Prehistoric Remains in Cornwall Author(s): A. L. Lewis Source: The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 35 (Jul. - Dec., 1905), pp. 427-434 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2843077 . Accessed: 16/06/2014 11:11 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 195.34.78.245 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 11:11:22 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ( 427 ) PREHISTORIC REMAINS IN COPtNWALL. PART 2.-WEST CORNWALL. BY A. L. LEWIS,F.C.A. So long ago as the year 1895 I was permittedto place beforethe Anthropologica Ilistitute a paper on "Prehistoric Remains in Cornwall, Part 1, East Cornlwall,"a title which certainlyimplied that -Part 2, West Cornwall,might be M,LE4.~ ~ ~ ~ ycy~a CicY jet B.os/dnafl afrA _ 2 <zun~sfeJyi<ctn-QZ Chy@Et 2 Chun * ine~~~%-Cn-an.oz.chreysaZter. / ~~~~~Qt,oitChun &.Dnl 9ol *o Castle ny oi 7Tre5o.seat ./ < ~~~CirCc5 Long.JCWnc' T r. JusT. MADROK CAW.rc.A PENZANCE NEWLYIW JCAtwe L - U l ^ ~~~~~~~Cirele ~ PAi L\ / (^ac Aowic{en$) ~ ~ ChUAc\2 f lWlOU~~~~~~~~~QSEHOLy ST. BURIAN. J |SONNEN C7uvcla LAND'J5 EtYD.\ DQ~~~~~~~~~~oncefaen,Oper J FIG. 1.-MAP OF WEST CORNWALL,SHOWING POSITIONS OF THE PREHISTORICREMAINS. expected to follow. The prehistoricremains of West Cornwall,being for the most part more easy of access than those of East Cornwall, are much better knownand have been morefrequently described, so that the remarksI shall have to make upon them will be principallyin referenceto pointswhich have be en VOL. XXXV. 2 F This content downloaded from 195.34.78.245 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 11:11:22 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 428 A. L. LEWIS.-PrelhistoricRemains in Cornwall. passed over by previouswriters, but a certainamount of descriptionwill be necessaryeven for that purpose. The best known,though by no meansthe largest circle in Cornwall,is DANCE MAEN,or DAWNSMAEN, five miles west from Penzance. Its diameter is about 76 feet,and it consistsat presentof nineteen stones, but there is a gapin theeastern side,where another stone may have stood,or whichmay have been intended as a special entrance;the stonesvary from 3- to 41 feetin height,and theirwidth and thicknessare in approximateproportion. Mr. Edmondsin his Land's-End District,published in 1862,said that threeof the nineteenstones were fallen; these,however, were set up againbefore my first visit in 1869,and haveapparently remainedupright ever since,but, as the fieldin whichthe circle stands has been undercultivation for many years, it is notunlikely that some of thestones have been slightlyshifted from time to time,and that the irregularityof the intervalsbetween them, and some differencesbetween the measurementsof FIG. 2.-"1DANCE, MAENq," LOOKING NoRTH, FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY MR. J. B. PENGELLY. Mr. Lukis, Mr. Tregelles, and myself may be accounted for in that way. This circleis also calledthe " MerryMaidens," oni account of a traditionthat the stones were girls who wereturned into stonepillars for dancingon Sunday,and two monoliths,15 anid13 feethigh, which stand 317 feetapart, the nearestbeinig 10050feet, and 40 degreeseast of northfrom the circle,are called the "Pipers." Accordingto the 6-inchordnance map a line drawnthrough these stones would pass outside the north-westernquarter of the circle,but Mr. Tregelles,after carefulexamination, thought they were in line withits centre,but, as it is not certainwhether either of themcould ever have been seein from the circle,it might be doubtedwhether there were any real connectionbetween them, but for the traditionwhich I have mentioned.Another stone 9 feethigh, called the Goon Rith or Longstone,is at verynearly the same distancefrom the circle as the "Pipers,"but is 9 degreessouth of westand plainlyvisible from it; 1961 feet This content downloaded from 195.34.78.245 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 11:11:22 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions A. L. LEWIs.-PrehistoricRemtains in Cornwvall. 