MDE8557 - Long Stone at Long Stone Combe (Monument)

SS 8491 2940 Long Stone (NAT) [1] SS 8493 2940 Long Stone situated at about 315 metres Ordnance Datum on steep north facing rough grass and bracken covered slopes at the head of Longstone Combe. It measures 1.3 metres high. 0.38 metres wide and 0.18 metres thick, with a slight lean to the northeast. It is almost certainly a prehistoric standing stone and is set within a scooped platform, 2.6 metres in diameter and about 1.0 metres high on its lower side. [2] This stone stands at head of a combe and there is an oral tradition of this area being called Longstone Combe. The stone is marked on the Ordnance Survey map an 'Long Stone' [3]. The stone tapers symmetrically to a point. [4] The stone was suffered moderate freeze thaw damage but is considered to have low vunerability. It is in fair condition and is stable. [7] The site is a large post of hangman grits standing above the start of the combe, over the lip of the slope. The stone measures 1.7 by 0.32 by 0.18 metres and stands upright leaning slightly northeast on a platform 2.6 metres in diameter and about 1 metres high on the outer edge, now overgrown with rushes. Generally the site is in a good condition and there is little damage to the stone itself. However, the setting is now downslope of a small drainage channel heading north 5 metres from the path, which is 1.6 metres wide and 0.5 metres deep. The presence of this ditch has allowed waterlogging to accumulate at the base of the stone following heavy rains. Further erosion could occur from an animal/human tracks which deviate from the walking path to the stone, continuing northwest along the combe. This was recorded in 2012, and it is very likely that animals continue to use this as a rubbing post. [8] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [9]