Featured: Explore Scotland (and everywhere else) with our Megalithic Portal iPhone app

Explore Scotland (and everywhere else) with our Megalithic Portal iPhone app

Random Image


Cwrt-y-Gollen

Secrets of the Avebury Stones

Secrets of the Avebury Stones

Who's Online

There are currently, 319 guests and 1 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

<< Image Pages >> Clach a' Phoanais (Strontian) - Standing Stone (Menhir) in Scotland in Highlands

Submitted by Anne T on Wednesday, 24 May 2017  Page Views: 3091

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Clach a' Phoanais (Strontian) Alternative Name: Strontian Hotel (Strontian); Branks Stone (Strontian); Penance Stone (Strontian); Clach a'Bhranguis
Country: Scotland
NOTE: This site is 3.887 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Highlands Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Fort William  Nearest Village: Strontian
Map Ref: NM8158061357
Latitude: 56.692723N  Longitude: 5.568599W
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
no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data 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.
no data 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
Be the first person to rate this site - see the 'Contribute!' box in the right hand menu.

Internal Links:
External Links:

Clach a' Phoanais (Strontian)
Clach a' Phoanais (Strontian) submitted by Anne T : An extract from the 1872 OS Map showing Clach a'Phoanais - thanks to the anonymous member who drew this to our attention. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Standing Stone (Menhir) in Highlands

Recorded as Canmore ID 23124, their 1960 entry says: "This apparently prehistoric standing stone measures 5ft 2ins by 2ft by 14ins, with a deep notch in its top and an iron ring sunk into it. People were chained to it as a punishment on market days (ONB 1872). It is listed by Argyll County Council as The Branks Stone or Penance Stone". The report for 1970 tells us: "As it is not shown in this position on OS 25" 1898 it has presumably been moved here from NM 8154 6136 but there is no local knowledge of the circumstances." [Update August 2017: A post to the Portal shows the stone clearly marked on the 1872 OS Map - see OS Map 1872 Argyllshire, Sheet XXVIII - with thanks to our Anonymous user who posted this. HES have since emailed to acknowledge this is correct; see the comment below with more information].

The Northern Antiquarian (TNA) also feature a page on this stone - see their entry for Clach a’ Phoanais, Strontian, Inverness-shire, which gives directions, a brief archaeology and history and some local folklore.

Note: Have you visited this site? Do you have any photographs or further information you can add?
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Clach a' Phoanais (Strontian)
Clach a' Phoanais (Strontian) submitted by Anne T : The 1898 OS Map shows no stone, whereas the 1872 map does. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
NM8161 : Hotel at Strontian by Andrew Wood
by Andrew Wood
©2018(licence)
NM8161 : Strontian Hotel by Russel Wills
by Russel Wills
©2009(licence)
NM8161 : Strontian by Vanhercke Christiaan
by Vanhercke Christiaan
©2011(licence)
NM8161 : Fuel stop, Strontian by sylvia duckworth
by sylvia duckworth
©2007(licence)
NM8161 : Filling station, Strontian by Richard Webb
by Richard Webb
©2018(licence)

The above images may not be of the site on this page, they are loaded from Geograph.
Please Submit an Image of this site or go out and take one for us!


Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 14.1km SW 214° Gleann Geal* Cairn (NM73015013)
 16.0km SW 224° Acharn South* Cairn (NM698505)
 16.8km SW 221° Claggan* Cairn (NM69794930)
 17.8km SE 139° Cairnbane (Portnacroish) Chambered Cairn (NM926473)
 17.9km WSW 250° Greadal Fhinn Passage Grave (NM644560)
 17.9km WSW 250° Rahoy. Passage Grave (NM644560)
 18.0km SSE 162° Cnoc Aingil Cairn (NM86384397)
 18.3km SSE 163° Carn Mor (Lismore)* Cairn (NM85934354)
 18.3km ESE 109° Achara Standing Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NM98665455)
 18.4km SSE 163° Lismore Grave Slabs* Sculptured Stone (NM8608043445)
 18.5km SSE 163° Clach na h-ealea (Clachan)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (NM86094342)
 19.1km SSE 161° Tirefour Castle* Broch or Nuraghe (NM8675542912)
 20.8km SSE 153° Eriska Crannog* Crannog (NM90114239)
 20.9km E 87° Clach-a-charra* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NN02566134)
 21.2km S 175° Dun Cuilein* Stone Fort or Dun (NM82504018)
 21.4km S 171° Dun Mor (Lismore)* Stone Fort or Dun (NM83724003)
 21.4km SSE 155° Balure Cairns* Cairn (NM89604145)
 21.5km S 171° Balygrundle North* Cairn (NM83673997)
 21.6km S 169° Sean Dun (Lismore)* Stone Fort or Dun (NM84483996)
 21.9km S 171° Dun Vamha Chradha* Cairn (NM84023958)
 21.9km SSE 155° Achnamoine 2* Cairn (NM89974104)
 22.0km S 172° Balygrundle South* Cairn (NM83653946)
 22.2km SSE 154° Achnamoine Cairn* Cairn (NM90184082)
 22.5km S 177° Barr Mor* Cairn (NM81493886)
 22.6km S 174° Kilcheran Fort* Hillfort (NM82663877)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Tempelbezirk Eschweiler-Fronhoven

