MSO6962 - Two prehistoric standing stones at Long Chains Combe (Monument)

SS 7438 4209 Stone Setting. Stone setting at SS 7438 4209 in Long Chain Combe. [1] Two stones situated on a rush covered spur at above 435 metres above sea level lie on the south side of Long Chains Combe where the ground drops steeply to Hoaroak Water. They are both sandstone blocks measuring 0.30 and 0.53 metres high, 0.15 and 0.25 metres wide and 0.09 and 0.20 metres thick respectively. Although there are other stones in the area these two have obviously been set in position and must be considered prehistoric along with SS 74 SW 94 and several other stone settings in the vicinity. [2,10] Two upright stones reported in 1989. The stones are 0.3 metres high and 0.53 metres high and sit in shallow erosion hollows. They are situated 6 metres apart. The stones may be remnants of a larger setting, though there are no signs of this. A further table of information on the stones is held in the archive. [3] Two stones A and B as described and planned at 1:100 [10]. Stone A (SS 7438 4209) is a thin sandstone post, 0.55 metres long, 0.15 metres wide east to west and 0.09 metres thick. It leans to the east and is 0.30 metres high, and has an erosion hollow. The hollow has a 0.5 metre radius and is 0.1 metres deep, around the west arc. Stone B (SS 74389 42096) is a rectangular sectioned sandstone slab, 0.53 metres high, 0.25 metres wide northeast to southwest and 0.20 metres deep. It has an erosion hollow 1.5 metres diameter and 0.2 metres deep. The stones are without doubt prehistoric but being only two stones it is impossible to say whether this is the remains of a short row or a larger setting. No other stones were seen in the vicinity. Surveyed at 1:2500 by GPS. [4] One of five settings around the upper Hoaroak valley aligned on the same pair of axes. [5] Stone B reported as very loose in dry weather. [6] Stone setting on a natural spur in an area of short grass surrounded by rushes. Stone A is a thin reddish ?sandstone pillar about 0.23 by 0.1 metres and 0.25 metres high. The stone is loose in the ground with a slight erosion hollow on the south side about 0.1 metres deep. Stone B is a reddish ?sandstone slab about 0.4 by 0.07 metres and 0.25 metres high. Again this stone is loose in the ground and within a circular erosion hollow about 1 metre in diameter and 0.2 metres deep. [7] Scheduled on 28 March 1996. [8] Stone B is in an active erosion hole. [9] The Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment of 2009 gave the site a survival score of 0. [11] The site was surveyed in April 2015 as part of the 2015 Exmoor Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment. It was given a survival score of 0. [12] A pair of stones on an east to west alignment can be found on the second spur of the Chains, on a high plateau overlooking the valley. Both stones are fairly substantial, though they are both leaning to the east. To the north of the site is an area of stone which may have been a cairn, or perhaps a rocky outcrop. Stone B is currently being affected by animal rubbing, likely from cattle who graze the area. Stone A does not appear to be rubbed, but the evidence that livestock have been sleeping less than 1 metre away could cause some damage. [13-14] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [15] The site is included in a 2023 Condition Survey [16]