<< Our Photo Pages >> Samson, North Hill - Burial Chamber or Dolmen in England in Isles of Scilly
Submitted by Andy_Creigh on Thursday, 12 January 2023 Page Views: 10601
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Samson, North HillCountry: England County: Isles of Scilly Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Nearest Village: Island of St Samson
Map Ref: SV87711305 Landranger Map Number: 203
Latitude: 49.935831N Longitude: 6.353649W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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I have visited· I would like to visit
DrewParsons elad13 would like to visit
hoya105 visited on 1st Jun 2019 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 1 It is difficult to visit as the island is a protected area for birds. We were given permission as a group. The sites are all fairly easy to find and in good condition for their age and position.
Over eighty entrance graves have been recorded on the isles of Scilly . They vary a great deal in state of preservation. Most date to the late Neolithic period (+2500 BC) and continued in construction and use until as late as 700 BC. They are constructed of stone and earth and are circular in shape. Usually surrounded by a stone kerb, with a rectangular stone chamber constructed of stone and course walling and covered by large capstones. The entrances themselves vary in the direction they face, although the majority face Easterly to catch the rays of the rising sun.
They vary a great deal in size perhaps reflecting the social standing of those buried there, and/or the different functions of the monuments themselves .
From the human remains found in many of the chambers burial was a primary function for these sites. Cremation was the usual form with the bones deposited loose or in urns, occasionally accompanied by grave goods. In three chambers burials span a period of nearly 700 years.
It is also likely that they were used as territorial markers, and places of ritual offering to ensure the fertility of the land, possibly linked to early field boundaries associated with many of the sites.
The Northern Antiquarian (TNA) also features a page for this site - see their entry for North Hill, Samson, Scilly Isles, Cornwall, which quotes from early references which describes this site, and also includes a photograph from 1928.
Pastscape Monument No. 303553 contains extensive notes on this cemetery, and includes grid references for all the different tumuli, cists and a stone circle!
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