Audiobook | Stone Circles
Tregeseal
Right: Tregeseal was once a double stone circle. Etching of the now-destroyed Tregeseal West stone circle, by Cotton in the 1860s. Close by the surviving Tregeseal East stone circle, this western one had a good view of the Isles of Scilly.
The Merry Maidens complex also involved a double circle - Tregurnow stone circle, partner to the Merry Maidens, is now destroyed.
The Merry Maidens
This complex has a similar orientation to Tregeseal, and it was also once a double stone circle (Tregurnow has been destroyed). It is located on a major Neolithic backbone alignment from Carn Brea to St Michael's Mount and then to Treryn Dinas. It has two pairs of double menhirs.
Boscawen-ûn
The placing of Boscawen-ûn was a geomantic master-stroke and a carefully calculated thing - it's mentioned in the audiobook and detailed in the book. Many major alignments pass through it.
The leaning off-centre stone and a solid quartz stone are unique features.
The complex is made up of a constellation of menhirs surrounding the stone circle.
The Nine Maidens
Placed on a ridge with a wide view, the Nine Maidens stand at the centre of many ancient sites, and in the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age, this was the centre of activity in Penwith.
Two large cairns stood at each side, and the stone circle was overshadowed by the Neolithic tor, Carn Galva.
Mên an Tol
The Mên an Tol was also once a stone circle. Over time, some stones were removed or fell down, and in Victorian times a zealous antiquarian redesigned it in its current form. But if you visit, you can trace where the stone circle sat - roughly the width of the cleared area - and some recumbent and part-buried stones are visible.
