Derbyshire Bone Caves 9: Reynard's Cave

Reynard’s Cave is large, path-side cave on the Derbyshire side of the river Dove in Dovedale. The cave is now owned by the National Trust and features a single, tall chamber and small rear passage. The first official excavation was carried out in 1959 by Kelly (1960), although an unsanctioned excavation was carried out prior to 1926. I’ll come back to that later.

Reynard’s Cave from the approach path. Photograph, the author.

Finds included objects from the Neolithic, Roman and Medieval periods, as well as animal remains. Finds listed in the excavation report include potsherds identified as possible Peterborough Ware, and two Neolithic flint scrapers; also Romano-British and  Medieval potsherds. Although the excavation report is fairly thorough, far more potsherds are listed by Branigan and Dearne (1991). Subsequently some of the potsherds were attributed to the Iron Age. A number of bone, lead and iron objects are likely to be Medieval, although a Romano-British date cannot be ruled out for some of them. Lastly, a bronze brooch of the Romano-British era was found.

The faunal assemblage included cow, sheep, pig, horse, bear and other species, and is likely to be of various dates.

Plan and section of Reynard’s Cave from Kelly (1960).

Neolithic flint scrapers from the 1959 excavation. Picture credit: Buxton Museum and Art Gallery (2014). 

Thus the cave was regarded as an interesting one with a find record stretching over 6000 years. However, archaeologists remained aware that excavation had focused on a relatively small area and that the majority of the deposits were still untouched..

A heavy rainstorm forced a local climber to shelter in the cave one day in March of 2013. It may be that they sat on the comfortable, sheltered entrance platform for some while, watching the deluge and sheets of water begin to cascade down the arch, before becoming bored. Undoubtedly he began to explore the rest of the cave, whereupon his lit upon a small, dull grey object protruding from the soil. Imagine his delight, as his eager fingers unearthed an ancient coin, soon followed by three others! Being a moral person, he reported his find to the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Eight of the Iron Age and Roman coins excavated from Reynard’s Cave, from the Portable Antiquities Scheme website (2013). Creative Commons licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ 

When the owners of the land, the National Trust, were informed, they organised a full scientific excavation of the cave floor, which took place in October 2013. The joint enterprise consisted of National Trust Archaeologists, headed by Rachel Hall, members of the University of Leicester Archaeology Service (ULAS) and ex-servicemen from Operation Nightingale.

Excavation of Reynard’s Cave in 2013, from ULAS news (2014).

A second view of the excavations in progress. Left middle Joanne Richardson, was part of the excavation. She commented: “This was the first archaeological excavation I’ve ever taken part in and it was brilliant. I was the first person to find a coin; a silver coin! It was so exciting and the experience working alongside archaeologists and other veterans was inspiring.” Picture credit: Ministry of Defense (2014).

The excavation carried out at the point where the climber had found the original four coins, uncovered a marvelous hoard of twenty-two further Iron Age and Roman coins. Full details are given on the Portable Antiquities Scheme Website (2013). The earliest coins were three Roman silver, Dinarii, dated 118, 104 and 46BC; three Iron Age gold staters; two gold/copper alloy staters; fourteen Iron Age silver coins; two later Roman coins dating to around 330 AD and a counterfeit Henry III penny.

Iron Age silver coin (a ‘unit’) during conservation at UCL, here seen down a microscope. This is one of the coins listed on the Portable Antiquities Scheme website (2013), numbers 16-19.  Image credit: Buxton Museum and Art Gallery (2014).

Also excavated were seven metal objects, the most important being a late, Iron Age brooch of the Roman 'Aesica' type with missing pin.

The 'Aesica' type brooch and part of the coin hoard. Image credit: Buxton Museum and Art Gallery (2014).

