More information : [SE 04431825] Stone Circle [OE] (1)
"The stones of which the Ring of Stones was principally composed were
lately carted away ... but the circular vallum of soil and debris in
which the stones were originally fixed for the most part still remains. The extreme width of the circle is 90 feet, the vallum at its base 20 feet, and the area within 50 feet in diameter. The stones .... stood upwards of 3 feet above the vallum....." In 1905, Longbotham, avoiding the centre of the circle, cut a trench to the south-east. Within 20 feet he found evidence of five separate cremation burials. With each was a little mass of dark, greasy matter containing small pieces of charred wood, lying on ground level. No implements were found. The trench was continued to just south-west of centre, where a stone cist was discovered, formed of upright stones on two sides with a flat stone on top. Inside was a rudely constructed urn of about 12 inches, the clay being mixed with small pebbles. (2-4)
The circle consists of a well spread earth & stone bank averaging 0.3m high and 3.5m wide. It probably constitutes the remains of a cairn although the centre of the circle is flat, relatively undisturbed, and now shows no signs of infilling. At present it is strewn with debris from the outer ring which has been much mutilated and on the NE and W sides obliterated. The present location of the various finds from the site could not be discovered. The surrounding moor which has been cleared is now used by Halifax Gliding Club. A 25" survey has been made, of the probable cairn. (5)
Survey of 6.1.61 unchanged. (6)
SE 044 182 Ring of stones on Ringstone Edge Moor. Scheduled. (see also SE 01 NW 9). (7)
Barnatt includes the site, which he names The Wolf Fold, in his gazetteer of stone circles, and suggests that the site could have been an embanked stone circle, despite its present appearance as a damaged ring cairn. He notes that the bank is unusually wide for a ring cairn (c12 metres), and refers to a later, 1775 edition of Watson's book which described the stones as having stood upwards of 3ft above the bank. (8) |