We are often told (correctly, if somewhat ideologically), that geocaches should take us to somewhere "interesting", and not simply be placed just for the sake of it. The aim of this series is to try and adhere to this ideal by basing caches around details given on an Information Board about the area in which it is situated. By definition, it is hoped that this information will be "interesting", and will help the cacher discover things about the area that would often not be revealed by a traditional cache.
The Rollright Stones is an ancient site located on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border in England. The complex consists of three main elements, The Kings Men stone circle, the King Stone, and the Whispering Knights.
At each virtual stage is a notice board and you will have to find one piece of information from each board to help you find the final cache
The King's Men (Stage 1)
This ceremonial stone circle was erected around 2,500BC. At present there are seventy-odd stones of heavily weathered local oolitic limestone set in a rather irregular ring about 31m across. They were poetically described by William Stukeley as being “corroded like worm eaten wood, by the harsh Jaws of Time”; they were said to make “a very noble, rustic, sight, and strike an odd terror upon the spectators, and admiration at the design of ‘em”. More recently, Aubrey Burl called them “seventy-seven stones, stumps and lumps of leprous limestone”. The number of stones has changed over the years. Legends refer to stones having been taken away (to make bridges and the like), and it is likely that this created most of the gaps now visible. The stones are famously uncountable, but originally may have numbered about 105 standing shoulder to shoulder. At the time the Stones were first protected as an ancient monument (1883) the owner was reported to have “replaced all the fallen stones in their original foundation.” In fact the restoration was far from exact: most of the stones that are known to have been standing in their present positions since the 17th century show that it was originally built as an accurate circle.
How many horses did it take to drag the tallest stone down the hill? = BC
The Whispering Knights (Stage 2)
Four hundred metres east of Stone Circle, and probably predating it by over 1000 years, the Whispering Knights is a 'portal dolmen' burial chamber that consists of four upright stones and a large fallen capstone. The so-called ‘portal’ facade is formed by three stones that look like a giant doorway facing down the hill and it was probably intended to be seen from that side. Originally there were two or three more uprights to support the capstone which would have been placed on top, possibly at a rakish angle, to form a table-like 'dolmen' structure. At one time it was believed to be part of a long barrow, but excavations in the 1980s suggested that it is more likely to have been free-standing and intended to impress. The very large pillar-like stone on the left of the portal is the largest of all the Rollright Stones, and with the capstone in place on top (as it was until the 18th century) the chamber would have been even more striking. It is estimated that using rollers, levers and sledges it may have taken over 60 people to move and erect the stones. It is thought that there would have been a low platform of small stones round the sides and back. By analogy with other such monuments, the Whispering Knights was probably one the earliest funerary monuments in Britain, perhaps built around 3,800 BC and the c.2m square chamber would have contained the disarticulated bones of several individuals. Early Neolithic, Beaker and early Bronze Age pottery found in the immediate vicinity suggests that the tomb was venerated over many centuries and a piece of human bone washed out from the chamber was radiocarbon dated to c.1700BC. The monument got its name as part of the legend about the king and his army who were outwitted by a witch and turned to stone: because of the conspiratorial way in which the portal stones lean towards each other, the stones are said to be the treacherous knights conniving against the king, though others think they are praying. Intriguingly, although it looks as if the central slab of the portal should be supporting the pillars either side, they do not actually touch, probably because the limestone has been dissolved over the millennia.
The Whispering Knights are the remains of an early Neolithic burial chamber probably dating from DE00 BC built by the first farming communities in the area.
The King Stone (Stage 3)
This fine standing stone is located just off the crest of the low rise that supposedly prevented the King seeing Long Compton. Immediately to the north-east there was an early Bronze Age round cairn 17m across with a central chamber (of which the capstone peeps through the grass) set exactly at the top of the ridge. There was at least one other Bronze Age barrow nearby and excavations in the 1980s revealed human cremations marked by wooden posts and others inserted into the top of the cairn. The King Stone is most likely to have been erected around 1500 BC as a permanent memorial to the burial ground rather than being an outlier to the much older Stone Circle. The name ‘King Stone’ may have originated, like some other standing stones of the same name, from its use to mark an important meeting place associated with an extensive Saxon cemetery in the vicinity; but if so, the name may only reflect the adoption of the pre-existing standing stone for that purpose rather than having been erected in the Saxon period, but that is not known for certain. The strange shape of this standing stone (likened to a seal balancing a ball on its nose) has less to do with weathering effects than the destructive habits of 19th century souvenir-hunters (and by legend, cattle drovers who chipped off small pieces to act as lucky charms to keep the Devil at bay). The serious damage caused by such vandalism was one of the reasons why legal protection for ancient remains was introduced in 1882, the Rollright Stones being among the first monuments to be put into the guardianship of the state. The railings round the King Stone were erected soon afterwards to prevent further damage, and between c.1911 and c.1950 had an upper tier (for which the attachment holes are still visible).
'A' long strides shalt thou take and if Long Compton thou canst see, King of England thou shalt be.
The cache can then be found a short walk away at N 51 58. (A-B) (A+B) (A+C-D) W 001 34. (E-C-C) ((E/C) -B)(C+E-D)
Please note that there is a fee to enter the stones, a donation of £1 per adult and 50p per child is recommended.
I hope that you find this an interesting variation on the caching experience. For a full list of all FYI caches in the series, please go to https://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?code=BM4RZ8H
For more details of the FYI series as a whole, you can visit the dedicated website at fyigeocaching.co.uk where you will also find details of how to place your own FYI cache (I'm sure you know of some interesting Interpretation Boards in your area!)