The complete inventory of finds is hard to establish, as the report drawn up by ULAS remains unpublished. However, their news page (ULAS 2014), is broadly informative regarding the finds: “Because of the nature of the site it was decided to excavate in metre square boxes digging down 10cm at a time. In this way, all finds could be recorded in a 3-D fashion across the whole cave floor. Rather surprisingly it was discovered that the cave deposits had been extremely disturbed by a combination of root activity, animal burrowing (mostly badgers) and human activity. In one case a sardine tin was found below some prehistoric pottery.

Despite this rather extensive disturbance, a wide range of pottery dating from the prehistoric, Roman and all the way through to modern periods was recovered. Fragments of cave bear jaw and teeth were also found as were two human teeth. A Bronze Age flint arrow head, lead musket and pistol balls, wartime .303 cartridges and a range of shotgun cartridge cases demonstrated the advances in projectile technology over the years.”

Other titbits from the reportage on the hoard also add depth to the story of the discovery and perhaps explain the reason behind the hoard’s deposition. 

Urbanus (2014) “Archaeologists have retrieved a total of 26 gold and silver coins, all of which predate the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43. While the bulk of the hoard is attributed to the Iron Age Corieltavi tribe, at least three coins are of Roman origin—the first instance of coins from these two civilizations having been found buried together. The location of the hoard is also unexpected, explains National Trust archaeologist Rachael Hall. “Coin hoards of this era in Britain have been found in fields and other locations but, as far as we know, not in a cave,” she says. “We may never know why the coins were buried here, but this discovery adds a new layer to what we are learning about Late Iron Age activity.” 

Again Rachel Hall (from the Ministry of Defence (2014)) “The tribe is more usually associated with occupying areas further east during the Late Iron Age, so it is interesting that this find is where it is, in Derbyshire. Could this area have been a previously unknown power base of the Corieltavi tribe?”

ULAS (2014) “The Roman Republican and Iron Age coins are indicative of one or more hoards, which could therefore suggest that the cave was used as a ritual/deposition site during the 1st century AD. It would appear that coin hoards are extremely rare within caves, which adds even more to the mystery of the site. The Iron Age coins have been attributed to the Corieltavi tribe which is more usually associated with occupying areas somewhat further to the east of Dovedale during the Late Iron Age. The Corieltavi tribal centres are generally thought to be around Leicester, Sleaford and Lincoln so this hoard might represent an unknown area under Corieltavi influence or that the coins were deliberately transported to this special site.” 

Live Science (2014): “Archaeologists previously found collections of coins like these in other parts of Britain, but this is the first time they have ever been discovered buried in a cave. The discovery of the coins was a surprise, because they were found at a site, which is located outside the Corieltauvi's usual turf. Archaeologists are still unsure how Iron Age coins were used, but it is unlikely they were used as money to purchase items. They were more likely used as a means for storing wealth, given as gifts or offered as sacrifice. The three Roman coins discovered predate the Roman invasion, so archaeologists believe the coins may have been given as gifts.” 

Lastly, I return to a sentence from Ariadne (2020): “A Romano-British coin hoard is reputed to have been found at the site prior to 1926, but no details are known.” This comment is also echoed on the ULAS (2014) news page: “There are vague reports in a 1926 guide book of a small coin hoard being found there in 1925 but these finds have not been seen since.”

This rang bells for me, as I have researched the bone caves of Derbyshire for, a, number of years. For some time, I could not draw to the front of my mind where I might have come across a reference to it.

Finally it came to me in a rush: Wasn’t G. M. Wilson’s Some Caves and Crags of Peakland published in 1926? I read through my copy of the little tome and on page eleven came to the following: “In the valley of the Dove, rock shelters and small caves can be found which have only been casually examined. Reynard’s Cave lower down the valley, has never had justice done to it either as a geological feature or as a promising site for the antiquarian. The fine natural archway is a wonderful sight, while the hoard of Roman coins accidentally discovered give a hint of what may await systematic excavation.”

