STONE CIRCLES William Hals' account is to the same effect and very like his description of the Nine Maidens, Wendron : On another part of this parish, near Retallock Barrow ... is still extant, in the open downs, nine perpendicular stones, called the Nine Maids, in Cornish Naw-voz, alias the nine sisters, in Cornish Naw-whoors, which very name informs us that they were sepulchral stones, erected in memory of nine natural or spiritual sisters of some religious house, and not so many maids turned into stones for dancing on the Sabboth Day, as the country people will tell you. 1 The Rev. Richard Warner, writing in 1808, says that when he visited the spot only three stones were upright, ' the remainder lying on the ground.' 2 W. C. Borlase refers to them in Ncenia Cornubice (1872) as nine erect stones averaging from 1 1 ft. 6 in. to 5 ft. 6 in. high, forming an ortholith, or single line ... In the same line with these pillars, to the N.E., stands a single rude Menhir, 7 ft. 6 in. above ground, and once apparently surrounded by a small circle of stones set on edge. This goes by the name of the ' Old Man,' which to the believer in the theory of sun-worship, will sound strangely like ' Houl Maen,' or the ' Sun Stone." Indeed it seems very probable that this stone formed part of the same monument as the Nine Maidens, and that, like many of the circles, a religious, rather than a sepulchral origin, should be assigned to it. 3 From this it is evident that six of the stones were set up again between 1808 and 1872, and that the tallest stone, which has fallen since 1872, stood ii ft. 6 in. out of the ground. With regard to the suggestive name of ' sun stone,' it must be borne in mind that, viewed from the stone row, the * Old Man ' would have been too far north to mark the midsummer sunrise, at that spot approximately 55E. of N. Lukis and Borlase include a description, plan, and sketches of these stones in their great work, 4 and Mr. Lukis remarks : ' Mr. W. C. Borlase states that it [the " Old Man "] was " once apparently surrounded by a small circle of stones set on edge," but I saw none.' Such is the past history and present condition of the Nine Maidens, but it is no easy task to form an opinion as to its origin. The late R. N. Worth, a recognized authority on the stone rows of Dartmoor, classed it with them ; 6 and as he considered them to be associated with burial and burial rites, it is to be assumed that he regarded these stones also as sepulchral. W. C. Borlase, on the other hand, as we have seen, thought them religious in character ; and we are free to accept whichever hypo- thesis most pleases us. A natural sequel to a description of the stone circles and allied megalithic monuments of Cornwall would be an inquiry into their uses, date and authorship, and, so far as space admits, these points must be considered here. At the outset we are met by a considerable obstacle the circles have never been examined systematically by digging. Reck- less or unskilled excavation is much to be deprecated, but a judicious use of the spade is essential if these monuments are to be fully investigated. 1 D. Gilbert, Paroch. Hist, of Cornwall, i. 220. * A Tour through Cornwall, pp. 320-1. 3 pp. 989. * Prehistoric Monuments, pp. 15-16, 2930, pis. xxxi. xxxii. 5 Report of Devonshire Assoc. (1894), xxvi. 297. 43
