Boswens Menhir (grid reference SW400328), also known as Boswens standing stone, or the Long Stone, is a standing stone 3 kilometres northeast of St Just in Penwith, in Cornwall, England.

Boswens Menhir
Boswens Menhir is located in Southwest Cornwall
Boswens Menhir
Shown within Southwest Cornwall
LocationCornwall
Coordinates50°08′21″N 5°38′24″W / 50.13904°N 5.63989°W / 50.13904; -5.63989
TypeStanding stone
History
PeriodsNeolithic / Bronze Age

The menhir is featured in Mark Jenkin's 2022 film Enys Men.[1]

Location

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The stone lies to the west of Boswens Common,[2] and can be seen from the B3318 road.[3] It is one of many standing stones in Penwith.[3]

It is 1.5 km east of Tregeseal stone circle, and about 1 km south of Chûn Quoit.

Description

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The stone is of rectangular section measuring 0.7 metres by 0.9 metres, and is 2.4 metres high.[2] The front face is symmetrical; at the back there are two steps which reduce the width by half.[4]

In 1754 William Borlase illustrated the stone standing in a small low cairn, but by 1861 there was "hardly any trace of cairn" visible.[4] The cairn today is around 0.3 metres high,[2] and is "only just noticeable".[3] The cairn may be the remains of a barrow.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ Jude Rogers (27 December 2022). "'I like films that take you into the woods – then leave you there' – the beguiling folk-horror of Mark Jenkin". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d LONG STONE, Pastscape, retrieved 8 November 2013
  3. ^ a b c Toni-maree Rowe, (2005), Cornwall in Prehistory, page 102. Tempus
  4. ^ a b John Barnatt, (1982), Prehistoric Cornwall: The Ceremonial Monuments, page 233. Turnstone Press.
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