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Stone Circle, Hawkshaw, Tweedsmuir. |
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Description
This small stone setting, described as a stone circle by Burl
but marked on O.S. maps as a cairn, stands on a low narrow ridge
on the south side of the River Tweed, about 600m downstream of
Hawkshaw, Tweedsmuir. The area is studded with small boulders of
varying sizes but there are three large, earth fast boulders,
the highest reaching 0.45m in height. RCAHMS describes the
setting as probably being the remains of a cremation cemetery of
the 2nd millennium BC. However, the remains do not readily fall
into the context of either a stone circle or a cremation
cemetery although the latter seems more probable. They could
equally be the remains of a cairn.
Directions
The location is off the A701 Moffat road, south of Tweedsmuir.
The stones can be seen with binoculars from the roadside.
Permission to visit this location was not
granted when sought at Hawkshaw, the location of the only bridge
crossing the Tweed in this area. However, for those wishing a
closer inspection, the easiest route is to park opposite the
stones and wade across the river, which runs quite low during
the summer months.
Parking
There are a number of small lay-bys along the A701 opposite the
stones.
Fieldnotes
An attempt to visit this location was foiled when a rather
strange old lady, who was having an animated conversation with a
horse, at Hawkshaw, refused permission to either park in the
area or even cross the bridge to walk to the site. A return
visit, approaching the site from another direction, is planned
for the coming summer.
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