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Ark of Secrets - Neolithic spirit alive in the Middle Ages

A Guide to Stone Circles (New Edition), Aubrey Burl

A Guide to Stone Circles (New Edition), Aubrey Burl

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Lochmaben Stane - Standing Stone (Menhir) in Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway

Submitted by winkyelf on Wednesday, 26 August 2020  Page Views: 21542

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Lochmaben Stane Alternative Name: Lochmaben Stone, Clochmabenstane, Locus Maponi, Old Graitney
Country: Scotland County: Dumfries and Galloway Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Gretna
Map Ref: NY3123665983  Landranger Map Number: 85
Latitude: 54.983677N  Longitude: 3.076052W
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
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
3 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.
3 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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SolarMegalith visited on 11th Feb 2023 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4

graemefield visited on 1st Jan 1992 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 2



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 2.5 Ambience: 4 Access: 3

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by winkyelf : nice smile (Vote or comment on this photo)
A glacial erratic appropriated as a standing stone, and alleged stone circle in Dumfries and Galloway. In the 16th century, it was frequently used as the meeting place between the Scots and English wardens for the administration of justice, and in comparatively recent times local gatherings took place at this stone.

Further information on this natural erratic used as a standing stone can be found on Canmore site no. 67441 which says that in 1858 this site was known "as a Druidical Circle, with 9 upright stones placed in an oval, two of which remain, one being called the Lochmaben Stone."

An entry for 1966 reads: "In the 16th century, it was frequently used as the meeting place between the Scots and English wardens for the administration of justice, and in comparatively recent times local gatherings took place at this stone."

The stone is located 490 metres south of Old Graitney farmhouse and measures 2.3 metres in height. "About 23m to the NNE there is a second, smaller, stone now incorporated in a modern fence-line." Canmore also records that in 1982 the stone fell over, and prior to re-erection, excavation revealed it had been set into a shallow pit.
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Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by Postman : The Lochmaben Stane and friend (Vote or comment on this photo)

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by winkyelf : Sandy lending a sense of scale (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by SolarMegalith : The Lochmaben Stone, originally part of a stone circle, in 1448 it was a gathering place of Scottish forces that defeated the English in the battle of Sark (photo taken on February 2023). (Vote or comment on this photo)

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by SolarMegalith : Smaller companion of the Lochmaben Stone, lilkey remains of a stone circle (photo taken on February 2023). (Vote or comment on this photo)

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by Postman : First view of the stone, reached by walking along the Firth. (2 comments)

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by Postman : There was a big impressive stone circle here once, located at the north end of a ford across the the Solway Firth, still navigable, Solway just means muddy place.

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by Postman : The Lochmaben Stane and friend

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by Postman : Looking to the Cumbrian fells across the Solway Firth

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by Postman : At least someone has spent some time here.

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by Postman : nice and round (2 comments)

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by Bladup : Lochmaben Stane.

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by durhamnature : Photo from Report of Commission on Monuments via archive.org

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by durhamnature : Old photo of the stane, from Scottish Historical Review via archive.org

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by winkyelf : what a lovely shape

Lochmaben Stane
Lochmaben Stane submitted by winkyelf : looking up the slope to The Stone with its companion in the background

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"Lochmaben Stane" | Login/Create an Account | 4 News and Comments
  
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Re: Lochmaben Stane by Andy B on Wednesday, 26 August 2020
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As highlighted by Aubrey Steingraber in
Power, Place and the Archaeology of the Medieval Anglo-Scottish Borderland c. 1200- c. 1500 AD

International borders are complex and dynamic political constructs with significant local impacts. Borders, placemaking and society share a multitude of important connections which can be both frustratingly ephemeral and fundamentally material, and yet, the materiality of historical political borders is often overlooked. In the UK, the archaeological record of the medieval Anglo-Scottish borderland is a remarkably underutilised resource, and despite the fluidity and porosity of both the medieval and modern border, relatively few projects extend their research across the borderline. This project seeks to address this shortcoming by considering holistically for the first time the materiality of placemaking and power on both sides of the medieval Anglo-Scottish border and their relationships with wider cross-border dynamics.

https://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/people/research-students/steingraber/
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Re: Lochmaben Stane by graemefield on Wednesday, 27 June 2012
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Taken from Wikipedia:

Etymology

The Lochmaben stone has had a wide range of names attached to it over the last few millennia or so. Lochmabonstone, Stormont, and Old Graitney stone are amongst the most recent. In 1398 the name is 'Clochmabenstane', in 1409 and 1472 the name 'Loumabanestane' is recorded, with 'Lowmabanstane' used in 1485 and then 'Loughmabanestane' in 1494.

The element Mabon, as in the Celtic god, is common to all of the variants and this strongly confirms this association, as well as helping with the identification of this site with the Roman site of 'Locus Maponi', as listed in the Ravenna Cosmography.

The old Gaelic 'Cloch' element is found with the 1398 record 'Clockmabanstane' and this suggests that as in the modern Gaelic 'clach', meaning stone, the whole name may mean the 'stone or burial place of Mabon'. With the decline of Gaelic use in this area so close to England, the word 'Loch' has become appended, especially as the Lochmaben and the Loch of Maben are in the locality. The name Clackmannan is another example where the Gaelic word is undeniably linked with a stone, in this case still on view in the town centre.