Rev. George M. Wilson was rather quixotic character outside his ecclesiastical duties, taking a serious, and somewhat obsessive interest in what he termed ‘cave digging’. To further his pursuit of this ‘hobby’ he enlisted the help of local yeoman farmers, artisans and miners as well as educated men from further afield. He seems to have been a natural leader and fostered a feeling of joint enterprise amongst his acolytes, not least by coining the name ‘Brotherhood of the Pick and Shovel’ for the loose group.

Whilst some trustworthy, local men were included, many were learned men and well-known names of the time. These included J. L. Waterhouse; Dr R. Williamson; Geoff and Frank Hall; G. E. Wilson (his son); H. J. Irwin; W. M. Rogers; R Brocklebank; J. Cringhall; Harry Wright; L. Ramsbottom; A. J. Brain; Rev. D. G. Matthews; J. R. Duncan and a young, Don Bramwell. He also excavated with the National Park campaigner and environmentalist F. A. Holmes as well as the noted climber J. W. Puttrell.

His notable excavations included Thor’s Fissure Cave and St. Bertrams Cave, upon which he gave frequent lectures, not only to spread knowledge of the ‘Wonders of the Peak’ as he called them, but for financial gain and to advertise his books.

He was also well versed in self-publicity writing for, among others the Sheffield Daily Telegraph and contributing interviews to national newspapers, such as the Daily Mail.

In his second book (Wilson (1937)), he even confesses to making a present of one of the coins from St. Bertram’s Cave to a journalist from the latter, aforementioned, publication!

I therefore believe that Wilson, himself was the discoverer of the Roman Coin Hoard at Reynard’s Cave in 1925. What he did with the booty, remains unknown. Whether he sold it surreptitiously, or whether it was passed on to coin dealers as part of his estate upon his death is an open question.

References:

Ariadne (2020) at: http://ariadne-portal.dcu.gr/index.php/page/13787380 accessed 04.07.20

Branigan, K., and M. J. Dearne. (1991). A Gazetteer of Roman-British Cave Sites and Their Finds. Sheffield: Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield 

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery (2014). Reynard’s Kitchen Cave hoard – Late Iron Age and Roman coins, at: https://buxtonmuseumandartgallery.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/reynards-kitchen-cave-hoard-late-iron-age-and-roman-coins/ accessed 18/07/2021

Kelly, J. H. (1960). Excavation of Reynard's Cave, Dovedale. Derbyshire Archaeological Journal; Volume 80 (1960). DAJ; Vol 80; pp.117-123.

Live Science (2014). Ancient Coins Found Buried in British Cave, at https://www.livescience.com/46693-ancient-cave-coins-discovered.html accessed 18/07/2021 

Ministry of Defence (2014). Digging up the past, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/digging-up-the-past accessed 18/07/2021

Open Government Licence: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Portable Antiquities Scheme (2013) at: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/555965 accessed 18/07/2021

ULAS news (2014). Treasures in the Kitchen: Archaeological investigation of Reynard’s Kitchen, Dovedale, Derbyshire, at: https://ulasnews.com/2014/10/20/treasures-in-the-kitchen-archaeological-investigation-of-reynards-kitchen-dovedale-derbyshire/ accessed 18/07/2021 

Urbanus, J. (2014) The Dovedale Hoard. Archaeology vol. 67 no. 5 

Wilson, G. H. (1926) Some Caves and Crags in Peakland, Wilfred Edmunds, Chesterfield. 

Wilson, G. H. (1937) Cave Hunting Holidays in Peakland, Wilfred Edmunds, Chesterfield.

Holed Megaliths of the British Isles 1: The Devil's Ring and Finger

Holed Megaliths are rare survivors in the UK, much more so than in Ireland, France or even Denmark. This little-known pair of megaliths are situated on the Staffordshire/Shropshire border some 18km ESE of Stoke-on-Trent.

The Devil’s Ring and Finger, originally called the Whirl Stones. Photographed by the author 29^th June 2021.

Research revealed that antiquaries of early last century, knew of the stones:

Devil’s Ring and Finger, Photograph by Williams (1912). Original caption reads: “The Devil’s Ring and Finger, North Staffordshire, looking towards the equinoctial sunset.”

