertion o f t he crouched burial, a lthough the provision of deliberately broken pottery c annot be discounted. On t he cover o f t he c ist was a heap o f white quartz. The i llustrations s uggest that the c ist was s urrounded by an oval s etting o f s tone while s ome d istance beyond was a f urther, c oncentric arc o f s tone. These may be s imilar t o the oval and D -shaped s ettings a ssociated with other beaker graves a lthough the

8 7

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

o uter arc, at l east, may b elong t o a l ater R omano-British phase. B eyond t his o uter arc was a l arge, r ecumbent s lab, which Lynch s uggests may, originally, h ave s tood upright. These f eatures were, apparently, i ncorporated i nto a b arrow c onstructed o f s and. An i nverted urn, apparently w ithout an a ssociated cremation, was a lso d iscovered n ear t he c ist: i ts r elation t o t he barrow i s unknown. L ater developments on the s ite included a Romano-British s ettlement and Early Christian burials, both groups of f eatures being more e xtensive t han t he l imits o f t he e arlier b arrow.

Porthmeor,

Z ennor,

Cornwall

( Lucis

and B orlase

1 885,

2 6).

Nil result. The stone was considered to ' probable' menhir o n g rounds o f s ize by B arnatt ( 1982,

Pridden,

St.

Buryan,

Cornwall

( Borlase

1 872,

be a 2 59).

9 9-101).

The s ocket was s hallow. A deposit h ad b een p laced at t he s ide o f t he s ocket a nd c overed by a f lat s tone. This deposit c onsisted o f a partial cremation, c harcoal and burnt earth. The s tanding s tone may have been embedded in a c airn 2 1 . B orlase's i llustration s hows what may b e two s mall upright s tones n ear t he menhir and t he t ext a lso r efers t o ' a thin s tone s et o n i ts e dge against t he p illar'.

0

packing

2

3m.

c ist

F i g .2 4 .T he L ong S t one ,P unche s town ,C o .K i lda re ( a f te rL ea sk ) The Long 2 4.

s tone

Stone,

Punchestown,

Co.

Kildare

( Leask

1 937).

F ig.

The s tone was s hallowly bedded. The b ase o f t he s howed t races o f working. A s mall c ist h ad b een

8 8

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

constructed integrally with packing at the foot of the s tone. The c ist was f illed w ith c lay but y ielded n o f inds apart from a modern p ig bone, which s uggests i t h ad been r ecently d isturbed.

Rhos-y-Clegyrn, St. Nicholas, 1 976). F igs. 2 5 and 2 6.

Pembrokeshire

( Lewis

1 974

and

There were two main phases o f a ctivity on t he s ite. The f irst was, apparently, domestic and consisted of a n umber o f very f limsy s tructures, with t urf walls, o f oval or s ub-rectangular p lan. C learly a ssociated f inds were f ew but i ncluded f lints and a f lake o f rhyolite. The s ubr ectangular p lan and t he presence o f a pollen grain o f wheat s uggests a Neolithic date. There was evidence that occupation was not continuous which, given the lack of f inds, the f limsy nature of the structures and the e nvironment o f Rhos-y-Clegyrn, s uggested s easonal o ccupation o f a pastoral nature. The s ettlement became s ealed by a s oil l ayer before the foundation of a complex associated with a pair of s tanding s tones. The complex, which i ncluded d iscontinuous s tone s preads and p its, was probably much l arger t han the area excavated. I t l ies between two r ing monuments: one, a possible embanked s tone c ircle, l ies s ome 1 5 m t o t he s outhwest, the other, a smaller r ing, l ies s ome 7 0 m t o t he north-east. B ut t he f eatures excavated appeared t o f orm a c oherent group. This was d efined, i n part, by t he e dges o f t he s tone s preads and, i n p art, by p its and s eemed t o f orm an overall pointed-oval or e gg-shape. There h ad, originally, been two s tanding s tones on t he s ite, a lthough only one ( stone I ) s urvived, s et t oward t he base o f the e gg-shape. It h ad been erected i n an apparently f unctional s ocket and had been f irmly s upported with packing s tones. The other s tone ( II) l ay t oward t he e dge of t he e gg-shape on t he e ast. It h ad, apparently, been removed in recent t imes. The stone-socket had been preserved but t he packing and other e lements o f t he f ill d id n ot s urvive. There were a n umber o f deliberate variations in t he s tone s preads, i ncluding l arge, d iscrete areas o f c obbling and s traight and c urved l ines o f l aid s tone or walling. P erhaps r elated t o t hese l ines were a number o f hollow s tone r ings - i n part s tanding a n umber o f courses h igh - l aid on, or i n one c ase s et s lightly down into, t he o ld ground s urface. S impler s tone r ings a lso s urrounded a n umber o f p its. P its were a v ery c ommon f eature o f t he s ite, n ine ancient examples b eing excavated. ( Five o f t hose originally r eported on t urned out t o b e definitelx , or probably modern f eatures. These are n ot s hown on p lan''). One o f t he p its c ut t he s ocket o f t he s urviving s tanding s tone. The p its were quite c omplex f eatures, o ften with deliberate f ills o f

