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| "The Hurlers" | Login/Create an Account | 28 comments | ||
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| Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content. |
| Re: The Hurlers (Score: 1) by Bunnyhugger on Sunday, 12 October 2003 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| A beautiful place in any weather. Despite being quite close to the road, these circles feel magical, especially at sunset on a summer's day, when the light catches the quartz in the stones. When the weather is stormy it's dramatic and breath-taking, quite literally! Seeing three circles is one place is very special, and it's worth pottering about to see them from different angles - it's a lovely place for walking. The presence of dilapidated tin mine buildings give the whole area the feeling that man has tried to dominate the moor, but nature has won. Sadly, there's a big aerial-type structure nearby, which does detract from the view towards Minions, but looking out towards the Cheesewring is a great view of the moor. The stones here feel welcoming, but there are many little - and some not so little - hollows filled with water, so watch your step. |
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| Re: The Hurlers (Score: 1) by gormer on Saturday, 01 November 2003 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| Coming here on a rainy late afternoon with heavy mists just rolling in made for an otherworldly experience--the mist managed to obscure most of what modern man has done in the area, and watching the three stone circles dart in and out of the fog was almost unnerving. The pockmarked, water-logged ground did make finding my footing tricky, but there is such a wide area to explore that most visitors won't mind getting their shoes wet. Resident livestock wandering about didn't seem to be bothered in the least by visitors--and especially because they were the only ones with whom I had to share the site, visiting The Hurlers was an uncrowded, quiet side trip. |
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| Re: The Hurlers (Score: 1) by Petercastle on Monday, 12 April 2004 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| Condition:4 Ambience:4 Access:4 This is an excelent site to visit as it has good access for all.The best way to get an over all view is to stand at the bottom of the three circles and turn through 180 degrees and walk up the hill about 200 metres,turn back and you will get a complete view of all three of the circles with the Rillaton Barrow cresting the hill top. The Cheese Ring which is north of the circles is also worth a visit as it has the wall of a prehistoric enclosure encircling the top,as well as signs of occupation by the tinners. There is also another stone circle within easy reach of these sites.It is the Carradock Moor stone circle and lies around 1 kilometre to the north west.It can be reached by walking along the path which leads to the nearby quarry,taking the left hand fork and turning south onto the grass when the circle is in site,it is just south of a barrow which is close ot the path. |
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| Re: The Hurlers (Score: 0) by Anonymous on Sunday, 18 April 2004 |
| by Petercastle. The Hurlers is situated just to the west of Minions.There is good parking,and the site is easily reached on a path. There are a lot of other sites close by, the Rillaton Round Barrow clearly visible on the sky line. The photograph was taken from the hill behind,which gives the best overall view point. The most southerly of the circles is in the foreground and has only 2 stones standing. |
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| Re: The Hurlers (Score: 1) by TheCaptain on Sunday, 20 May 2007 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| The Pipers - 'Forgotten' stones at The Hurlers? (Score: 0) by Anonymous on Sunday, 20 May 2007 Many people every year visit the three stone circles known as The Hurlers on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall - but how many take time to go and stand a while with The Pipers, which are just a few yards away? Look in the books and these two enigmatic stones only rate a brief statement of their existence - if they rate a comment at all! The first time we visited The Hurlers was about 10 years ago in 1997; like most folks, I was keen to see these three rings of stone - just the fact that there are three was fascinating in itself - but something was drawing me off to the right (as you look at the stones from the road) and I walked off towards the two stones that seemed to be somehow separate from the main circles. In a landscape literally littered with megalithic monuments - in ten years I think I have only managed to visit about half, if that - these two really stand out for me. They seem to be guardians, watching over the landscape, sentinels bearing witness to a silent past. Dowsing shows them to be on a 'offshoot' of the well known earth energy lines in this location. There is also a strange and uncomfortable place of 'dark energy' in a hollow between the Pipers and the second of the circles. It felt like something swimming underground, trying to pull me in...I know that sounds utterly nuts, but I always give out what I receive! I stood with my back to each one in turn, drinking in the sunshine (the photo is one from 2006 when heavy rain made it a little treacherous to get near!) and absorbing the atmosphere...lovely...calm and protective. I take that 'feeling' with me wherever I go - and every time we go back to Cornwall I now make a point of trying to visit the Pipers. Does this all sound a bit mad? Well, maybe to some - but to those that feel an affinity with the ancient history of this land - I know you will understand me. Michelle Jones pennymoon |
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| Re: The Hurlers (Score: 0) by Anonymous on Thursday, 24 May 2007 |
| On the map the 3 circles look very like the layout of the 3 stars in Orion's belt. This could be yet another Orion site like the Giza pyramids and the Thornesborough rings in northern England. Rocky |
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| Re: The Hurlers (Score: 0) by Anonymous on Thursday, 31 May 2007 |
| brilliant things to look at very intresting am of to cornwall soon thanks for this from micksue908@msn.com |
