St Breock Downs Monolith
Men Gurta
Standing-stone on St Breock Downs
St Breock Downs Monolith
Alternative nameSt Breock Longstone
Locationnear St Breock
RegionCornwall, England
Coordinates50°28′45.54″N 4°51′56.28″W / 50.4793167°N 4.8656333°W / 50.4793167; -4.8656333
TypeStanding stone (megalith)
History
MaterialShale
PeriodsLate Neolithic / Early Bronze Age
Site notes
Public accessYes

St Breock Downs Monolith (or St Breock Longstone; Cornish: Men Gurta[1]) is the largest and heaviest prehistoric standing stone in Cornwall, England.[2] It stands on the summit of St Breock Downs.

Description

The stone is made from the local Devonian shale which has extensive feldspar veining,[3] and it is estimated to weigh around 16.5 tonnes.[1] It is 4.92 metres long[1] and stands to a height of just over 3 metres above ground level.[3] It stands on a low stone mound or cairn with a diameter of around 10 metres.[3] It is believed to be Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (around 2500-1500 BC).[1]

It fell over in 1945, and was re-erected in 1956 after a small excavation had been carried out.[3] The excavation showed that the stone stood in a setting of quartz pebbles below which were two small hollows.[1] Similar hollows at other sites have been found to contain human bone or ashes.[1]

The stone may have been associated with other Bronze Age ritual monuments in the area, including one other standing stone,[4] and a series of barrows that extend up to 4 miles (7 km) to the west.[3]

The stone is mentioned in antiquarian records as early as 1613, and was later adopted as a St Breock parish boundary marker.[3] The site is now in the care of the Cornwall Heritage Trust on behalf of English Heritage.[5]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Historic England. "St Breock Downs Monolith (430282)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  2. St Breock Downs Monolith, English Heritage, retrieved 12 April 2012
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 History and Research: St Breock Downs Monolith, English Heritage, retrieved 12 April 2012
  4. Historic England. "St Breock Downs Standing Stone (430297)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  5. Sites Managed and Cared for by Cornwall Heritage Trust for English Heritage Archived 2012-06-13 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 12 April 2012

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