Page 20 - September 2022 Magazine - Bumper Edition

The Boscawen-ûn Stone Circle consists of 19 stones. They surround one central stone.
All of which have been dated from between 2500 and 1500 BC, which would make them somewhere between the late Neolithic to the early Bronze age. As time and technology advance, we’re sure this will be narrowed down.
The size of the stones that form the circle varies between 3 and 4 and a half feet. This is no Stonehenge, but was clearly created as a Pagan site of worship.
There is a roughly central leaning stone that is about 8 feet. We can only presume that it was originally more central, but we cannot know if it was leaning as it is now. We suspect not.
There’s a gap between the West Facing stones which most likely would have been an entrance to the circle for ceremonial purposes.
The rough circle of 19 stones consists of 18 that are of grey Granite, but of much more interest is the one solitary stone of almost clear white quartz.
It seems pretty obvious that this and other stone circles found within West Penwith were created by our ancestors for places of worship. We can but imagine the rights and rituals they carried out there, but they would have all been strongly associated with and or aligned to the wheel of life and the Pagan Sabbats.
The accuracy of their placing in relation to natural events is quite amazing.
Whilst the centre Stone is aligned with the sunrise on the midsummer solstice, it falls on a carving of two axe heads carved on the base of the stone, and we know that these would have been sacred symbols during the late Neolithic and early Bronze age.
Let’s go back to the one stone of quartz...We know that quartz was highly prized by megalithic builders with a strong significance with the Moon.
However, it’s the number of the stones in the circle that is truly fascinating.
In common with several other stone circles found within a short distance they all consist of 19 stones.
How many centuries did it take our ancestors to realise and or calculate something that even today most people are totally unaware of?
The Metonic cycle of the Moon and Sun is 19 years.
We’re guessing you all knew that, but for the few that didn’t it means that every 19 years the exact time of the Sunrise and set and Moonrise and set are repeated.
You’ve got to admit that is truly amazing.
Equally so...
The Boscawen-ûn Stone Circle was the Setting for the 1978 Doctor Who story ‘The Stones of Blood’.
Whilst we will, if ever necessary, flatly deny it in court, we do remember that the Boscawen-ûn Stone Circle was the Setting for the 1978 Doctor Who story ‘The Stones of Blood’.
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