Historic England (2021) states: “Despite being removed from their original positions, the two stones standing 200m east of Norton Forge Farm known as The Devil’s Ring and Finger represent an evocative reminder of Neolithic society and ritual. In particular, the holed stone represents a very rare survival with only a handful of similar stones currently known in England. Both stones were likely to have been upstanding as part of an arrangement of stones such as a stone alignment, circle, or chambered tomb within the nearby vicinity. Monuments containing holed stones are known from the Neolithic period but a Bronze Age date is also possible. The monument includes two stones to the south-east of Norton in Hales situated on a gentle slope running down to the River Tern. The stones stand adjacent to each other at the edge of a field boundary. The northern stone is grooved and measures 1.8m high and 1m by 0.6m wide. The southern stone is holed and measures 1.5m high and 1.9m by 0.5m wide. The aperture in the holed stone is 0.45m in diameter and large enough for a person to pass through.”

In Barns’ (1909) exposition on the site of the Roman camp Mediomanum, states “The element “man” in Mediomanum may be traced to the Celtic word “maen” stone, and possibly refers to some prominent menhir near this site. There are still remains of this character in the immediate neighbourhood. The Devil’s Ring and Finger is an interesting group close to the Arbour Farm. The Bradling stone at Norton-in-Hales has the appearance of a cromlech. Mucklestone almost certainly derives its name from some prominent stone; so also in all probability Bearstone. The holed stone of the Devil’s Ring did not probably stand alone.”

Barns then references Waring (1864). Whilst Waring does not specifically mention the Devil’s Ring and Finger he does offer an opinion as to the significance of holed stones to Neolithic people: “Thus where pairs (of Dolmen) occurred, one of each pair was perforated, and in any arrangement or collection of stones, this recognition of the supposed female creative principle is also to be found. The signification attached to this perforation was of the most sacred nature, and oaths and promises were made by hands being clasped through such; when found larger as at Madron and Crendi (see plate 1), the body of a person might be passed through, either for healing purposes or as a symbol of regeneration, and in a small objects (such as figure 16) the recognition was deferentially made to one nature of the creative power as a sign of respect and remembrance; and coins &c, having holes in them were held in later times to have some peculiar virtue about them. This may be the meaning of the hole in the Trevithy capstone. Mr Brash and Mr Blight, who have both paid special attention to this subject of perforated stones, are agreed that where single stones occur they are probably only the remnant of a destroyed grave; if so, we may reasonably suppose that, besides the meaning we have alluded to above, these orifices may have been made either to ascertain the state of the dead, for the introduction of food. Or for the exit and entrance of the departed spirit. The first would be natural for anxious relatives, the second is still in practice amongst the Esquimaux, as described by Mr Hall, who states that the relatives never pass the graves of the deceased without placing the best food and drink in or by the grave: and the third custom is common in Syria to this day, according to the Rev. S. Lyde (the Asiatic Mystery), who informs us that similar holes are made in the doors of all the houses for the free entrance and exit of unseen spirits.”

Thus we see the need of Victorian antiquaries to assign meaning to the erection of these holed stones by Neolithic peoples. It is however, somewhat surprising, that Waring does not discuss the obvious possibility that two stones, one holed and the other erect and slender represented to ancient people, the dual nature of the procreative process, namely the male phallus and the female vagina. Perhaps this obvious explanation was too crass for Victorian sensibilities to bare mentioning?

