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The Henge Monuments of the British Isles: Myth and Archaeology

The Henge Monuments of the British Isles: Myth and Archaeology

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Boar Stone (Armadale) - Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature in Scotland in West Lothian

Submitted by Anne T on Tuesday, 23 October 2018  Page Views: 2120

Natural PlacesSite Name: Boar Stone (Armadale) Alternative Name: Boar Stone (Barbachlaw)
Country: Scotland
NOTE: This site is 6.052 km away from the location you searched for.

County: West Lothian Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
Nearest Town: Bathgate  Nearest Village: Armadale
Map Ref: NS92336820
Latitude: 55.894846N  Longitude: 3.723319W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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Anne T visited on 28th Oct 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4 The Boar Stone (Barbachlaw), Armadale: This is another site we'd picked up from the Ancient Stones website, and although it's not far from my daughter's house in Amadale, we wouldn't normally drive this road. This stone is clearly visible from the A89. We managed to park in the gateway to another field opposite, crossed the road and had to climb over the gate as it was tied shut with some very tight knots. The field had been planted and there were some young seedlings showing through. By walking along the edge of the field, then up a tractor track, we managed to reach the stone and walk round it. Goodness knows how much of this stone is underneath the ground – it was certainly large, and no wonder they hadn’t tried to move it!

Boar Stone (Armadale)
Boar Stone (Armadale) submitted by Anne T : This photo is looking east over the stone, towards Armadale. Daylight was fading fast, and while there were a few scars and scrapes on top of the stone, we did not see any carvings or markings. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature in West Lothian

This large natural boulder is recorded as Canmore ID 47773. The OS Name Book of 1856 says: "Tradition regarding this stone and the origin of the name "Barbachlaw" states that it is connected with a wild boar, brought to bay at this stone by a weaver, who took off his left shoe (backle) and fastened it to his hand for protection, killing the animal with his sword. It is evident that this is only a story invented to account for the name, but the stone may no doubt have some connection with the boar chase of ancient times."

A later field visit, in 1953, describes the stone as "a massive boulder, 5.3m long by 4.0m maximum breadth, embedded on the crest of a hillock in a field. It bears no inscription or symbols."

This large natural erratic stone is also featured on the Ancient Stones: A Guide to Standing Stones and Stone Circles in the South of Scotland - see their entry for Boar Stone, Barbachlaw, Armadale, which includes a description, directions for finding the stone with nearby parking, folklore and fieldnotes. The Ancient Stones adds that the stone is partially buried in the crest of the hillside, so its actual depth is unknown, although it stands about 1m above current ground height.
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Boar Stone (Armadale)
Boar Stone (Armadale) submitted by tjyukito : 9/Feb/2020 heavy Windy day (Vote or comment on this photo)

Boar Stone (Armadale)
Boar Stone (Armadale) submitted by tjyukito (Vote or comment on this photo)

Boar Stone (Armadale)
Boar Stone (Armadale) submitted by tjyukito (Vote or comment on this photo)

Boar Stone (Armadale)
Boar Stone (Armadale) submitted by tjyukito (Vote or comment on this photo)

Boar Stone (Armadale)
Boar Stone (Armadale) submitted by Anne T : This view looks south east over the stone, which is at the crest of a hill, so there are good views all the way round.

Boar Stone (Armadale)
Boar Stone (Armadale) submitted by Anne T : The farmer has left a wide grass verge around the edge of this boulder - goodness knows how much of it is still under the soil! This view looks over the stone to the north west.

Boar Stone (Armadale)
Boar Stone (Armadale) submitted by Anne T : The Boar Stone, approaching it from the northern field edge. As the field had recently been planted, we took great care to keep to the tractor tracks to walk up to this huge erratic boulder.

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