Watenan Farm

ND34SW 23 31509 41193.

(ND 315 412) The remains of four stone rows stand on a ridge running north and south, some 300 yds WSW of Watenan farm. They appear to have radiated from the north but no cairn is visible in association.

The stones are thin slabs up to 2ft in height and breadth, and facing across the rows. They have been much disturbed but the rows seem to have stood about 9ft apart and the stones about 5ft from each other. The rows cover an area of about 94ft by 36ft and are aligned north and south RCAHMS 1911.

These stone rows stand at ND 3152 4118 but only 16 stones remain.

Surveyed at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (N K B) 27 April 1967.

(ND 3152 4118) Stone Rows (NR)

OS 1:10,000 map, (1976)

This is a rather ruinous site, but nevertheless one which enabled Professor Thom to produce a geometrical plan similar to that of Mid Clyth. The stones are set on a low ridge of level peat-covered ground running north to south. The remains of four quite distinct rows may be seen with small upright stones still standing. In total, 15 stones are still erect with their flat faces running along the rows and a further 37 are seen to be fallen. Apart from the largest stone, which stands to a height of 0.6m at the north-eastern corner of the setting, the stones are mostly only ankle high, being submerged in the peat. They are up to 0.6m in length along the rows. The plan shows a geometrical grid of radial lines and arcs spaced at intervals of three megalithic yards (2.5m). The central axis of the fan has an azimuth of 13.5 degrees, with a radius to the base of 280 MY (232m).

L Myatt 1988.

There are traces of at least eight rows of stones on a SSW-facing slope in an improved pasture field some 260m to the WSW of Watenan farmsteading. The slope has been heavily trampled by livestock, exposing bedrock below the peat in a number of places, and it is also traversed by vehicle tracks. The rows extend across an area measuring some 57m from NNE to SSW by 34m transversely, but none now appears complete, and many stones lie prone. The best-preserved rows are situated on the SSE, where five can be distinguished, two of which comprise four stones. The rows stand between 3.4m and 4.8m apart, and the gaps between the stones range from 1.7m to 3.1m. The stones are all thin slabs, the largest measuring 0.45m by 0.12m and 0.6m in height, though some barely protrude above the ground-surface. The ground rises to the NNE and two stones lie beyond the crown of the slope. If there was an associated cairn on its summit, no trace of it is visible.

(YARROWS04 57)

Visited by RCAHMS (ARG, ATW) 15 June 2004