Alignments | differing kinds and magnitudes
Alignment Magnitudes in Penwith
While constructing the map different kinds of alignments emerged. These were thoughtfully grouped into a number of types. They are detailed here, in descending order of magnitude.
It's useful to have the Map of Ancient Sites and Alignments in West Penwith open.
Backbone Alignments
Backbones connect major sites, covering longer distances, and they might be considered as main arteries of the regional network, linking sites across the region and going further afield. They are marked on the map in yellow.
They have been selected as backbone alignments purely on judgement and the way they chime with the overall system - the deciding factor is that they link at least three important, focal sites, one or two of which are Neolithic cliff sanctuaries or tor enclosures.
On the picture here, alignment 77 from St Michael's Mount to Cape Cornwall is shown, passing through Caergwydden Round and the Early Bronze Age Botrea Barrows.
Another example is alignment 108 from Treryn Dinas to Carn Brea, passing through the Merry Maidens stone circle, St Michael’s Mount, Gear Round and finally Carn Brea. (Gear Round near Praze-an-Beeble in East Penwith is more than an ordinary Iron Age round.)
This alignment suggests that one reason the Merry Maidens sit where they do is that it aligns with and connects three other major natural, aligned sites – two of which, St Michael’s Mount and Carn Brea, are geomantically significant in a national context. The other, Treryn Dinas (Logan Rock) is significant in Penwith.
See also: Backbone Alignments and Map of Backbone Alignments
Significant longer-distance Alignments
Marked in orange. Some go from West Penwith to other parts of Cornwall. The sites they link aren't necessarily as crucial as those connected by backbone alignments.
Alignment 126, Trendrine Hill to Godolphin Hill, a simple four-point alignment from the cairns on Trendrine Hill near St Ives, through Trink Hill cairn to Trencrom Hill and then to Godolphin Hill. It is oriented toward the rising point of the fullmoon at winter solstice, at the time of the lunar minimum. Trendrine is at the eastern end of Zennor Hill. Trencrom Hill is a Neolithic tor enclosure and Iron Age hill camp, and Godolphin Hill, though it has not had major known prehistoric works on it, is a significant hill, prominent as seen from east-facing parts of Penwith.
Alignment 125, Chapel Carn Brea to Bryher in the Isles of Scilly starts at the summit cairn on Chapel Carn Brea, passing through Tregiffian Vean chambered cairn in the west of Penwith. Then it heads across the sea to Burnt Hill cliff camp on St Martin’s, then to Castle Down chambered cairn on Tresco and finally to Bryher Cairnfield. Chapel Carn Brea was one of the beacon hills of Penwith and is visible from Scilly - and it has a cairnfield on it, so this alignment connects two cairnfields.
Alignment 98, Bant's Carn to Carn Brea starts on St Mary’s in the Scillies at Bant’s Carn, passing through Long Rock menhir and Innisidgen NW cairn on St Mary's, slicing through the Great Arthur cairns then landing on Penwith at Nanjulian settlement, passing through Lower Numphra mound (a noteworthy Penwith node), then to Trewern menhir, landing up at Carn Brea, a Neolithic tor above Camborne (not to be confused with Chapel Carn Brea).
Significant Alignments within Penwith
Internal to West Penwith, linking sites such as stone circles, menhirs, enclosures and cairns. Marked on the map in bright red.
A John Michell line, alignment 16, goes from Sennen to the Nine Maidens from Sennen hedge menhir and Tregiffian Vean cairn to Botrea Barrows, then to West Lanyon Quoit and the Nine Maidens stone circle, also with two other points on it. A significant alignment within West Penwith, though not as major as a backbone alignment. This alignment could be regarded as a feeder alignment to the Nine Maidens.
Alignment 114, Gurnard's Head to Kemyel Point, starts at Gurnard's Head, passing through Chapel Jane, an early Christian chapel, to Porthmeor settlements and Bosporthennis Quoit, crossing to Carfury menhir, down to Chyenhal East menhir and then to Castallack menhir, ending at Kemyel Point, a cliff sanctuary. Castallack is a gateway or relay stone to the Kemyel and Swingate menhir group (more below). This alignment goes from a cliff sanctuary on the north coast to a cliff sanctuary on the south coast.
Local alignments
Marked in dark red. They're relatively short in length, linking sites such as cairns, standing stones, crosses, wells and settlements.
Alignment 8, Numphra to Drift goes from Lower Numphra cairn (one of a small group) to a cairn on the western slope of Bartinney Castle, then tangenting the enclosure ring at Bartinney Castle, then through Caer Brân, ending at Drift north menhir (one of a pair, 'The Sisters').
Alignment 4, the Brisons to Noon Veor, one of John Michell’s alignments, goes from The Brisons offshore rocks and Chûn Castle, through Bosullow Trehyllis settlement to Mên-an-Tol (once a stone circle), then through a boundary stone and Try entrance mound to Noon Veor tumulus near Towednack. A classic leyline, but not as significant as those higher up the page.
