The King Stone - Little Rollright, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

"The King Stone is a large standing stone probably erected to mark a Bronze Age cemetery dating to about 1800-1500 BC.

The strange shape of the King (like a seal balancing a ball on its nose) is partly the result of 19th century drovers and visitors who chipped bits off to act as lucky charms and keep the Devil at bay. To stop the stones being destroyed in this way, all the Rollright Stones were among the first monuments in Britain to be protected as Scheduled Monuments, and it is still a criminal offence to damage to any of the stones.

Excavations in the 1980s identified a previously unknown circular stone burial cairn next to the King Stone. It had a central burial chamber and several later human cremations.

Another burial mound nearby contained an upturned urn with the cremated bones of a child.

Some of the cremations had been marked by wooden posts.

There have been many other ideas, but the King Stone is probably a permanent memorial for the cemetery, replacing the wooden grave markers.

The Legend of the King -
The names of the Rollright monuments are from a legend about a King who met a witch who challenged him:
"Seven long strides shalt thou take And if Long Compton thou canst see, King of England thou shalt be."
Off went the King, shouting -
"Stick, stock, stone As King of England I shall be known."
On his seventh stride the ground rose up before him in a long mound. The witch laughed and cackled:
“As Long Compton thou canst not see, King of England thou shalt not be.
Rise up stick and stand still stone, for King of England thou shalt be none;
Thou and thy men hoar stones shall be and I myself an eldern tree. ""

SOURCE - info board

Type of Historic Marker: info board Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Rollright Trust Related Website: [Web Link] Give your Rating: Age/Event Date: Not listed

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