The Rollright Stones
The Rollright stones stand on the border of the Oxfordshire and Warwickshire countryside. The land surrounding the site is mostly farmland and has been for centuries. The stones were erected through three stages of development ranging from early Neolithic to Early to mid Bronze Age. On the day of our visit to the stones we were fortunate enough to witness some of the historical finds and those who found them as a fayre was held there. My photographs will seem perhaps a little crowded, but I am assured that it is not as busy every weekend!
The Whispering Knights portal Dolmen was the first section to be placed on the deep left of the site. Access can be gained through a walkway around the farm field. The Whispering Knights stand as the remains of a ‘portal’ Dolmen, an early Neolithic burial chamber with a possible date of c. 4000 - 3500 BCE. It was built by the first farming community in the area. Portal Dolmen can also be found in Cornwall, Wales and Ireland. This tomb was erected to impress as it can be seen right across the fields and raising these huge stones with minimal tools would have been quite a feat during the early Neolithic era. Originally the chamber sides would have stood more upright. The bones of several dismembered bodies were laid inside. Further bone deposits continued right up until the Bronze Age.
One legend suggests that the stones travel down to the valley to drink from a brook on New Years Day or when the bells of Long Compton sound. Another legend, which fits with the main stories connecting the stones; this one concerning knights who were plotting against their king, but were turned to stone along with the kings men and the king himself! More on this legend further into this article.
The King’s men ceremonial circle was erected during the late Neolithic, c. 2500 - 2000 BCE. It was used as a gathering place for Neolithic people around 4500 years ago. The stones are natural limestone boulders which would have been collected from 500m of the site. The circle was originally a complete ring of stones with an entrance opposite the tallest, marked by 2 ‘portal’ stones. Other circles similar to this one can be found in Cumbria.
Legend has it that these are the King’s men from the tale of the legend of the petrified king. It is rumoured that there are 72 stones that make up the circle, but again legend dictates that ‘no one should live who counts the stones 3 times and finds the number the same’.
The King Stone can be found alone in a opposite field to the rest of the site. It is a large single standing stone possibly erected as a marker for a Bronze Age cemetery, c. 1800 - 1500 BCE. The shape is has now is only indicative of the result of farmers or drovers who would chip a bit off as a lucky charm. Due to this form of devastating activity the Rollright stones became one of the first monuments to be protected as a scheduled monument under the ancient Monuments Protection Act of 1883, making it a criminal offence to damage the stones. Legend has it that the names of the stones originate from the legend of the King. The king met a witch who challenged him
‘Seven long strides shalt thou take, And if Long Compton thou canst see, King of England thou shalt be’
The king, knowing how close Long Compton was to where he stood took up the challenge. But as he took his 7th step, from the ground a mound arose, preventing him from seeing the village in the distance.
‘As Long Compton thou canst not see,
King of England thou shalt not be
Rise up stick and stand still stone,
For King of England thous shalt be none,
Thou and thy men hoar stones shall be and myself an Eldern tree’
And so the would-be king was turned to a single standing stone, the kings men were petrified where they stood in a circle and the whispering knights who were conspiring against their leader were also turned to stone.
Many stone circles are often related to tales of witches or faeries and the Rollright stones are no exception. The witch tale may have originated from tales of witchcraft in the town of nearby Shipton-under-Wychwood. The Whispering Knights are also suggested to be a portal to the Faerie realm where those who walk through the portal think they’ve been gone for days when in actual fact time has passed in hours in this realm.
The name ‘Rollright’ may have 2 different origins. One theory is that the name derives from ancient Celtic language. ‘rod’ + ‘land’ + ‘ricc’ meaning groove, gorge or steep valley by the ‘Rodland’, ( wheel arena), the stone circle. Another interpretation is taken from Old English. ‘Hrolla’ + ‘Landriht’ meaning the property of Hrolla.
Geology
The Rollright stones are made up of natural limestone which forms most of the Cotswolds Hills. It is also the same stone used in buildings in the area which give the region a certain type of quintessential charm and character.
Archaeology - more than meets the eye
The Rollright site has been in use since our ancestors were hunter gatherers. Flint knapping evidence has been found dating prior to the erection of the stones. The surrounding fields have also thrown up a flint heads too!
A circular burial Carin 17m across was built of stones heaped around a central burial chamber. Although the main chamber has never been investigated, surrounding cremations have been found at the top of the mound and a child’s tooth also dated using Radiocarbon dating has been set at around c.1725 - 1728 BCE. Close to the King stone another cremation dated c. 1735 - 1713 BCE has been located and marked by an upright post.
1980’s investigations revealed further human cremation deposits including an rather unusual and rare tunnel cremation dated c. 1880 - 1746 BCE which were marked by a post, at the foot of which was found the cremated remains of a child in an urn, the date of which cannot be determined.
Excavation has shown that there an Iron Age enclosure c. 400 -100 BCE. The settlement is thought to have earlier origins. Animal bones and carbonsied crop and weed remains indicate a mixture of farming and raising livestock.
The Roman period indicates an agricultural settlement. Scattered pottery proves that manure and domestic refuse were discarded in surrounding fields. Pottery also informs us that the Kings men were visited during the Roman period.
The most famous find was that of the Saxon women in her twenties, during a 2015 investigation. She was buried with grave goods which indicate her importance to the local community, perhaps her high rank in society. The finds contained a long handled bronze pan (patera) and traces of a wooden box with silver mounts. We were lucky enough to meet the metal detectorist Charles Wood who found the bronze pan (patera) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3189470/Is-witch-Rollright-1-400-year-old-skeleton-unearthed-rare-religious-spoon-Bronze-Age-monument.html#i-2ff3a44f41248049. They were also involved in finding the Pewsey hoard a few years ago.
The history and archaeology of this site continues right up to the Cold war.
The Rollright stones have been mentioned or depicted since the time of the Doomsday book. Although the area itself has gone through many changes for various purposes since then, the stones have remained in situ. Unfortunately, as late as 2007 they have been subjected to unwanted attention in the form of vandalism, for no apparent reason.
Whatever the legends surrounding the Rollright stones, they are still an enigmatic site and I’m hoping when we return that we will be able to fully experience the energy that flows quite freely around the King’s men ritual circle….yes we all felt it :). In fact we had just missed a beautiful crop circle formation which appeared in the adjacent farm field which you can see a video of on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTswCm18oqo&t=234s
Link also in credits)
I hope you have enjoyed reading this article on our enigmatic Rollright stones. You are welcome to make your own assumptions of their story of origin, as will I. All credits for sources can be found at the end of this article. All photographs were taken by me on one of my many visits.
A blessed day to you all.
Credits:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/rollright-stones/?utm_source=Google%20Business&utm_campaign=Local%20Listings&utm_medium=Google%20Business%20Profiles&utm_content=rollright%20stones
http://www.rollrightstones.co.uk/
http://www.rollrightstones.co.uk/articles/story/folklore-and-legends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTswCm18oqo&t=234s