<< Our Photo Pages >> Whispering Knights - Portal Tomb in England in Oxfordshire
Submitted by Tom_Wilson on Thursday, 12 February 2004 Page Views: 25106
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Whispering Knights Alternative Name: Five KnightsCountry: England County: Oxfordshire Type: Portal Tomb
Nearest Town: Chipping Norton Nearest Village: Long Compton
Map Ref: SP29933084 Landranger Map Number: 151
Latitude: 51.975227N Longitude: 1.565686W
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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External Links:
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MercuryMars visited on 14th Apr 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 4
kthdsn visited on 2nd May 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5
MartinJEley visited on 22nd Sep 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3 An interesting site in itself it is made more interesting because of its relationship to the Rollright Stones themselves.
A little trivia: The "latin" inscription on the nearby bench reads "ORE STABIT FORTIS ARARE PLACET ORE STAT" but a Google search reveals that it is really "O rest a bit for 'tis a rare place to rest at".
LittleFaerie visited on 1st Sep 2013 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4
jeffrep visited on 25th May 2011 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4
h_fenton visited on 24th Nov 2010 - their rating: Amb: 5 I'm quite used to seeing offerings (?) left at prehistoric sites such as crystals, beads, coins etc - which are often placed into holes in the stones. This afternoon (24/11/2010) when I visited the Whispering Knights, it looked like the stones were in the bottom of a wishing well for the sheer number of coins deposited on and in them. Two Pence seems to be the most common deposition.
Richard13 visited on 1st Jun 2009 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4
NickyD visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4
kith visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4
jlfern2 visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4
Humbucker sorschaL neolithique02 TheCaptain rldixon Gorient SteveC sorschaL nicoladidsbury h_fenton myf AngieLake ocifant JimChampion TimPrevett hamish mdensham have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.22 Ambience: 3.9 Access: 4
[Ref. Lambrick 1988] They were first described in place-name records where they gave their name to the land itself; the Five Knight's Field. Discoveries in 1980 highlighted what may have been a ceremonial trackway running west from the site [Stanley 1981].
Like the King and his men, the Whispering Knights were turned to stone by the old witch. At the time, the five of them were conspiring to overthrow their regal master. Another (Christian) version told that they were in prayer when it happened.
More legends tell that the Knights were used as an oracle, exclusively by women (as in the famous Greek example at Delphi), whose procedure was to put their ears to them or climb on top and hear them quietly speak. Then there is the motif of immovability and dire consequences found at the Knights. A local farmer wanted the capstone of the old tomb as a bridge over the stream. There are several numbers described, but the theme is typical: it took twenty horses to drag the stone downhill and place it over the waters, only to find it took just one to drag it back. Lambrick describes a similar tale, where the stone was used as a dam for the mill, but "each morning it was found that the water which had collected had flowed away" and the stone was back where it belonged.
Text from The Old Stones of Rollright and District by Paul Bennett & Tom Wilson
The Northern Antiquarian (TNA) also features a page for this site (see their entry for Whispering Knights, Rollright, Oxfordshire, which gives directions for finding this site, together with photographs, a drawing from 1743, an 1840 plan of this site, detailed descriptions taken from a number of historical and modern sources, and local folklore.
For the scheduling information, which is included with the Rollright Stones, see Historic England List ID 1018400. Also refer to Pastscape Monument No. 968858, which records this freestanding portal dolmen.
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Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
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