The Calder Stones, Calderstones Park

Image: © Sue Adair Taken: 16 Aug 2005

Home of the ancient Calderstones chambered tomb found nearby in Allerton which is thought to date from the late neolithic/early bronze age. Carved stones from this period are very rare and few exist in England and Wales. Little is known about the Calderstones until the 1800's when it was reported that, "...in digging about them, urns made of the coarsest clay, containing human dust and bones, have been discovered, there is reason to believe that they indicate an ancient burying- place". When a road was being widened they dug down into the mound they found more of the stones, and some were marked with spiral and cupmarks. It was reported that “When the stones were dug down to, they seemed rather tumbled about in the mound. They looked as if they had been a little hut or cellar. Below the stones was found a large quantity of burnt bones.In 1845 the stones were re-erected inside low circular wall which still lies at the entrance to the park opposite Druids Cross Road. It was originally believed that they were once a circle but it is fairly certain that the Calder Stones were originally part of a burial chamber. The six large stones recovered may have formed the central chamber. One, with cupmarks, looks like a capstone shape. In 1964 the six stones were moved to their present site in the Harthill Greenhouse in Calderstones Park where they were erected in random order and unfortunately not always easy to access (photo taken through window).

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