Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

Some Teifiside Holed Stones. [Reprinted by kind consent of the Honorary Editor of Archaeologia Cambrensis.] A local schoolmaster brought to my notice recently four holed stones found in the Teifiside region of South Cardiganshire. The first stone is a huge hammer stone, 8 inches long. It is shaped to a point but its head has suffered some damage from use, and a part of its base has likewise been broken off. The hole has a minimum diameter at the centre of i £ inches and the width of the hammer- stone across the hole is 31 inches. The sides which are slightly rounded are smooth worn, but one side bears traces of scoring due possibly to the method of securing the handle. The width of the sides is 3 inches at the point and at the centre, and 31 inches at the base. The stone is of ordinary grit, and its purpose is obvious. The second stone is a holed stone 31 inches long, shaped to a sharp point, and with a rounded base. The diameter of the hole is t-inch at the centre and 1 inch at the surface. The point is very sharply shaped and both its sides are very smoothly worn. The remainder of the stone, which is grit of a soft character, seems to have been shaped by nature, except the base, which appears to have been worn flat. The third stone, which is of sandstone, is a small circular stone, i £ inches in diameter. The hole in its centre is 1-inch in diameter. One face has markings from hole to circumference dividing the stone into eight equal parts. The obverse has nine similar, but irregularly placed markings. Along the centre of the edge of the stone, which is J-inch deep is a shallow groove, running the whole length of its periphery. The fourth stone, which is also of a soft gritty character, is an oval smooth worn stone, with a hole in its centre, having a minimum diameter at the centre of i-inch, and a maximum diameter at the surface of if inches. It is interesting to note, in conclusion, that there is a fifth holed stone from the same district in the museum of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. This stone is also of the same type of grit