Archaeology

The first edition Ordnance Survey six-inch map (1843–1882) refers to it as "Druidical circle (Remains of)", which the Ordnance Survey Name Book states as being formerly composed of nine upright stones placed in an oval of about 0.5 acres (2,000 m2). Only two of these stones are visible above the surface of the ground, one being the Lochmaben Stone. The other stone stands 1.0 m high by 1.2 m in diameter in a less conspicuous position in the nearby hedge to the north east of the larger stone. The 1845 'New Statistical Account' also relates that a ring of large stones once stood here, enclosing an area of around half an acre, most of which were removed shortly before that date to facilitate ploughing of the site.

In 1982 the stone fell over, and excavations prior to its re-erection revealed that it had been set into a shallow pit. No artifacts were recovered. However, a sample of mixed Oak and Hazel charcoal taken from the lower fill of the stone-pit yielded a radiocarbon date of approximately 3275 BC according to Aubrey Burl.

The cult of Maponus or Mabon

The name of the stone strongly suggests that this site was a centre of the cult of the Celtic god Mabon or Maponus. He is said to have been the divine patron of the Kingdom of Rheged. Mabon may have been a god of fertility: the Romans made him a British Apollo. Tolstoy sees Merlin as a chief druid carrying out ceremonies at the Clochmabenstane.

Sometime during the seventh century, an unknown monk in the Monastery at Ravenna on the Adriatic (eastern) coast of Italy compiled a list of all the towns and road-stations throughout the Roman Empire; this important historical document has since become known as the Ravenna Cosmography and it lists a 'Locus Maponi' which has been tentatively identified with the Lochmaben stone site.

The border line and the Lochmaben Stone

The Lochmaben Stone was a well known, well recognised and easily located 'marker' on the Scottish Marches and as such it performed a number of functions prior to the Union of the Crowns, such as arrangements for truces, exchange of prisoners, etc

Rendezvous

Raiding parties met here before launching expeditions into England and Scottish armies assembled here before major incursions or defence operations took place. It may well have been a tribal assembly point. An army was ordered to assemble here as late as 6 February 1557.

Exchange of prisoners

In 1398 an exchange of prisoners took place when English and Scots representatives, the Dukes of Rothesay and Lancaster met at the Lochmaben Stone. The prisoners were released without ransoms and any that had already been paid were to be returned.

The Commissioners and the W

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Re: Lochmaben Stane by coldrum on Monday, 04 January 2010
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The following information is from the RCAHMS Canmore website.

"Lochmaben or Clochmaben Stone is an erratic, 7' high and 18' in girth, which Feachem says may have been incorporated into a megalithic monument, though there is no clear evidence of this. It was published on the OS 1st edition 6" as Druidical Circle (Remains of), which the Ordnance Name Book [ONB] states formerly consisted of nine upright stones placed in an oval, two of which remain, one being locally called Lochmaben Stone.
R W Feachem 1963; Name Book 1858

Richmond and Ross identify it with Locus (or meeting place) Maponi of the Ravenna Cosmography, Ross adding that possibly a shrine to the Celtic god Maponus existed here.
I A Richmond 1958; A Ross 1967; K A Steer 1958

In the 16th century, it was frequently used as the meeting place between the Scots and English wardens for the administration of justice, and in comparatively recent times local gatherings took place at this stone.
T I Rae 1966.

As stated by the Ordnance Name Book (ONB) two stones survive which may represent the remains of a stone circle. The larger of the two is still known as the Lochmaben Stone and is as described. The other stone at NY 3123 6600 stands c 1.0m high by 1.2m in diameter in a less conspicuous position in a fence.
Revised at 25".
Visited by OS (RD) 18 June 1970

No change to previous field report.
Visited by OS (JP) 20 February 1973.

Lochmaben Stone
Stone Circle [NR]
(remains of) [NAT]
OS 1:10,000 map, 1980.

This standing stone, also known as the Clochmaben Stone, is situated 490m S of Old Graitney farmhouse, and measures 2.3m in height. About 23m to the NNE there is a second, smaller, stone now incorporated in a modern fence-line, and it may be all that remains of an enclosure of 'about half an acre' noted in the 18th century.
It has been suggested that the name Lochmaben is derived from the Celtic god Maponus, and that this was a cult centre.
RCAHMS 1981, visited October 1980.
Statistical Account (OSA) 1793; W Macfarlane 1906-8; RCAHMS 1920; A Ross 1967; A L F Rivet and C Smith 1979.

In 1982 the stone fell over. Excavation prior to re-erection revealed that it had been set into a shallow pit. The stratigraphy was complex and the relationship between the fill of the pit and the original position of the stone itself could not be unequivocally determined. No artifacts were recovered but a sample of mixed quercus, salix and corylus charcoal from the lower fill of the stone-pit yielded a radiocarbon determination of 2525 +/- 85 bc (GU-1591).
A Crone 1983."


http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/67441/details/lochmaben+stone/
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Re: Lochmaben Stane by winkyelf on Sunday, 16 March 2008
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We visited the Stone on a Sunday afternoon of wintry sunshine and walked along the salt marsh....curlews and wind and that salty tangy smell... too hazy to see the Lake District or Criffel...the Stone is finger-posted along the footpath....climb the floodbank and keep walking towards the Kirtle...a stubble field on the right and top right hand side you'll find them...it's pretty hard to picture a complete circle and quite sad to think that the rest of the stones might be lying buried under your feet...even though the main stone has been re-erected after falling over it still feels very welcoming...almost as though it's glad of the company after being such an important place in bygone times...it will be worth a re-visit in the summer (hopefully without the hazy horizon) and doubly hopeful that the electric fence that runs over the TOP OF THE STILE wont be switched on... GO and say Hello to the stones and feel the smile....
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