. The jottings of some geological, archaeological, botanical, ornithological and zoological rambles around Macclesfield. st of all, and at the easternextremity, a circle is described, 27ft. in diameter, andcontaining in its centre two stones, where the earth is veryblack and mixed with oak charcoal. As only one half ofthe stones of the circle were standing in 1766, it is quitepossible that the two centre stones were also fewer thanorignally placed there. If so, the reading would appear tobe, there having been a free standing dolmen or cromlechof three upright stones supporting a capstone, and
. The jottings of some geological, archaeological, botanical, ornithological and zoological rambles around Macclesfield. st of all, and at the easternextremity, a circle is described, 27ft. in diameter, andcontaining in its centre two stones, where the earth is veryblack and mixed with oak charcoal. As only one half ofthe stones of the circle were standing in 1766, it is quitepossible that the two centre stones were also fewer thanorignally placed there. If so, the reading would appear tobe, there having been a free standing dolmen or cromlechof three upright stones supporting a capstone, and the wholeenclosed in a circle of 12 upright stones ; or that theremay have been originally only two stones as now with aburial by cremation at the foot of each, which was not anunusual practice. What the two stones standing six yardsfurther east from this circle, and six yards apart, wereintended to represent is for the present a mystery, whilstit is uncertain for what purpose the two stones placed nearto the present cistaven at its south eastern angle cistavens now follow facing east and west, and these. 29 with the pile of stones heaped up over all, complete whatwe know of the barrow. The two slabs which still closethe ends of the structure are not named in the aboveaccounts. That placed at the end of it eastward, is6ft. 6in. long, 2ft. 6in. in width, and 4ft. high ; while theother at the western extremity is 4ft. 6in. long, one foot inwidth, and 6ft. Qin. high, bluntly tapering off to a pointabove the edges of the cist. In summarising upon the above elaborate descriptionof the Bridestones, in the first place I would remark, thaton a recent inspection of the cistaven and its adjuncts,they remain in about the same condition as described in1854. .It would appear that the two sidestones of the cist,formerly slabs about 18ft. in length, had been split into fiveparts, (making two on one side and three on the other)before the year 1766 ; and that the holed stone which ha
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidjottingsofsomege00sain
