Dorset Landscape Photography : To Hell and Back
08th June 2011
Dorset Landscape Photography
To Hell and Back
Or to the Hell Stone to be more precise.
As the sun set tonight well into the Northwest, the clouds began to glow, forming a fitting cover for the Hell Stone and with the sun forcing its way through the rocks, this was definitely 'The Fires of Hell'.
From local information ....
The Hell Stone, also known as the "Stone of the Dead", can be found on Portesham Hill, about a mile or so from the Hardy monument. It's quite an impressive 'dolmen' which was constructed around 6 thousand years ago. It probably looked a little different then than it does today as unfortunately it collapsed, and was later 'restored' in 1866 and possibly not in its original shape or position.
Local superstition and folklore has it that the Hell Stone was thrown at Portesham Hill by the devil from Portland, but in fact it was created during Neolithic times and was probably a burial chamber, which at the time of construction, would have been covered in earth and smaller stones to form a barrow.
It is the only known 'complete' Dolmen in Dorset and consists in its present form of nine upright stones topped with a single capstone around 10ft in length. Inside is a small chamber big enough to squeeze 2 or 3 people. Even though the Hell Stone is Dorset's only complete Dolmen it's quite hard to find and is not signposted on any of the local paths.
To Hell and Back
Or to the Hell Stone to be more precise.
As the sun set tonight well into the Northwest, the clouds began to glow, forming a fitting cover for the Hell Stone and with the sun forcing its way through the rocks, this was definitely 'The Fires of Hell'.
From local information ....
The Hell Stone, also known as the "Stone of the Dead", can be found on Portesham Hill, about a mile or so from the Hardy monument. It's quite an impressive 'dolmen' which was constructed around 6 thousand years ago. It probably looked a little different then than it does today as unfortunately it collapsed, and was later 'restored' in 1866 and possibly not in its original shape or position.
Local superstition and folklore has it that the Hell Stone was thrown at Portesham Hill by the devil from Portland, but in fact it was created during Neolithic times and was probably a burial chamber, which at the time of construction, would have been covered in earth and smaller stones to form a barrow.
It is the only known 'complete' Dolmen in Dorset and consists in its present form of nine upright stones topped with a single capstone around 10ft in length. Inside is a small chamber big enough to squeeze 2 or 3 people. Even though the Hell Stone is Dorset's only complete Dolmen it's quite hard to find and is not signposted on any of the local paths.