8 9

W illiams:

Standing Stones

of W ales & S .W . England

/

socket

for

s tone

I I

D

1—

C . 0

f J e pi '

e

c remation

a nd pottery.

e ,

?

Qo i

a

s takeholes

r ing B . Q3

0

0

0

G

0

0e , ' 3

0

' c z

1 —

Q

ö c i, ° o

socket

f or

s tone

I

o 2 ,

8

0

0

5

1 0m.

F ig .2 5 .R ho s -y -C legy rn ,S t .N icho la s ,P emb s . ( af te rL ew i s )

9 0

pits

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

r e-deposited s oil or c lean c lay o f various d ifferent c olours, s ometimes i n a n umber o f l ayers. A n umber c ontained m iniature uprights o f s tone o r wood, s ometiw s p aired a nd s ometimes d eliberately r emoved i n antiquity '. P it A a lso c ontained a d eliberate d eposit o f pottery while t wo p its ( B a nd P ) h ad s helves, a pparently f or p erishable m aterials, t races o f which, a pparently, s urvived i n p it P . A s hort arc o f s take-holes was a lso d iscovered o n t he e ast o f t he s ite. I n t he c entre o f t he a rea, a p artial cremation h ad, a pparently, b een d eposited o n t he o ld ground s urface. T his w as s urrounded by a s catter o f s herds r epresenting a t l east t wo pots. Other s herds o f p ottery were d iscovered, a gain m ainly i n t his c entral area. A s mall quantity o f t ools a nd w aste material - o f f lint, c hert a nd r hyolite was a lso r ecovered t ogether w ith f ragments o f a s late d isc.

s ocket

I

s ocket

I I

miniature upright

A

pottery p it s urface

o f buried

( early phases not portrayed )

soil

1

2

3m.

F i g .2 6 .R ho s -y -C legy rn ,S t .N icho la s ,P emb s . -d e ta i l so fs t one socke t s( af t e rL ew i s )

There were i ndications o f r egularity i n t he l ayout o f t he s ite, apart f rom t he o verall e gg-shape. The excavator s uggested t hat a l ine o f walling o n t he n orth o f t he area e choed t he o val s hape o f t he area o f f eatures a s a whole. H e a lso drew attention t o t he p aired n ature o f many o f t he f eatures. The p its t ended t o b e peripheral but other f eatures were c learly axial - t he axis o f t he e gg-shape c orresponding t o t he f lat f ace o f t he s urviving s tanding s tone, t he c remation d eposit a nd a c entral p it ( the two r ing monuments i n the area a lso l ie approximately on the e xtension o f t his axis). T here were i ndications a lso t hat t he c omplex was multiphase, the s tone s preads b eing a relatively l ate f eature. The o nly ( ancient) d ating e vidence was provided by t he pottery which consisted o f collared urn and, i n p articular, f ood v essels o f E arly B ronze Age I I - I II, t he l atter, p erhaps, b elonging t o t he e arlier p eriod.

9 1

W illiams:

Men Gurta,

St.

Standing Stones

Breock Beacon,

of W ales

Cornwall

& S .W . England

( Saunders

1 959).

The s tone h ad b een r oughly dressed, t he dressing i ncluding t he c utting o f a s houlder i n t he t op o f t he s tone. The s tone-socket appears t o have been f unctional, with packing s tones at t he s ides. It contained s mall p ieces o f c harcoal and, t owards t he base, a deposit o f o rganic material which h ad s uffered post-burial modification. Two small, s hallow h ollows l ay a s hort d istance f rom t he edge of t he s ocket. Overlying t hese, and s urrounding t he s tone, was a l ayer o f quartz s tones s tretching between 6 and 8 ft from t he c entre o f t he s ocket. This l ayer was interpreted a s a c airn but, a s i n t he c ase o f Maes Gwyn, L lanstephan, it i s possible t hat it r epresented a s tone ' setting'.