429 and 8 degrees west of north fromthe neareststone of the circle is a stone 5 feet 4 inches high,with a hole 51 inchesin diameterthrough the upper part of it; this stone is now used as a gate-post,and may perhaps not now occupyits original position. On the otherside of the circle,slightly east of south,and about 49 feet away from its circumference,are two stones lying in the field,similar in size to those composingthe circle; these probablystood -uprightoriginally, and formed an entrance,or, it may be, part of an avenue leading up to the circle,as there are other stones furtheraway in nearly the same direction; these two stoneswere therein 1869, 1891, and in 1898, but have lnotbeen previouslynoticed, so far as I know,and I was informedin 1891 that,although the circle was protected,these stoneswere not; still,it can hardlybe doubtedthat theywere connectedwith the circle, as they lie in a well-proportionedposition-16 to 17 feetapart, and just three times that distance from the circle,so as to forma suitable entranceto it. In 1869 there was also a small stone lying against a wall about 120 feetnorth- east fromthe circle,in the directionof the "Pipers," which mighthave formed part of the system. Mr. Lukis says of the " Pipers " and " Goon Rith" stone that theyand five barrows in the imimlediateviciniity "imply a necropolis,"but that, although the groundround these stoneshas been dug into,no tracesof interment have been found, An old stonebreaker,who told me in 1898 that he had beelnin the place forseventy years, said he knew a man who had dug against one of the " Pipers " and found a potfull of ashes; this,if true,was evidentlynot known to Messrs. Borlase and Lukis, but one potfullof ashes does not make much of a " necropolis." The same old man said with regard to the holed stone,that it had been moved fromits original position,where it had stood in connectionwith another holed stone,and that when the sun shone throughthe holes in some particularway " theycalled it Midsummer"; this may be only a repetitionof somethingsaid by modernvisitors, but it may,on the otherhand, be an echo of an old tradition,so it is perhapsworth recording.' The "(NINE MAIDENS " circle at BOSCAWEN-UN is about four miles and a half from Penzance, to the south of the Land's-End road,and about three miles north-westfrom '-Dance Maen ' circle. It consistsof nineteenstones, at an averag,e distance of about 11 feet,with a gap on the west,which may or may not have been occupiedby anotherstone; its diametersare 82-83 feet fromnorth-west to south-east,and 71-72 feetfrom north-east to south-west. On a line runningfrom south-westto north-east,through the centre,there is within the circle a stone, south-westfrom the centre, but leaning 3 feet towards it, and pointingas it were to some fallen stones lying across the circumferenceof the circle at the north-east,which some have thoughtto be the remains of a dolmen,but which I Since this paper was read Sir Norman Lockyerhas published an account of some investigationsmade bv himat Dalice Maen (Nature, February15th, 1906). He was permitted to have a gap made in the wall betweenithe circleand the "Pipers," but foundthat although the " Pipers" werein line withthe circle,neither of themwas visiblefrom it. 2 F 2 This content downloaded from 195.34.78.245 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 11:11:22 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 4.30 A. L. LEWIS.-PrehistoricRemains in Cornwall. others,including myself, have thoughtto be the remains of another stone,which probably stood inside the circle at the north-east,matching that which still stands or leans at the south-west. "416 yards away on the north-east,"says Mr. Tregelles,'" is a menhir,8 feethigh, standing on the moor,imarked on the 6-inch ordnancemap as 'Stone cross,'it would,if the hedges were removed,be visible fromthe circle. In a lane leading fromthe farm to the road is another ineiihir, 10 feethigh, and 690 yardsnorth-east of the circle,but lnotvisible fromit. A line drawnthrough the two menhirswould pass to the lnorthof the circle." In a letter to me, dated October10th, 1893, he says:-" the menhirsthere, although ruinning in the rightdirection, are not in line with the circle; there is another menhir on the east-south-eastof the circle,which I-omitted to mention,and this is plainly visible fromthe circle." I may point out,however, that in this circlethe reference to the north-eastis made by the leaning stone and possiblyby the fallen stone inside the rinig,and does not depend upon the inenhirsoutside mentionedby Mr. Tregelles. Miss Elizabeth Carne,the ownerof thiscircle, caused a trenchto be dug throughit in or about 1862, but nothinigwas found-a not uncommon experience,which tends to show that these circles were not sepulchral. Someone who has examinedthe foundationsof the leaning stone has stated that its slope is not accidental,but was speciallyarranged.