Another more plausible explanation by  Bottrell (1873), is this: “Some have thought that these stones, in common with the Men-an-Tol at Lanyon, the Tolmen in Constantine, and many others, might have served the same important purpose as the menheres — to fix the proper time for the celebration of the autumnal equinox, by the stones being so placed that the sacred index of the seasons on rising above the horizon would be seen through the perforation, at a right angle to the face of the stone, and that the triangular head of the stone formed such an angle that when the sun was on the meridian, (at certain periods of the year, which were required to be known,) its altitude would denote the time, by its place in the heavens being in a line with the slope of the primitive time-piece, which would then cast no shadow on the ground at mid-day If these monuments were intended for stone calendars, and any can be found in their original position, it might be possible, at least approximately, to fix the time of their erection, by their present variation from true east and west. If the deviation is in the direction demanded by the precession of the equinoxial points, the difference might be calculated at the allowed rate of fifty seconds a year.”

While giving no evidence for his supposition, Botrell’s comment chimes well with the caption attached to the Williams (1912) photograph, namely, “The Devil’s Ring and Finger, North Staffordshire, looking towards the equinoctial sunset.” While this snippet of information is interesting, it is not expanded upon in the volumes of the Transactions of the North Staffordshire Field Club referenced above. Although it is tempting to accept this prosaic ‘calendar’ explanation of the meaning and usage of holed stones to Neolithic peoples, I lean toward a deeper, more spiritual or religious significance in their creation and erection.

On this theme, I turn back to Waring (1864) and his comment “this perforation was of the most sacred nature, and oaths and promises were made by hands being clasped through such; when found larger as at Madron and Crendi , the body of a person might be passed through, either for healing purposes or as a symbol of regeneration”. While Waring does not reference him, this authoritative statement is almost certainly drawn from Borlase (1754), who records: “When I was last at this Monument, (Men an Tol) in the year 1749, a very intelligent farmer of the neighbourhood assured me that he had known many persons who had crept through this holed stone for pains in their back and limbs; and that fanciful parents, at certain times of the year, do customarily draw their young children through, in order to cure them of rickets. He showed me also two brass pins carefully laid across each other, on the top edge of the holed stone. This is the way of the Over-curious, even at this time; and by recurring to these pins, and observing their direction to be the same; or different from what they left them in, or by their being left or gone, they are informed of some material incident of Love or Fortune."

Bottrell (1873), also records a similar tradition attached to the holed, Tolven of Constantine, at the head of the Lizard peninsula: “I was told that some remarkable cures had been effected there only a few weeks since. The ceremony consists of passing the child nine times through the hole, alternately from one side to the other; and it is essential to success that the operation should finish on that side where there is a little grassy mound, recently made, on which the patient must sleep, with a six-pence under his head. A trough-like stone, called the 'cradle,' on the eastern side of the barrow, was formerly used for this purpose. This stone, unfortunately, has long been destroyed. That holed stones were not originally constructed for the observance of this peculiar custom is evident, for in some instances the holes are not more than five or six inches in diameter.”

There is one other, earlier reference to the healing powers of holed stones by Thomas Tonkin of St Agnes about the year 1700, but I have been unable to trace what he had to say on the subject.

Thus the beliefs of the local population in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, while almost certainly, founded on folk-memory of the usage of the holed stones for healing purposes, are strongly evocative of a possible Neolithic, ritual use. Whether this was in fact the case, is now, impossible to gauge.

As a pertinent reminder of not crediting one’s own assessment of the (limited) facts with too much weight, I will now turn to Brash (1864). This treatment of holed stones is much more extensive than any of the others and describes known examples from Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, Yorkshire (discounted as it is based on an account of Brimham Rocks, by Hayman Rooke where no holed stones, other than natural, exist) and as far afield as Circassia (eastern end of the Black Sea, still part of the Russian state) and India.

