CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY...Part III THE EXCURSION. “LONG MEG AND HER DAUGHTERS” The party began their journey about half-past one, five vehicles being put in requisition for their conveyance. They drove along the Carleton road, through a portion of the Eden Hall estate, Langwathby, and Little Salkeld, to the celebrated Druids’ Circle near Maughanby, about seven miles from Penrith. Second, perhaps, in importance and interest to Stonehenge, “the sisterhood forlorn”, as WORDSWORTH calls them, stand on an eminence on the east bank of the Eden, and comprise sixty-seven huge boulders, forming an irregular circle 350 yards in diameter. “Long Meg” is a large upright stone standing about a score of yards outside the mystic circle of “her daughters”. The object is most impressive. DR. SIMPSON said the purpose of these wonderful monuments was still an unsettled question. Some ten or twelve years ago he discovered upon the stone some curious spiral or serpentine marks, consisting of circles, one within another. On “Long Meg” these marks were dim and could only be well seen in certain aspects, but they were similar to the marks on ancient stones which his friend CANON GREENWELL had pointed out to him in Northumberland. His attention was first called to them by the late SIR JAMES SIMPSON. As to the object of these monuments, MR. FERGUSON, a great authority on Architecture, had started the new theory that these and similar relics marked the places at which KING ARTHUR won the seven battles which he had to fight in order to gain possession of the kingdom. If such were the case, they belonged to the seventh century, which was much later than was generally supposed. Another theory was that they were erected by the Danes, to mark places of victory; while others thought they were there long before that time. But it would be premature to pronounce an opinion as to their date until their various markings were copied and classified. He expressed a hope that the stones would not be disturbed or injured; some years ago an attempt was made to blast them, when a storm of thunder and hail came on and deterred the people. AN ANCIENT BURIAL PLACE. Led by DR. SIMPSON and MR. STALKER ( a local antiquary ), the party walked about 440 yards to the north-east, where, in a field called “The Whines”, on the Maughanby farm, a remarkable discovery was made seven or eight years ago. Here, said DR. SIMPSON, was a large mound or cairn, rising about four feet above the level of the ground. The farmer thought the soil would do more good spread over the land than heaped up there, so he opened out the mound, when it was found to contain a large number of cobbles mixed up with the earth, and to cover eight huge boulders, one of which was still standing in situ, but the others had entirely or partially fallen. There were remaining eight of those stones, which appeared originally to have formed a circle about 18 feet in diameter. Within the circle was found an oval-shaped cist, in length 3 feet 9 inches from east to west, and in width 2 feet 4 inches from north to south. This cist was formed of rough stones, some of which were red sandstone and others flat stones of various kinds. At the extreme east, in an angle formed by the meeting of two stones, stood an urn, filled with burned bones and charcoal. When removed, this urn fell to pieces. The cist, which was about 10 inches deep, was filled with black earth, the colour of which was so different as to attract the attention of the occupier of the field. No one appeared to have noticed any flat stone that could have covered the cist, but probably it was removed amongst the rest without attracting notice. The cist was opened and the urn found. The men removing the earth and stones had noticed burnt bones and charcoal during the progress of their work, and some of the stones bear evident marks of fire. Most of the large stones forming the circle were covered with earth and stones, and it might be supposed that the circle of stones had first existed, that a cist had at a later period been made within the circle and an urn containing the bones of the dead deposited in that cist, and that then the mound of earth and stones was formed over the whole. But what was of most importance in connection with this mound was the curious circular markings on one of the stones of which the circle is composed. These markings are similar in character to those on Long Meg, but much more distinct, owing to their long preservation from the action of the weather, in a few years they too may become as indistinct as other markings. It was therefore for the Society to have them placed on record and preserved, if not on stone, at all events in the pages of the ‘Transactions’. On one of these stones, the circular markings, indistinct at Long Meg, were very clear, though they had decayed perceptibly since DR. SIMPSON was here seven years ago. He said it was important, in order to decide the date of such monuments, to ascertain whether they were set up to mark a burial place, or whether they had been set up first of all and then used for burials because they were sacred; but it was pretty obvious that the stones were not later then the burials. PROFESSOR HARKNESS said all these boulders had come from the Lake District; they were composed of porphyry, ashes, and volcanic bricks. The sole exception was the upright column called Long Meg, which was Permian sandstone from the neighbourhood. _______________________ ......Part IV will follow..... _______________________ Barb, Ontario, Canada.