Arthur's Stone Nr. Dorstone, Herefordshire

 Arthur's Stone

Just four miles from the Welsh border, between the B4348 and the B4352, on a beautiful hill near Dorstone in Herefordshire, stands Arthur's Stone. We were privileged to have friends who live nearby take us there (just a short drive from their house).

 Arthur's Stone, another view

 From Authur's Stone, a view of the Golden Valley

From the nearby sign, above:

'Arthur's Stone is a multi-chambered tomb of the neolithic period dating from between about 3700 and 2700 BC. (This is conjecture, and may not have been quite that long ago.)*

Neolithic people were the first inhabitants of Britain to farm the land and make pottery, but they had not yet discovered the use of metal. (Although there had been others who had worked with metals prior to that time, so it's possible that those skills had simply not yet migrated to Britain.)* They lived in small communities, perhaps numbering no more than 25-100 people.

One of their settlements has been discovered on Dorstone Hill, just to the southeast of here, where flint tools, stone axes and pottery have been found.

Chambered tombs were used to bury the dead from such communities. They were communal burial vaults often used over several generations. A tomb might contain the remains of anything from one or two to more than a hundred individuals - accompanied by simple grave goods such as pots, stone beads and flint arrowheads.

The tombs were important to their builders. With only very simple tools the raising of the massive roof slab, Arthur's Stone was a considerable feat.

The mound which once covered the tomb has now largely eroded away, and many of the stones were removed in the 19th century. The great roof stone has partly collapsed.

According to folklore, Arthur's Stone marks the spot of one of King Arthur's battles, but this legend dates from thousands of years after the real builders of the tomb had been forgotten.'

but long before Clive Owen became King Arthur (I did like him much better as a blind detective.)

Photo Credit

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*Italicized comments are mine and are not copied from the sign near Arthur's Stone.

That area of England seems untouched by the hustle and bustle of London, far away from the crowds and noise. It's a beautiful part of England to which I'd love to return!

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