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Hoarstones
The Hoarstones, or Hoar Stone Circle, is a stone circle in the civil parish of Chirbury with Brompton in the English county of Shropshire. The Hoarstones are part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages, over a period between 3300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of such monuments is unknown.
The Hoarstones are one of up to five stone circles known from this area, on the borders between Shropshire and Powys. Of these, only the Hoarstones and Mitchell's Fold survive. Shaped elliptically, the Hoarstones circle measures 23.3 by 21.1m in diameter. It contains between 38 and 40 small stones, identified as dolerites probably sourced locally. There is a central stone inside the circle, although whether this was part of its original prehistoric design is unclear. Several of the stones contain small holes, which according to 19th-century accounts were caused by miners drilling holes into them; gunpowder was then placed into these holes and lit to produce explosions.
The existence of the circle was noted by the antiquarian Reverend C. H. Hartshorne in 1838. An excavation took place in 1924, led by Lily F. Chitty.
The term "Hoar Stone" refers to a boundary mark and was recorded as the site's traditional name in the 1920s, with the site having been referred to as the "Hoar Stone Circle", as well as the "Hoarstones". Thinking this name inappropriate, the Reverend C. H. Hartshorne referred to it as Marsh Pool Circle. Other names for the stone circle include Black Marsh and Hemford.
The area on which the circle stands is called Black Marsh. The Hoarstones are located 7 miles north of Bishop's Castle, and 5 ½ miles north of Lydham. It is also one mile northwest of Shelve. The area on which it stands is moorland, at 300 m O.D. The circle is overlooked from the east by the Stiperstones, a quartzite ridge.
While the transition from the Early Neolithic to the Late Neolithic in the fourth and third millennia BCE saw much economic and technological continuity, there was a considerable change in the style of monuments erected, particularly in what is now southern and eastern England. By 3000 BCE, the long barrows, causewayed enclosures, and cursuses which had predominated in the Early Neolithic were no longer built, and had been replaced by circular monuments of various kinds. These include earthen henges, timber circles, and stone circles. Stone circles are found in most areas of Britain where stone is available, with the exception of the island's south-eastern corner. They are most densely concentrated in south-western Britain and on the north-eastern horn of Scotland, near Aberdeen. The tradition of their construction may have lasted for 2,400 years, from 3300 to 900 BCE, with the major phase of building taking place between 3000 and 1,300 BCE.
These stone circles typically show very little evidence of human visitation during the period immediately following their creation. This suggests that they were not sites used for rituals that left archaeologically visible evidence, but may have been deliberately left as "silent and empty monuments". The archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson suggests that in Neolithic Britain, stone was associated with the dead, and wood with the living. Other archaeologists have suggested that the stone might not represent ancestors, but rather other supernatural entities, such as deities.
The Hoarstones are one of two prehistoric stone circles known to survive in Shropshire, the other being Mitchell's Fold. These were among five probable stone circles that are historically recorded as being within two miles of each other, largely in Shropshire but also stretching in neighbouring Powys. Alongside the Hoarstones and Mitchell's Fold, the Whetstones was also a large circle; it was destroyed in 1870. A fourth stone circle, the Druid's Castle, as well as a fifth possible example, at Shelve, were smaller. Given the differences in size, the archaeologist Aubrey Burl suggested that the Druid's Castle was erected at a different time to the larger three rings. Of this group of stone circles, the Hoarstones were the most northerly.
Hoarstones
The Hoarstones, or Hoar Stone Circle, is a stone circle in the civil parish of Chirbury with Brompton in the English county of Shropshire. The Hoarstones are part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages, over a period between 3300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of such monuments is unknown.
The Hoarstones are one of up to five stone circles known from this area, on the borders between Shropshire and Powys. Of these, only the Hoarstones and Mitchell's Fold survive. Shaped elliptically, the Hoarstones circle measures 23.3 by 21.1m in diameter. It contains between 38 and 40 small stones, identified as dolerites probably sourced locally. There is a central stone inside the circle, although whether this was part of its original prehistoric design is unclear. Several of the stones contain small holes, which according to 19th-century accounts were caused by miners drilling holes into them; gunpowder was then placed into these holes and lit to produce explosions.
The existence of the circle was noted by the antiquarian Reverend C. H. Hartshorne in 1838. An excavation took place in 1924, led by Lily F. Chitty.
The term "Hoar Stone" refers to a boundary mark and was recorded as the site's traditional name in the 1920s, with the site having been referred to as the "Hoar Stone Circle", as well as the "Hoarstones". Thinking this name inappropriate, the Reverend C. H. Hartshorne referred to it as Marsh Pool Circle. Other names for the stone circle include Black Marsh and Hemford.
The area on which the circle stands is called Black Marsh. The Hoarstones are located 7 miles north of Bishop's Castle, and 5 ½ miles north of Lydham. It is also one mile northwest of Shelve. The area on which it stands is moorland, at 300 m O.D. The circle is overlooked from the east by the Stiperstones, a quartzite ridge.
While the transition from the Early Neolithic to the Late Neolithic in the fourth and third millennia BCE saw much economic and technological continuity, there was a considerable change in the style of monuments erected, particularly in what is now southern and eastern England. By 3000 BCE, the long barrows, causewayed enclosures, and cursuses which had predominated in the Early Neolithic were no longer built, and had been replaced by circular monuments of various kinds. These include earthen henges, timber circles, and stone circles. Stone circles are found in most areas of Britain where stone is available, with the exception of the island's south-eastern corner. They are most densely concentrated in south-western Britain and on the north-eastern horn of Scotland, near Aberdeen. The tradition of their construction may have lasted for 2,400 years, from 3300 to 900 BCE, with the major phase of building taking place between 3000 and 1,300 BCE.
These stone circles typically show very little evidence of human visitation during the period immediately following their creation. This suggests that they were not sites used for rituals that left archaeologically visible evidence, but may have been deliberately left as "silent and empty monuments". The archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson suggests that in Neolithic Britain, stone was associated with the dead, and wood with the living. Other archaeologists have suggested that the stone might not represent ancestors, but rather other supernatural entities, such as deities.
The Hoarstones are one of two prehistoric stone circles known to survive in Shropshire, the other being Mitchell's Fold. These were among five probable stone circles that are historically recorded as being within two miles of each other, largely in Shropshire but also stretching in neighbouring Powys. Alongside the Hoarstones and Mitchell's Fold, the Whetstones was also a large circle; it was destroyed in 1870. A fourth stone circle, the Druid's Castle, as well as a fifth possible example, at Shelve, were smaller. Given the differences in size, the archaeologist Aubrey Burl suggested that the Druid's Castle was erected at a different time to the larger three rings. Of this group of stone circles, the Hoarstones were the most northerly.
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