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| Re: The Hurlers (Score: 0) by Anonymous on Wednesday, 19 December 2007 |
| Bodmin Moor Hurlers mystery solved, By Daily Telegraph reporter 19/12/2007 The mystery of the Hurlers on Bodmin Moor may have been solved. An amateur astronomer claims that the ancient stone monuments were built to mirror the stars in Orion's Belt and indicate the date of mid-winter. The theory was proposed by Brian Sheen, a retired research chemist who runs the Roseland Observatory in St Stephen, Cornwall. He claims that the three stone circles, erected about 1,500 BC, mirror the three stars of Orion's Belt. At midnight on the winter solstice, their north-south orientation aligns with Orion's position - due south in the sky. Mr Sheen said the stones served as a calendar, also telling the tribesmen the summer solstice. "This was important because they were starting to grow things and look after animals," he said. "They were becoming farmers instead of hunter-gatherers." Legend has it that the stones were men, turned to rock for playing hurling on the Sabbath. |
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| Bodmin Moor Hurlers mystery solved (Score: 1) by coldrum on Wednesday, 19 December 2007 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| The mystery of the Hurlers on Bodmin Moor may have been solved. An amateur astronomer claims that the ancient stone monuments were built to mirror the stars in Orion's Belt and indicate the date of mid-winter. The theory was proposed by Brian Sheen, a retired research chemist who runs the Roseland Observatory in St Stephen, Cornwall. He claims that the three stone circles, erected about 1,500 BC, mirror the three stars of Orion's Belt. At midnight on the winter solstice, their north-south orientation aligns with Orion's position - due south in the sky. Mr Sheen said the stones served as a calendar, also telling the tribesmen the summer solstice. "This was important because they were starting to grow things and look after animals," he said. "They were becoming farmers instead of hunter-gatherers." Legend has it that the stones were men, turned to rock for playing hurling on the Sabbath. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/19/norion119.xml |
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| Hurlers may have been built to mirror the stars, say astronomers (Score: 1) by coldrum on Wednesday, 19 December 2007 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| An amateur astronomer could have finally unravelled the mystery of the ancient Hurlers on Bodmin Moor. The three stone circles in Cornwall have been discovered to align perfectly with the constellation Orion. New research now suggests The Hurlers were built as a primitive calender which indicates the exact date of mid winter. Once a year at midnight on the winter solstice, they line up exactly with Orion's position in the night sky. Brian Sheen, a retired research chemist and astronomer who runs the Roseland Observatory, in St Stephen, Cornwall, said the stones were built around 1500 BC. Using a specialist computer programme that predicts the future position of stars he confirmed the alignment between Orion and the circles would occur. Mr Sheen said: "As far as I can tell these Hurlers, a series of three stone circles, actually mirror the belt of Orion. "Just once a year at the winter solstice Orion passes due south at midnight. "What also happens is that allows the ancient people to tell the half way point between the autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox. "This was important because they were starting to grow things and look after animals. "They were becoming farmers instead of hunter-gatherers. "It confirms that the people that built the Hurlers around 1500 BC were fully aware of day length and season and had more knowledge of astronomy than we thought." Mr Sheen said he was shocked when he made the discovery and says the winter soltice later this week be a stunning spectacle for those on the Moor. "On December 21 we will be standing in the line of the three circles we will see Orion's belt due south in line with the stones." The 5,500-year-old Earthworks, at Thornborough, Yorkshire, the Stone Circles on Orkney and the Egyptian Pyramids at Giza are the only other known ancient structures linked to Orion. Legend has it that the stones at Minions on Bodmin Moor were men that had been turned to rock for playing Hurling on the Sabbath - a game similar to rounders. Anthony Harding, Professor of Archaeology at Exeter University said it was possible that the Hurlers could have been erected to align with Orion's belt. "There has been a big debate about this sort of theory," he said. "Though many archaeologists are sceptical whether this can be the case. "The question to ask really is if you wanted to make a very precise alignment like that would you do it by heaving large lumps of stone around the place? "One wants to see the hard evidence for it. What I would say is we can't rule anything out." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=503384&in_page_id=1770&ito=newsnow |
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| Re: Hurlers may have been built to mirror the stars, say astronomers (Score: 0) by Anonymous on Friday, 21 December 2007 |
| A snag with the theory is that there are now thought to have been four circles and even a possible fifth. There are supposed to be the remains of a ruined circle NNE of the well-known ones and a possibility of another further NNE. I assume the article is wrong because due south isn't in line with the circles. In fact the circles aren't exactly in line with each other. I'm also a tad dubious about the date given for the circles. Burl suggests very reasonably that sites with multiple rings are likely to have developed over time with extra rings being added in turn to a first at intervals. So we don't know that the circles are contemporaneous. The other issue is the general dating for stone circles. Estimates vary, but 1500bc is very young and the Hurlers could be 500 years or more older which would affect where Orion was at mid winter solstice. I think that O'Brien may have a better idea in suggesting that the cairns of Caradon Hill marked significant sunrises when viewed from the Hurlers, though a lot of the stuff he wrote in "The Megalithic Odyssey" was pure tosh. |