Another of John's is alignment 28, Carfury to the Pipers, from Carfury menhir to one of the Drift menhirs, to a hedge stone and finally to the NE Piper menhir in the Merry Maidens complex - a menhir alignment involving two, possibly three double menhirs (since Carfury is suspected as a double menhir).
Quoit Alignments
Marked in pink. Quoit alignments are mostly three-point alignments directly linking the quoits in the northern hills of Penwith - usually with two quoits and another site. Some, such as Bosiliack menhir, are younger than the quoits, but the sites might have been recognised or marked before the existing ancient monument was built.
The quoits are amongst the oldest built remains in Penwith, so these alignments were presumably early developments of the network. They are three-point alignments, yet repeatedly and consistently so, and this suggests intention.
Alignment 113 goes from Mulfra Quoit through Bosiliack menhir to Lanyon Quoit, and another close to it, 138, goes from Mulfra Quoit to Bosiliack Barrow to West Lanyon Quoit.
Another, 142, links Sperris Quoit and Zennor Quoit with Lanyon Quoit - the only quoit alignment connecting three quoits. There are at least seven quoit alignments (though one is part of the longer alignment 101).
Scilly Alignments
Marked in violet. Local to the Scillies, many are three-point alignments - mainly because the islands are not big enough to generate four or more point alignments. In megalithic times most of the islands of the Scillies formed one island, and the islands of today were higher areas on that island.
Alignment SC03, above, goes from a cairn on Chapel Downs to the important Knackyboy cairn, both on St Martin's, to Castle Down on Tresco.
A four-point example of a Scilly alignment is SC10 from Obadiah’s Barrow on Gugh to Buzza Hill cairn on St Mary’s, then to Middle Arthur cairns, and finally to the cairns on Great Ganilly.
Kemyel/Swingate Alignments
Marked in violet, and mostly three-point alignments. This strange configuration of menhirs above Lamorna is clearly a sub-system of its own, the purpose of which is unknown and difficult to guess - could be for research and training. They are aligned to each other as a whole.
Does it have astronomical or geometric significance? Was it some sort of laboratory or trial-run experimental area?
An example alignment: 167, from Kemyel B to Swingate E and then Swingate F.
Stone Circle Radial Alignments
Marked in light blue. Mostly short alignments passing through stone circles, with a standing stone, mound or holed stone aligned on either side of the stone circle, sometimes astronomically aligned. Some don't pass through the stone circle, but they are part of that stone circle's complex of sites. All of them are part of stone circle complexes.
Alignment 51, just 800 metres long, goes from Gûn Rith menhir to Merry Maidens stone circle, then to a hedge stone and finally to the now-destroyed Tregurnow stone circle, just 600 metres from the Merry Maidens. Like Tregeseal, the Merry Maidens complex once involved two stone circles, as well as other features.
The map above is of an alignment from the summit cairn on Chapel Carn Brea, through Boscawen-ûn stone circle to a rock outcrop called Bojewyan's Carn. Chapel Carn Brea is noticeably visible from Boscawen-ûn, and this is its alignment.
International Alignments
Three important known alignments pass through West Penwith (there might be more), shown on the map in white.
The Michael Line spans Britain from Cornwall to Norfolk, along the longest east-west axis of the British landmass and generally following the rising point of the sun at true Beltane and Lammas (around 5th May and August). Its Cornish section goes from the Hurlers stone circles in East Cornwall to Helman Tor, Carn Brea and then Carn Lês Boel near Land’s End – passing not far from St Michael’s Mount, at Long Rock, but the alignment does not pass through it.
This is the Michael alignment identified by John Michell, not the sinuous Michael and Mary lines identified by Hamish Miller and Paul Broadhurst, which wind loosely around it (see The Sun and the Serpent). They all meet at Carn Lês Boel, as at other places on the alignment including St Michael’s Mount, The Hurlers, Glastonbury and Avebury. The alignment passes round the world as a great circle line, through Russia, Tibet, Cambodia, Australia and Yucatan, Mexico.
The Hurlers to Tol Pedn Penwith line. This is a subset of the Michael line from the Hurlers, passing exactly through St Michael’s Mount to Tol Pedn Penwith (Gwennap Head), the southwesternmost point of Britain – itself an amazing alignment.
The Apollo Line goes from Skellig Michael in Ireland at least to northern Israel, and on to India through Iran. It was identified by Hamish Miller and Paul Broadhurst. The sinuous Apollo and Athena lines meet at St Michael's Mount, and they leave Penwith at Zennor Head and Gurnard's Head respectively. The straight alignment of this line between St Michael's Mount and Skellig Michael passes across the summit of Watch Croft, West Penwith's highest hill.
These are corridors more than precise alignments and they do not touch many local ancient sites. Much research needs to be done regarding national and international-scale alignments.
Double MenhirsThere are small green lines attached to double menhirs. They show the orientation of the two stones to each other. They don't go anywhere. They're not alignments. There's more about double menhirs here.
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