Stone Hunting Getting Started Guide Part 1

Submitted by Andy_B on Monday, 23 December 2002 Page Views: 1776

**Tom Bullock** submitted by Andy B : Tom Bullock at Arbor Low Tom was a retired astronomy and photography lecturer from California, and has visited more stone circles than anyone else I am aware of. He authored the Stone Circles CD-ROM that many of you will know and was a significant early contributor to the Megalithic Portal. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, myself included. (Vote or comment on this photo)

by Gary Buckham, author of the very comprehensive Ancient Stones - a gateway to the Standing Stones & Stone Circles of SE Scotland

The first thing you need to do when you have decided to become a stone hunter, is to get hold of a good map or preferably a set of maps.

In the UK, the Ordnance Survey produce excellent maps for stone hunting and there are two series that are suitable, the Landranger 1:50,000 series and the Explorer 1:25,000 series. The Explorer series is recommended as it offers more detail then the Landranger series and more stones will be shown.

The next thing to do is get hold of a soft pencil and spread the map on a flat surface such as a table. Then carefully study each grid square and circle anything that indicates a possible stone or stones. Typical obvious examples are standing stones, stone circles and named stones. There are also other clues to possible stones such as place names with "stone" in the title, holy wells are often marked by stones, geographical features and ancient sites such as hill forts, mounds, burial chambers and so on may also have stones associated with them.

Next plan a day trip, taking in no more than about 5 or 6 sites. This may not seem a lot but some stones may be very difficult and time consuming to find or may involve a long walk. Food and drink are a must as is suitable clothing for the location and weather conditions.

Finally, when out in the field, there are times when you will be disappointed, perhaps not being able to find a stone or the stone my just be a small and un-interesting rock. Try and stick with it, the next one might just be truly amazing! Also, a word of caution. The thrill and excitement of finding a stone for the first time can be addictive.

[More from Gary soon I hope, come on, let's give him some encouragement - Ed]

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