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| Re: Hurlers may have been built to mirror the stars, say astronomers (Score: 1) by AngieLake on Friday, 21 December 2007 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| I believe that the Merry Maidens circle was once the central one of three that ran NE-SW down the sloping ground. I've so often subconsciously thought of the Merry Maidens in a plural sense and talked about 'them', rather than 'it', that I decided to dowse there last May. I found the NE circle at 68 degs and 34 paces from the existing one. Its northern arc cut into the hedge to the left of a prominent large block of stone, and its diameter was 39 paces. The SW circle was 240 degs and 28 paces from the existing circle and 32/33 paces across. (I didn't pace across the present circle, but it is recorded as being 23.8 metres in diameter.) My own paces were long strides, but being a woman, not quite 3ft, I'd guess. From the furthest edge of each 'circle' [ie:SW and NE] the present circle appears in sharp relief along the ridge of the slope. Having read the above comments on The Hurlers, I wonder if the same alignment with Orion will occur at Winter Solstice? Does anyone know?? |
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| Re: Hurlers may have been built to mirror the stars, say astronomers (Score: 0) by Anonymous on Friday, 21 December 2007 |
| The Hurlers, along with all the other stone circles and Henges were elements in a wide spread communication system. Excavation invariably show alternate layers of Charcoal and soil, suggesting fire, probably beacon fires. It can be shown that there is inter visibility between the Hurlers and Merrivale (Merry Being the Celtic word for to see,and to watch.)The merry Maidens were also part of the same system (Merry Maidens being a corruption of merry maens or the look out stones.) It can be shown that Stone circles were always placed in visually strategic places where a fire signal can be relayed, and that from one can commonly can be seen another albeit twenty or thirty miles away. It is obvious that any organized society would need to have early warning of danger, and that the simplest method of communicating intelligence from the coast to a political centre will have been by fire beacon. We know that such systems were in use from the earliest times in other lands, why is it so difficult to recognize such a system in this country.The Grey Wethers (two large circles) on Dartmoor are in part of the same beacon chain that probably linked with Stonehenge or Avebury, two fairly obvious political centres. Why the multiple circles? Why carry spare batteries for you torch? Beacons were prepared in advance, and back up beacons would be useful if thee first fire was not acknowledged.The Parthenon was informed of the fall of Troy by fire beacon in the Bronze Age. Such systems were permanent arrangements, with well trained operatives prepared to watch and signal at all times. The defence of the realm depended on it just as it has done ever since. Roger B Hutchins |
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| Re: Hurlers may have been built to mirror the stars, say astronomers (Score: 1) by MikeGreen on Monday, 24 December 2007 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| Any truth that may be in this analysis is totally undermined by several stupid mistakes 1) Quote "This was important because they were starting to grow things and look after animals" " They were becoming farmers instead of hunter-gatherers" Well if 1500 BC is the correct date then they'd been growing 'things' for two and half thousand years by then without a circle to help 2) How can anything line up with 3 things in a line which are not themselves in a line 3) The picture they gave showed the 3 circles lined up like Orions belt - you might assume the top of the picture to be North - Nope they reorientated it to look good 4) Only once per year at MIdnight, which I suppose is technically correct, but the day before and the day after would only be 4 minutes difference - Did they have the ability to fix midnight to four minutes? |
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| Re: Hurlers may have been built to mirror the stars, say astronomers (Score: 1) by MikeGreen on Thursday, 28 February 2008 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| 19 years if you want a match to within 2 hours |
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| Re: Hurlers may have been built to mirror the stars, say astronomers (Score: 1) by MikeGreen on Sunday, 23 March 2008 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| Another problem 3,500 years of prescession would have a conciderable effect on the position of Orion - nearly 2 signs of the zodiac |
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| Re: Hurlers may have been built to mirror the stars, say astronomers (Score: 1) by AngieLake on Tuesday, 23 September 2008 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| Just a practical note for visitors: The last two times I've visited Minions [entering from the NE] I felt the need to turn into the first car park sharp right at the edge of the village, and realised it wasn't the car park I remembered. The best one for the circles is straight through the village, and up a turning to your right, just outside the village. Approaching from SW this is obviously on your left just before the village starts. There are information boards (one missing last week) and a picnic table, and the higher end of the parking area, where there are a few steps up to level ground with the monuments, is sheltered from the sometimes strong winds blowing down over the moor. (Remember being surprised by the sudden gust on climbing the steps one sunny evening!) There are public loos in the middle of the village, opposite the Cheesewring? pub/hotel. |
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| Re: Hurlers (Score: 1) by coldrum on Tuesday, 13 October 2009 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| Pastscape: http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=435707 |
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| Re: The Pipers (Score: 1) by coldrum on Tuesday, 13 October 2009 (User Info | Send a Message) |
| Pastscape entry: http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=435737 |
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