Lanyon
Quoit
Burial Chamber
SW
430 337
This monument is on the road from Madron to Morvah and there is parking space beside it which has helped make it one of the most famous of Cornwall’s ancient monuments.
This structure collapsed during a storm in 1815 and was re-erected 9 years later, with money raised by subscription among the local inhabitants. The reconstruction was not accurate because one of the uprights broke when it collapsed and only three were reused. As a result the capstone is lower than it was in the past when it was said to be possible to sit on horseback beneath it.
The quoit is set at the northern end of a long, low mound about 20m long that would have included the remains of some ruined cists to the south and a line of stones that are so far unexplained. The capstone now stands just 2m above the ground and is 2.7 x 5.25m (9ft x 17.5ft) weighing 13.5 tons. A fallen slab suggests that there might have been a small antechamber in front of it.
Easter
2002
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