The Nine Maidens
OS grid ref:- SW 435351
The Nine Maidens otherwise known as the Boskednan Stone Circle , is situated in an isolated position on an extensive stretch of moorland 4 metres northeast of Penzance.
The original monument is thought to have been composed of 22 or 23 stones, the stones averaged sround 1.3 metres ( 4 feet) in height with the tallest rising to 2 metres high. It was recorded in the seventeenth century that 19 of the stones at the Boskednan Stone Circle stood upright, but at the beginning of the present century only 11 of these remained and of those, 6 stood upright, 2 were leaning and 3 had fallen.
The circle has been recently restored, with some of the stones re-erected in their original sockets. The surrounding gorse has been cleared and the drainage improved.
Stone urns were discovered near the circle in the mid nineteenth century, while the remains of a nearby barrow have been carefully excavated to reveal a cist, or burial chamber.
Image copyright Alan Simkins
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