Brash states: “I think a few inferences may be drawn from the facts already stated. First, that the superstition of the holed stone seems peculiar to the “Goadhal" or Irish Celts, as the examples existing are almost exclusively found in Ireland , Scotland ,and Cornwall , which two latter districts were largely colonized by the Goadhal . Secondly , that the virtues attributed to its use are found either traditionally or in actual existence in the countries whence I have drawn my examples, Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, India, and those are , the binding nature of contracts made through them, but more particularly the regenerative power supposed to be communicated by passing through the orifice, whether it be a diseased limb, or the weakly and rickety infant, or the linen about to be used in childbirth. In India it undoubtedly was a Phallic emblem, with a two-fold symbolism, representing in the one monument the reciprocal principles. I am equally certain, that among our Celtic progenitors it had a similar signification, of which the existing myths have a faint shadowing. In Ireland ample evidences are not wanting to shew that Phallic dogmas and rites were very extensively known and practised in ancient times. It is patent in the existing folk-lore of the country, in some everyday customs of the peasantry, and in the remains of midnight plays and ceremonies, practised still in remote districts at wakes and such-like occasions. Thirdly, Mr. Blight has before alluded to the triangular arrangement of the stones at Madron, and to the triangular stone at Tolven Cross , Constantine, and hints that the coincidence is worthy of consideration. To these I would add, the triangular arrangement at Applecross, Ross-shire, the triangular arrangement of the aperture on the cross at Eilean Rona, and the thrice-repeated aperture on the supporting slab of the cromlech on Gafr-Inis, Brittany. The coincidence of the holed cromlechs in Ireland, Yorkshire, Brittany, Circassia, and India, is certainly very remarkable, and cannot by any possibility be accidental, but was evidently the work of design resulting from some prevalent religious or social principle; what the nature of it was is now hidden, and will in all probability be for ever hidden from us.”

In Brash’s treatise on the meaning/usage of the holed stones by ancient peoples there are several incorrect assumptions, that today have been thoroughly discounted.

Chief amongst these is the assignment of their age as Celtic. The Celts migrated to the British Isles about 1000B.C., thus post-dating the Bronze Age. Most archaeologists now favour a late Neolithic or very early Bronze Age date of erection. Indeed, the central stone settings at Stonehenge, with their astronomical alignment date from ca. 2500B.C. Thus, Neolithic people are almost certainly the builders of monuments, not the Celts. While Brash’s assertion that holed stones are only found where Celtic tribes established themselves is coincidentally true, it seems just that: a coincidence.

In his excavation of the Men an Tol, Borlase found a worked flint which would certainly lend more weight to a Neolithic date of construction of this type of monument.

Incidentally, the Heritage Gateway website (2012) list the Devil’s Ring and Finger, definitively as Neolithic “4000 to 2351BC”.

Next we come to Brash’s fixation on triangular arrangements. While fanciful, and his list of instances clearly a confabulation of unrelated facts, it does actually hold a grain of truth. An early representation and modern research on the Men an Tol stones do seem to point to a different arrangement of the extant stones. Careful examination of the area surrounding them has shown that they were once part of a stone circle, with the stones in question originally lying on an arc of the circle. Thus they once stood in a broad-based triangular alignment.

The Devil’s Ring and Finger may once have stood elsewhere. Natural England (2021) again: “There is no evidence to confirm they are in their original position and their leaning nature against a field boundary wall indicates they have been moved. They are likely to be from a chambered tomb or stone setting. There are currently no known associated monuments of the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods within the vicinity, however, the site of a possible Bronze Age disc barrow lies 350m to the south-west.” Being the son of a farmer and well used to enclosing fields or removing objects in the way of cultivation, find the suggestion that a farmer moved the stones 350m laughable – the effort required, over that sort of distance would, have been enormous even given a cart team of oxen and large gang of farm labourers!

The supposition that they have been moved, seems to go back to Barns (1909) referencing Waring (1864). In fact the suggestion by Natural England that the Devil’s Ring and Finger may have formed part of a ‘stone setting’ i.e. a stone circle or chambered tomb is followed by their caveat that the nearest known ancient monument (an unlikely Bronze Age ring barrow) is 350m away.

An alternate suggestion comes from Morgan (2009). He found mound material found in the same wood at SJ70703776. Indeed, I myself, also found a mound directly behind the stones at a distance of 2-3m.

