Anomalous stone group

The National Monuments Service's description

In forestry on the N slopes of the Ox Mountains, located on a natural knoll, on a shelf of rough, upland terrain, overlooked to S by cliffs. This record was listed in the RMP (1995) as ‘Miscellaneous’. It refers to a setting of stones inspected in 1967 in advance of forestry development (SMR Files), and recorded as follows: ‘Rough heathery ground full of boulders. About 10 small boulders in a row (N–S) with 4 or 5 at right angles at N end. Like footing of wall of shelter...Not a megalith. Not ancient looking.’ An inspection was carried out in 1994 but the feature was not located due to forestry cover. The area was inspected again in 2014. The knoll is thickly covered in heather and rough scrub. The top and parts of the slopes are strewn with a dense jumble of felled timber. Young trees grow on the slopes and around the perimeter. Occasional boulders and stones protrude randomly from the heather and forestry debris. On the gentle N-facing slope, just below the top of the knoll, four stones (max. dims. c. 0.5m; H 0.3m) in a close-set N-S row (L c. 2m) can be glimpsed/felt beneath thick heather. It is not possible to determine if these stones are a remnant of the structure, which may have been partly or entirely destroyed during forestry works.

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 1 August 2011