Longstone Field, St. I shmaels, Pembrokeshire ( unpublished Dyfed Archaeological Trust excavation, PRN 3 005). F igs. 2 7 and 2 8a. A complex o f s tructures was r evealed, r epresented by p its and other l arge, excavated f eatures and a s catter of post-holes. The s tanding s tone h ad been erected i n one o f a trapeziform group of p its. A n umber of t hese, i ncluding t hat which contained t he s tanding s tone, s howed r e-cuts and t he group probably had an extended evolution. B ut, at l east i n a l ater phase, two main e lements could be defined w ithin the group. The f irst was an outer s etting o f l arge p its which included the s tone-socket. This appeared i n p lan t o f orm a cove-like s etting, a lbeit expressed l argely a s a group of p its rather t han a group o f orthostats. The s econd main e lement probably f ormed a small, trapezoidal 4 - or 5 post structure lying within the cove; the 5th post ' extending' one s ide of the structure ( a less l ikely possibility i s t hat s ome o f t he p its contained m iniature uprights). Two o f t he p its within this s econd e lement c ontained ' token' cremations i n a l ater phase. To the north-west o f t he p it group was a c omplex c ircular f eature, c ircle 1 . This consisted o f a continuous, c ircular trench with stone packing, including waterworn stones ( beach pebbles). Impressions could be detected within the trench r epresenting small, wooden uprights and, perhaps, other perishable objects. Some o f t he many postholes within t he area enclosed by t he trench were r esolvable i nto a polygonal pattern. Fragments, probably o f a bronze p in o f Early Bronze Age I II date, c ame f rom t he c ircular t rench together with a l ittle charcoal, pottery and f lint a lthough this material may h ave been r esidual. While t he a ssociation o f t hese f eatures within c ircle 1 was c lear, it was difficult to interpret them as a conventional building. The c ircular trench was not,

9 2

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

0 pit

• western

+ c remation

p it

# post-hole

1 355±70bc

• 9

•

•

•

post

s tructure

• l arge

post

•

•

•

? Jv •

•

I. c ircle

2 d i

. 7 •

e

large post

•

5

0

F ig .2 7 .L ong s tone F i e ld ,S t .I s hmae l s ,P emb s .

9 3

1 0 m.

W illiams:

Standing Stones of W ales & S .W . England

apparently, s tructural - i t was n ot i nterpretable a s e ither a bedding trench or a drainage trench - and it was a symmetrically r elated t o t he polygonal s etting. T he l atter may, h owever, h ave b een a f limsy, f ree-standing s tructure. A f urther c ircular post-setting, c ircle 2 - p erhaps w ith a porch - was r esolved f rom t he s catter o f p ost-holes t o t he s outh o f c ircle 1 . A f urther l arge, r e-cut p it l ay t o t he west o f t he area. Other f eatures, n oted amongst t he g eneral s catter o f uprights, i ncluded t wo p articularly l arge posts a nd a possible r ectangular p attern o f post-holes t o t he s outh-west o f c ircle I . A b urnt p iece o f wood f rom a l ater phase o f t he western p it g ave a r adio-carbon date o f 1 355±70 b c. Other f inds were rare and possibly residual. These i ncluded f lint, pottery and c harcoal. A s imple axial arrangement o f f eatures was n oted, i nvolving t he major f eatures, which, p erhaps, s uggested t hat these had been laid out as a unified s cheme, a lthough evidence o f more t han one phase o f a ctivity was n oted over most o f t he s ite. A more c omplex arrangement o f f eatures, i nvolving a n umber o f axes, c ould a lso b e s uggested ( see appendix 2 ).

old

g round

s urface

c obbled

a rea

projected B

A

phase

- - 04 P " zk , , , ,

4

phase phase

o

2

2 8a . L ong s tone F i e ld ,S t .I s hmae l s

F i g .2 8 .

1

3

3 m.

2 8b . T he L ong s tone ,S t .S t ephen in -B ranne l a nd S t . Mewan ( af te rM i le sa nd M i le s )

D e ta i l so fs t and ing s t one sa nd s o cke t s

9 4

W illiams:

Standing Stones

Phase

of

W ales

& S .W . England

one

Phase

two

pit A

A

. 4 —

4

-

packing

impression of upright

1 Phase

three

Phase

four

/ D o stone impressione oN gi, s etting -, . . ., A , J _

hollow

* I W e e* , : v . go a o ° •. 00 A

. : 0 4v n o : g p ‘ „ e

Vo g n e

‹ e gc , 1 2 ae ' g

//

o * -

v i

o a

Q e:

av i ye

e e! oic „ 0