Lastly, the Heritage gateway website (2012), notes that: “It may be significant that stone quarrying has taken place in the adjacent field.” As the stones seem to be made of the same hard sandstone, found in road cuttings, throughout the district, and given the locally available sandstone (less than 100m distant), it seems likely that the stones may actually, stand in their original position. Moreover the uninvestigated mounds observed in the woodland behind the stones by Morgan (2009) and myself, may also indicate that the stones stand in the position that the Neolithic people erected them in.

From my fieldnotes written sitting against the stones: “The Finger stone is severely eroded, with numerous vertical runnels scored down it by centuries of weather. 6’+ high. The Ring stone is 5’ 6" high with a 20" hole, bevelled at the back as if to admit a body passing through. Sits on an old field boundary with tumbled blocks of sandstone of the local type and more recent barbed-wire. The large oak growing next to the stones seems younger than the wall. It measures two full arm spans, plus 14 inches. Sat resting my back against the inclined Ring stone – very comforting – until I noticed the gathering numbers of Red-Tailed bumblebees, getting irate due to me sitting on their nest hole!”

I had taken the time to roughly, measure the circumference of the oak tree to estimate its age. Using the graph from the WDVTA (2012) the oak is at maximum 180 years old. As it grows through the remains of the wall, it is younger than the oldest field boundary construction.

One then must ask, why would a field boundary be constructed at this date - ca. 1840 (or earlier) at all. On possible answer lies in the process of ‘enclosure’. This was the process by which local landowners applied to parliament to inclose land. This was the process of turning the strip-like field of medieval times into larger fields. The process was often carried out at the bequest of the manorial landowner. The peasantry that actually farmed the land thus lost any means of support for their families and were reduced to beggary. Although beginning in the 12^th century, by the time of queen Anne (1702-1714) this systematic theft of common or peasant occupied land accelerated vastly. By 1844 one third of the tillable land in England and Wales had been enclosed.

This timescale fits nicely with the hypothesised movement of the Devil’s Ring and Finger stones, so perhaps they were moved after all?

Close-up of the Devil’s Ring and Finger stones. Photograph, the author.

The stones from the rear showing the bevelling at the back of the Ring stone hole. Photograph the author.

The magnificent Hay Meadows adjacent to the footpath used to access the stones. Photograph the author.

References

Barns, T. (1909) Suggested Site of Mediomanum. Transactions of the North Staffordshire Field Club vol. XL1II, p133

Blight, J. T.  (1864) An Account of Barrow with Kist-Vaen in the Parish of Sancreed, Cornwall. Archaeologia Cambrensis, p243-245. Available online at: https://journals.library.wales/view/2919943/2920139/68#?xywh=-1833%2C-103%2C5603%2C3429 accessed 03.07.2021

Borlase, W. (1754). Observations on the Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County of Cornwall. Printed by W Jackson.

Bottrell, W.  (1873) Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall, Vol. 2.

Brash, R. R. (1864). On Holed Stones, The Gentlemen’s Magazine Vol. 217 pp 686-700, available online at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.79255486&view=1up&seq=702 accessed 25/06/2021

Heritage Gate (2012). Staffordshire HER at: https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MST21&resourceID=1010 accessed 04/07/2021

Historic England. (2021). The Devil’s Ring and Finger, at: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1003495 accessed 26.06.2021

Morgan, P. (2009). The Devil’s Ring and Finger from The Megalithic Portal at: https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=4985 accessed 04/07/2021

Rocker, R. (1938) Anarcho-Syndicalism. Seeker and Warburg, London p36. Available online at: https://libcom.org/files/Rocker%20-%20Anarcho-Syndicalism%20Theory%20and%20Practice.pdf accessed 04/07/2021.

Waring, J. B. (1864). Stone Monuments, Tumuli and Ornament of Remote Ages with remarks on the early Architecture of Ireland and Scotland. John B. Day, London

Williams, T. (1912). Picture of the Devil’s Ring and Finger. Transactions of the North Staffordshire Field Club vol. XLVI, Frontispiece (p2)