MDE1250 - Lyn Long Stones (Monument)

SS 727475. Lyn Down; two standing stones. Classified under Bronze Age. [1] SS 72654748 Long Stone (NAT). [2] Numerous stones are depicted and described on the Ordnance Survey 25 inch map (CSL) when the area was moorland. It has now been cleared and is arable but two stones have been re-set in an unploughed patch of ground. That at SS 7272 4752 is a slatey pillar 2.2 metres high, 0.6 metres wide and 0.2 metes thick, probably the 'Long Stone'. The other at SS 7272 4753 is 1.4 metes high, 0.4 metres wide and 0.3 metres thick. The 'Long Stone' could well be prehistoric since it is quite unsuited as a rubbing post though a boundary mark cannot be dismissed. The lesser stone is of little meaning now that all others have been removed. Surveyed at 1:2500 [3] Two menhirs, re-erected in 1906 in their original holes by Chanter and Worth,when the field was about to be broken for cultivation. The Long Stone had only recently fallen. Other stones then in the field are said to be bound stones of turbary plots. Two standing stones, clearly those re-erected and planned by Chanter and Worth [4] but removed and reset in the corner of the field before 1974. Originally about 17.3 metres apart and orientated west-north-west to east-south-east they are now 8.2 metres apart and orientated north to south. The unploughed patch [3] is now fully part of a currently pasture field. The southern stone is (contra [3]) 0.9 metres wide, 0.3 metres thick and 2.2 metres high. Width and thickness are the same at top and base but the stone is only 0.15m thick half way up. [5] SS 72723 47525. Two re-erected standing stones at about 333 metres above Ordnance Datum on the northern summit of Lyn Down. On the 1887 [6] and 1904 [7] Ordnance Survey Maps a stone is shown situated at SS 72656 47488 in an area of enclosed moorland on Lyn Down. It is annotated "Long Stone". According to Chanter and Worth [4] in 1906 there were "two `menhirs'....the larger of which is known as the Longstone" at this site. Both stones were fallen at the time of their visit and they helped workmen re-erect them in their original socket holes.The area has been ploughed for sometime, exactly when is not clear but it was probably shortly after their visit. The stones have been moved again and reerected once more some 75 metres north of their original position. A: Present position SS 72723 47525. It now stands 2.1 metres high above ground level and is 0.9 metres wide at its base tapering to 0.5 metres at the top which has partly broken off. It is a maximum of 0.3 metres thick. This stone is undoubtedly the Long Stone as its description and measurements coincide with those of Chanter and Worth. It is not known when it was removed from its former position at SS 72656 47488. B: Present position SS 72723 47533. This stone is 1.4 metres long, 0.5 metres wide and 0.3 metres thick. Although earthfast it is leaning to the northeast and its top is acutely angled. Its description and measurements indicate that it is the second `menhir' referred to by Chanter and Worth. Its original position is not clear and the measurements of its distance from the Long Stone do not coincide with any other stones on the Ordnance survey maps. Note: On the 1887 [6] and 1904 [7] maps 20 or more other stones are depicted to the north of the Long Stone. These were turbary marker stones," of a different character", [4] used as boundaries for turf cutting allotments. (To avoid confusion they have been treated as a separate site - See MDE11705). [8] The standing stones are situated 550 metres from lyn cross. Two menhirs reerected in 1906 in their original holes by Chanter and Worth. Height: 2.9 metres base: 760 milimetres long, width: 230 milimetres [9] One of the lyn long stones has been knocked over by cattle. Plans to re-erect in hand. [11] The Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment of 2009 gave the site a score of 4. [13] The site was surveyed in June 2015 as part of the 2015 Exmoor Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment. It was given a survival score of 3. [14] The site was surveyed as part of the 2017-2018 Standing Stone Condition Survey. The site is in a poor condition following damage to the surrounding area. The effect of this damage is likely minimal due to the movement of the stones from their previous location at the start of the 20th century. [15-16] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [17]