Blue Scar (Arncliffe) >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

A Phenomenology of Landscape, Tilley

A Phenomenology of Landscape, Tilley

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Clach a' Phoanais (Strontian)" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Re: Clach a'' Phoanais (Strontian) by Anonymous on Wednesday, 23 August 2017
I notice in your text you state that the above stone was "not shown in this position on OS 25" 1898 it has presumably been moved here from NM 8154 6136 but there is no local knowledge of the circumstances."

I have seen a copy of the OS Map 1st edition 1872 from the National Library of Scotland (http://maps.nls.uk/view/74427310) which clearly shows the stone in its current location.

Hope this helps!
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Clach a' Phoanais (Strontian) by Anne T on Thursday, 24 August 2017
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    So it does! Many thanks for this.

    I've amended the text on this page and sent both The Northern Antiquarian and Canmore a note of your link. When I get chance I'll print the map, scan it and add an image to this page.

    [Update 28th August 2017: I've just had a reply from Historic Environment Scotland (HES) which reads: "I will forward the information you have supplied to our Data Team, who will make any necessary amendments." If anyone spots an update to this record, I'd be pleased to hear.]

    Brilliant - thank you again. Best wishes.

    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Clach a' Phoanais (Strontian) by Anne T on Monday, 04 September 2017
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    I've had a reply from an Archaeological Field Investigation Office from HES Archives this morning. This says:

    "It seems that Alan Ayre, the Archaeological Field Officer with the Ordnance Survey (who wrote the entry dated 27 May 1970) was mistaken. The position of the stone is shown at exactly the location where it stands to this day on both the 1st and 2nd editions of the OS 25-inch map.

    It appears from the second map reference which he quotes that he must have taken the circular symbol above the letter 'a' in 'Bhrangis', as the position where the stone stood in 1898 - having failed to recognise that this is simply an element of a larger symbol that was intended to denote the character of the strand. The correct symbol is situated on the crest of the hachured scarp; and the error has arisen because this is situated well to the east of the legend on the 2nd edition. In mitigation, it has to be said that the relationship between the legend and the spot marking the stone's location is much better represented on the 1st edition of the map. However, this cannot have been available to Ayres and hence, his belief that the stone must have been moved from the one location to the other.

    The actual entry in the Name Book is more telling than the condensed and ameliorated version presently in Canmore. It reads as follows: 'A rude slab 5 feet high 2 feet broad and 9 inches thick, stands in front of the Inn at Strontian. On market days it was the custom when any one became obstreperous, to chain him to this stone until he showed symptoms of repentance. Signifying 'Stone of Punishment''

    This custom is reflected in the alternative names provided by the Argyll list (1915) - 'branks' being a fine Scotch word referring to a halter or a gag.

    However, it seems very unlikely that this stone was erected especially for such a mundane purpose and so a prehistoric origin seems acceptable.

    The NGR giving rise to the location on Canmap situates the stone at Ayres misread position. The correct NGR is NM 81580 61357."

    I've corrected the NGR on the site page. With many thanks to our Anonymous user for pointing this out. Nice to know we are able to correct the historical record when we need to.

    Note to our Anonymous user: if you could register as a Portal user (no charge, just enter your user name and email address (the later is kept completely private)) I can send you a private message to say thanks!
    [ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>

We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.