Archaeologists to reconstruct the Devil's Frying pan, 'Cornish Stonehenge' that collapsed

Structure built on top of a huge tomb used between 4,000BC and 2,300BC.
Became a popular picnic spot for Victorian families before collapsing in the 1967

An ancient tomb dubbed Cornwall’s answer to Stonehenge is to be rebuilt 5,000 years after it was first constructed by early man.

Carwynnen Quoit (a term for a giant tomb) - known as ‘The Giant's Quoit’ - marked a macabre mass burial site used between 4,000BC and 2,300BC.

The 'Giant's Quoit' before it collapsed in the 1960's. An ancient tomb dubbed Cornwall's answer to Stonehenge it is to be rebuilt.

The stone structure, set in five acres of farmland, was originally built on top of a huge tomb thought to contain the remains of Neolithic men.

It was later used by the Victorians for picnics and was a meeting place for members of the traditional Celtic religion.

But the Stonehenge-like structure collapsed in 1834 and was rebuilt but then fell again in 1967 following an earth tremor.
Officials at The Sustainable Trust and English Heritage are now planning to rebuild the structure which lies in Troon, Cornwall.

Pip Richards, trust director, said they have begun a dig at the site and want to turn it into a tourist attraction like Stonehenge.

She said: 'It’s such a waste for these stones to just lie on the floor.

'English Heritage will need to be satisfied that the monument will stand for 100 years before permission to proceed is granted, but we are confident.

'The dig is helping show us where the stones would have originally stood

'So far we have found shards of pre-historic pottery and a green stone pestle or axe-head.'

The capstone is 3.3m long, 2.5m wide and 0.3m thick and would originally have had a covering of earth.
 
Carwynnen is one of around 12 megalithic tombs, or quoits, that survive in Cornwall.

 

It is believed quoits were built as tombs for complete bodies and when the one at West Lanyon collapsed two centuries ago excavation revealed a number of skeletons.

Some archaeologists believe the structures were left partially open and  bones were removed and returned.
ANCIENT BURIALS

Carwynnen is one of around 12 megalithic tombs, or quoits, that survive in Cornwall.

It is believed quoits were built as tombs for complete bodies and when the one at West Lanyon collapsed two centuries ago excavation revealed a number of skeletons.
Some archaeologists believe the structures were left partially open and bones were removed and returned.
By Mark Prigg - http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Stonehenege Tour Guide

 

'Wizard for the 21st century' uses crystal balls to predict the Equinox so accurately that each model is fine-tuned to your postcode

A 'wizard' for the 21st century has conjured up a 'Solar Eye' device which uses fixed crystal balls to accurately plot the Equinox.

Blacksmith Pete Smith, from Hereford, took two years of trial and error to perfect his 'solar sun dial' which optically traces the relationship between the sun and earth.

The hand-crafted Solar Eye not only predicts the precise timing of the equinox, but shows how the sun's zenith, or highest point, changes throughout the year.

The model is so accurate that - when he sells miniature models - he tweaks them depending on the buyer's postcode, as the Equinox is slightly different in, for instance, Cornwall than it is in the Orkney Islands.

Pete Smith with his Solar Eye device, which optically traces the relationship between the sun and earth

The model - two spheres of optical quality glass mounted on a brass cradle - also reveals when the Full Moon is at its zenith and can also be used as simple sun dial. 

Pete, one of the country's top blacksmiths, lectures at the renowned National School of Blacksmithing at Holme Lacy near Hereford.

He said: 'The Solar Eye uses two optically corrected glass balls, one clear, one coloured, which are aligned so that the point of coloured light thrown by the smaller sphere tracks in the same lateral direction as the sun.

'At the same time the clear optical ball throws a larger shadow which tracks on the ground in the opposite way so at the equinox the shadow is eclipsed by the coloured light.

'I was born on the autumn equinox in 1952 so I suppose that's where my life-long fascination with astronomy must have started.

'About two years ago I had the notion that I could chart the passage of earth and the sun by mounting two spheres of optical quality glass.

'It led to a lot of trial and error as I forged the metal mounts to hold the glass spheres and I had a lot of broken glass in my forge as the metal shrank to tight and cracked them. 

'The tolerances were tiny but in the end I worked it out and discovered my idea might just work.'

He added: 'The large outdoor version is made in bronze which is really quite expensive, but it is designed to weather and would sell for about £2,000, the tiny versions cost around £30.”

The optical specifications of the Solar Eye are so intricate that Pete sets up individual devices for different latitudes on the globe by using post codes or Google.

Pete, from Presteigne, Powys, added: 'I can set them up for different latitudes by post code, so one for Cornwall would be a slightly different shape to one set for Orkney.

'People say they find them pleasing to the eye which, as craftsman, is very much part of what I want to achieve and I strive to make things that are simple but beautiful.

'At the moment I'm experimenting with a more sophisticated device that will mimic the set-up of Stonehenge and predict eclipses.”

Pete is one of only eleven 'Licentiates' honoured by the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths and his more conventional masterpieces include the entrance gates for Hereford Cathedral. 

He has completed projects and restoration work for most of the national heritage organisations including English Heritage, the National Trust and Heritage Scotland.

His installation art pieces include a 40-foot long metal Loch Ness Monster and a metal and cheese cloth replica of Stonehenge on a by-pass roundabout.

By EDDIE WRENN - http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Stonehenge Tour Guide

Stonehenge. Driving to distractions

Events in the car are far more distracting for motorists than monuments like Stonehenge

It’s 18 years since a Wonderbra advertisement was blamed for dozens of road accidents. Now, it’s Stonehenge and the Angel of the North distracting drivers. A quarter report that the standing stones on Salisbury Plain have caught their attention when they should be keeping their eyes on the road ahead, and of those drivers, one in eight has crashed or come close to it. What, then, is to be done about it? Should Stonehenge be moved further from the road? Or the Angel of the North hidden behind a hessian screen?

Perhaps perspective is needed here. We suspect that inside jobs remain far more distracting than public monuments – a wasp on the loose, what the children are up to in the back, a lost mint, tuning the radio, even the satnav display. Anyone with the willpower to stop a moment to rummage in the glove compartment should have no trouble dealing with Stonehenge.

Full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/9542090/Driving-to-distractions.html

Stonehenge Tour Guide