The Hurlers (stone circles)
Encyclopedia
The Hurlers are a group of three stone circle
Stone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
s in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England, UK. The site is half-a-mile (0.8 km) west of the village of Minions
Minions, Cornwall
Minions is a village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor northwest of Caradon Hill approximately four miles north of Liskeard. Minions is first recorded in 1613 and its meaning is unknown....
on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....
, and approximately four miles (6 km) north of Liskeard
Liskeard
Liskeard is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Liskeard is situated approximately 20 miles west of Plymouth, west of the River Tamar and the border with Devon, and 12 miles east of Bodmin...
at .
Location
The Hurlers are in the CaradonCaradon
Caradon was a local government district in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It contained five towns: Callington, Liskeard, Looe, Saltash and Torpoint, and over 80 villages and hamlets within 41 civil parishes...
district north of Liskeard
Liskeard
Liskeard is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Liskeard is situated approximately 20 miles west of Plymouth, west of the River Tamar and the border with Devon, and 12 miles east of Bodmin...
in the village of Minions
Minions, Cornwall
Minions is a village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor northwest of Caradon Hill approximately four miles north of Liskeard. Minions is first recorded in 1613 and its meaning is unknown....
on the southern edge of Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. Just to the west of the circles are two standing stones known as The Pipers. Nearby is Rillaton Barrow
Rillaton barrow
Rillaton barrow is a Bronze Age round barrow in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The site is on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor in the parish of Linkinhorne approximately four miles north of Liskeard....
and Trethevy Quoit
Trethevy Quoit
Trethevy Quoit is a well-preserved megalithic tomb located near St Cleer, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is known locally as "the giant's house". Standing high, it consists of five standing stones capped by a large slab.-Location:...
, an entrance grave
Entrance grave
Entrance grave is a term given by archaeologists to a type of megalithic chamber tomb found in parts of Atlantic Europe, dating the early to middle Bronze Age....
from the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period. The Hurlers are managed by the Cornwall Heritage Trust on behalf of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
.
Origin of the name
The name "The Hurlers" derives from a legend, in which men were playing Cornish hurlingCornish Hurling
Cornish Hurling or Hurling the Silver Ball , is an outdoor team game of Celtic origin played only in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is played with a small silver ball...
on a Sunday
Sunday
Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. For most Christians, Sunday is observed as a day for worship of God and rest, due to the belief that it is Lord's Day, the day of Christ's resurrection....
and were magically transformed into stones as a punishment. The two "Pipers" are supposed to be the figures of two men who played tunes on a Sunday and suffered the same fate. According to another legend, it is impossible to accurately count the exact number of standing stones.
Construction
The three stone circles of the Hurlers, which lie approximately on a line from SSW to NNE, have diameters of 35, 42 and 33 m. The two outer stone circles are circular, the middle and largest stone circle, however, is slightly elliptical. The survival of the southern stone circle, which now contains only nine stones, has been most precarious: only two of the remaining stones are upright and the other seven are partially covered with soil. In the middle circle 14 stones survive from an original 28. The stones show clear traces of being hammered smooth. The northern stone circle contained around 30 standing stones, from which 15 are still visible. Two other monoliths, The Pipers, are 100 m southwest of the center circle. They may have been entrance stones to the Hurlers.Early accounts
The earliest mention of the Hurlers was by historian John NordenJohn Norden
John Norden was an English cartographer, chorographer and antiquary. He planned a series of county maps and accompanying county histories of England, the Speculum Britanniae...
, who visited them around 1584. They were also described by William Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
in his Britannia of 1586. In 1754 William Borlase
William Borlase
William Borlase , Cornish antiquary, geologist and naturalist, was born at Pendeen in Cornwall, of an ancient family . From 1722 he was Rector of Ludgvan and died there in 1772.-Life and works:...
published the first detailed description of the site.
Excavations
C. A. Ralegh-Radford excavated the site in the 1930s, and he also partly restored the two northern circles by re-erecting some stones and placing marker stones in the positions of those missing. The archives from the unpublished excavation reports have been re-evaluated by Jacky Nowakowski (Cornwall Heritage Trust) and John Gould (English Heritage) and this may result in more analysis and publication.There have been several subsequent investigations of the area. Between 1975-1985 aerial survey and subsequent analysis by various teams, (including thise from Cambridge University, University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, RCHME and co-ordinated by Cornwall Archaeology Unit) was used to identify and map the features. English Heritage conducted a geophysical survey in 2004. A survey by the Cornwall Archeological Unit in 2009 indicated that there might be a fourth circle present, together with two stone rows.
The Hurlers were scheduled as an ancient monument
Ancient monument
An ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. In the United Kingdom it is a legal term, differing from the American term National Monument in being far more numerous and always man-made...
in 1929, and the protected area was extended in 1994 to include The Pipers.
Alignments
Alexander ThomAlexander Thom
Alexander "Sandy" Thom was a Scottish engineer most famous for his theory of the Megalithic yard, categorization of stone circles and his studies of Stonehenge and other archaeological sites.- Life and work :...
suggested borderline case alignments at the Hurlers. He suggested two solar alignments of four stones with far uprights. He also suggested two stone-to-site alignments with vega
Vega
Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus...
and arcturus and two other site-to-site alignments with arcturus. Each stellar alignment was given with tabulated declinations at a date some time in between the range of 2100 to 1500 BC.
Recent developments
In 1999 there was some controversy regarding this site and others under the care of the English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
organisation. Members of a pressure group, the Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament, removed several signs bearing the English Heritage name.
Since this action, several of the smaller sites including this one, Dupath Well
Dupath Well
Dupath Well is a nearly intact wellhouse, constructed of local granite, built over a spring. Built of Cornish granite ashlar, it has a steeply-pitched roof, built from courses of granite slabs that run the length of the building. There are badly weathered pinnacles at each corner and a small bell...
, Tregiffian Burial Chamber
Tregiffian Burial Chamber
The Tregiffian Burial Chamber is a Neolithic or early Bronze age chambered tomb. An entrance passage, lined with stone slabs, leads into a central chamber. It is located near Lamorna in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is a rare form of a passage grave, known as an Entrance grave...
, St Breock Downs Monolith, King Doniert's Stone
King Doniert's Stone
King Doniert's Stone consists of two pieces of a decorated 9th century cross. The inscription is believed to commemorate Dungarth, King of Cornwall who died around 875....
, Trethevy Quoit
Trethevy Quoit
Trethevy Quoit is a well-preserved megalithic tomb located near St Cleer, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is known locally as "the giant's house". Standing high, it consists of five standing stones capped by a large slab.-Location:...
and Carn Euny
Carn Euny
Carn Euny is an archaeological site near Sancreed, on the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, United Kingdom with considerable evidence of both Iron Age and post-Iron Age settlement. Excavations on this site have shown that there was activity at Carn Euny as early as the Neolithic period...
, have been transferred to the management of the Cornwall Heritage Trust.
"The Hurlers" are the subject of a 2008 song by Devon singer Seth Lakeman
Seth Lakeman
Seth Bernard Lakeman is an English folk singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, who is most often associated with the fiddle and tenor guitar, but has also mastered the viola and banjo...
.
Further reading
- John Barnatt, Prehistoric Cornwall, The Ceremonial Monuments, 1982 (ISBN 0-85500-129-1)