Hell Stone

The Hell Stone is a badly-restored Neolithic dolmen on Portesham Hill in Dorset, England. It is around half a mile (0.8 km) north of the village of Portesham, and approximately three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) southeast of the Valley of Stones.[1]

For other uses, see Hellstone.
Hell Stone
Hell Stone is located in Dorset
Hell Stone
Shown within Dorset
LocationDorset
Coordinates50°40′43″N 2°33′33″W
OS grid referenceSY604868
TypeDolmen

Description

The Hell Stone is situated at the head of a dry valley system in the parish of Portesham.[2] The burial chamber is at the southeast end of a rectangular mound. The mound is 24 metres (79 ft) long and orientated northwest to southeast.[2] The mound tapers from 12 to 8 metres (39 to 26 ft) in width from the southeast end to the northwest end, and it is 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) high.[2]

The Hell Stone

The chamber was badly restored in 1866 when eight men re-erected the stones, arranging them radially "rather like the slices of a cake" and supporting a large capstone.[3] The chamber may have been, originally, a long rectangular one.[3] A drystone wall runs across the mound, and a pond for watering livestock was dug close to the southeast end of the mound in modern times.[2] The remains of another tomb, The Grey Mare and her Colts, is 1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) to the west.[1]

Notes
  1. Google (10 February 2021). "Hell Stone Dolmen" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  2. Historic England. "Hell Stone (452288)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  3. Glyn E. Daniel (1950), The Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of England and Wales, page 93. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 110769762X


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.