Welcome to The Spinster's Rock
Unnamed
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(click picture to see map of the area) |
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The Legends
Spinster’s Rock is a cromlech or dolmen located in Devon, on the northeaster edge of Bodmin Moor. It’s a Neolithic burial chamber that has a fanciful past. Legend has it that before breakfast one day, three spinsters (or yarn spinners) erected the monument on their way to take their spun wool to the local “gobber” (wool trader). When they passed the spot where the cromlech had fallen, they decided to spend some time re-erecting three granite slabs which were like the walls of a house of cards. Capping their creation with a huge granite slab, we have the Spinster’s Rock of today. The dolmen still bears the name in honor of these three spinsters.
Another tradition claims that one day, a mysterious old man, along with his three sons, suddenly appeared from the hills. They erected the structure and then disappeared into thin air after its completion, which suggests that they were turned to stone themselves. The old man is alleged to have been Noah (of Noah’s ark) and is represented as the capstone. His sons are the three inner posts.
Considering the capstone, which is 15 feet by 10 feet, weighs some 16 tons, it’s hard to imagine how three spinsters could have lifted it the 6.5 to 9 feet (the height of the three standing stones) above their heads.
The Noah account is even more fanciful, but doesn’t answer the questions of how and why?
How and Why?
Just how these megalithic stones were lifted and put into place, we cannot say. It must have been similar in construction to other megaliths of Neolithic times around the area.
Why is more easily answered, if less understandable. Theories as to the purpose of chambered tombs range from funereal uses, territorial markers and status symbols or any combination of the three. Through these stones, we gain a glimpse of Neolithic technology and culture.
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Dolmens and Cromlechs
Dolmens are a type of single-chambered Neolithic tomb and mostly date from 4,000 BC - 3,000 BC. They are usually found to have three or more upright support stones and one, large capstone on top. What we see today is the bare bones, or skeleton of the tomb. During the times when they were built and maintained, the ancient peoples would cover the stones with earth or smaller stones, creating a barrow.
A Cromlech is a term we use that is synonymous with dolmen. It is a Brythonic word (British or Welsh) which breaks down like this: crom means “bent” lech means “flagstone”. This term is now obsolete in archaeology, but we arm chair archaeologists like to use it all the same.
The History
Not much seems to be known about the Spinsters Rocks before the 1800’s. But, in 1862 at the beginning of a wet season, the surrounding field was plowed for winter wheat. The resulting consequence was that the stones collapsed. With the help of some sketches done a few years before, the rocks were replaced. This new formation is what we see today and does differ somewhat from the drawings used in reconstruction.
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Sources:
| Burial Chamber |
| Neolithic Chambered Tomb |
| Spinter's Rock |
| Wikipedia.org |
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Courtyard
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