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Merry Maidens stone circle
St Buryan |
Penwith
NGR: SW 4327 2450 |
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The Merry Maidens is one of the few 'true' stone circles in
Cornwall, being perfectly circular; it comprises nineteen stones
today but is thought to originally have consisted of just eighteen.
Restoration works carried out in the middle of the 19th century
replaced some of the stones incorrectly and altered the originally
even spacing between the uprights. Individual stones would appear to
have been carefully chosen for their shape and size. Their flat
inner faces are arranged along the circumference of the circle,
their tops are flat and level, and they are graded in size, the
tallest stones lying in the south-west quadrant of the circle. Early
reports of the site refer to traces of an earth bank, particularly
noticeable around the south and west sides.
Another popular name for the stone circle is ‘Dans Maen’ which can
be transaletd from the Cornish as the ‘dancing stones’. Both these
names are commonly associated with Cornish stone circles and have
inspired folk tales of dancing maidens turned to stone for
merrymaking on the Sabbath. This could reflect long preserved
memories of rituals carried out at the site, or more recent attempts
by the Christian church to impose a particular morality on the local
population and to deter them from surviving pagan practices.
There is some evidence for the existence of a second stone circle
close by, although its exact location is unknown. From accounts by
Dr Borlase it would have been of a similar size to the Merry
Maidens, although by the 19th Century only seven remaining stones
were to be seen, four of which were still upright. There are no
traces of this site today.
The Merry Maidens is part of an extensive ceremonial landscape. A
large Bronze Age barrow cemetery lies to the south-west of the
circle, and excavations recovered traces of cremated human bones
from several cists. Several urns were also found along with a stone
spearhead. Beside the road to the west of the circle the disturbed
remains of Tregiffian barrow consists of a possible Neolithic
entrance grave that appears to have been reused and remodelled in the
Bronze Age. A cup-marked stone was found incorporated into the
chamber and this has been removed to the Royal Cornwall Museum in
Truro for safety. There are several standing stones in the nearby
area, including two very large uprights known as the Pipers in a
straight alignment with the circle to the north-east. Collectively
these monuments seem to demonstrate a distinct south-west to
north-east trend among the contemporary monuments. As a
demonstration of the continuing fascination exerted by megalithic
monuments on the popular imagination, one of two holed stones known
in the area, now the gatepost to a field to the north, was recently
known as a ’betrothal stone’ through which engaged couples held
hands.
The Merry Maidens stone circle lies adjacent to the B3315 Newlyn to
Treen road, and access is from a lay-by at the western corner of the
field.
Sources
Barnatt, J, 1982. Prehistoric Cornwall: The Ceremonial Monuments.
Turnstone Press Limited. ISBN 0 85500 129 1
Payne, R, 1999. The Romance of the Stones:
Cornwall's Pagan Past. Alexander Associates. ISBN 899526 66 8 |
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Ground & Aerial photographs |
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