Documents

In 1967 the North Devon Archaeological Society carried out an excavation of the Pilton Long Stone which stands at the junction of Under Minnow Road and Bellaire, originally on a rocky hillock known as Bradiford Hill which had to be removed to widen the junction. It is a 9ft (2.7m) long monolith of local limestone which at that time was located behind high walls within a private garden. It now stands on the open triangle of sloping land bounded by the two roads. The earliest reference to the Long Stone is from Rev. John Swete who toured North Devon in 1789. Its precise age and purpose remain obscure. After the excavation, the Stone was raised again a few feet east of its original site in its present position.

This is a scan of a reprint of the paper written by Isabel Arkle, T Spenser and Jonathan Lomas published in Volume 100 of the proceedings of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science Literature and Art - 'The Pilton Long Stone Excavation 1967'. Many thanks are due to the Association.