Photo Gallery
Panoramas
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Photo Gallery |
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Panoramas |
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Infrared |
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| SX 61234 92851 (GPS 47min) | Diameter 7.5m x 6.8m (meas.) |
| Visits - June 2000 | No magnetic anomalies |
The circle Nine Stones is also known as the
"Seventeen Brothers", it stands on rough moorland near to Belstone Tor
on North Dartmoor. Despite the names, we counted a total of 24 stones of grey
granite, with 10 of these lying fallen. Given the close packing of some of the
stones, and the obvious gaps in the ring, the original stone count must have
been much higher. The uneven interior of the circle is due to the remains of a
robbed cairn, the stones of the cist it contained have been removed.
Legend has it that the stones are really, yes you guessed it, a circle of
petrified young girls. In a curious twist however, these girls get a kind of
parole from their punishment, they are said to be allowed to resume their dance
briefly at noon if the conditions are right. We suspect that the movement may
have something to do with a distant viewpoint and heat haze on a sunny day.